Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade Knife, Carbon Steel

EDIT: (July-2015) Regarding this "the hard sheath dulls the blade!" business. I DOESN'T. The earliest versions (ones made prior to my review, years ago) of this hard fiberglass reinforced sheath had material at the mouth of the sheath that made contact with the blade edge on inserting & withdrawing. This issue has long since been taken care of YEARS ago and the sheath has had a redesigned rectangular cutout in that are ever since. So, the hard sheath I have is fantastic. If you like the nylon, get the BK22, if you like the sleeker hard sheath, go with the std BK2 here wituout fear of any concerns about it dulling your blade. That issue is ancient history. So ends the July 2015 edit. By now you've probably heard the obvious details so I'll try to comment on a few things that gave me concerns before I bought it. Some major things people have claimed are that it's too hard to remove from the sheath and worst of all, that the blade edge contacts the inside of the sheath dulling the knife. I won't say their claims weren't valid, but I'm happy to say there's no sign of either issue here. Grab the handle, push off with your thumb and out it comes. Perfect resistance, no more, no less. Perhaps Kabar addressed the issue, perhaps complainants forgot to eat their Wheaties. My knife was purchased through Amazon, new June 2012. The other claim of edge/sheath contact hasn't been the case here. While the sheath allows minimal play, they managed to keep it just right to avoid friction. Perhaps Kabar addressed that too. I even shined a light into the drain hole and looked for "saw" marks. None, whew, what a relief. That issue would have been a near deal breaker. The nylon webbing belt loop has too much excess allowing a lot of "slop" once on. Stitch it up the SIDES to the proper point to fit your belt and you've got yourself a nice small accessory pocket turning a potential lemon into lemonade. Regarding the knife itself, I'll echo every positive thing said of it. A slightly wrinkled finish or some stippling on the grip would have been an improvement but I still like the semi-smooth finish. The shape of the grip literally guarantees it won't go flying out of your hand. In a worse case scenario, say gutting an animal and up to your elbows in a greasy mess, could potentially see your hand slip forward onto the blade when contacting bone while doing a forward thrust. Possible, but unlikely. When it comes to indestructible fixed blades, I own a few Ontario blades since they're the guys who supply the US military. I like that endorsement. They also don't charge stupid prices. This is my first Kabar and I like what I see. I challenged myself to find even a minor blemish or imperfection. I can't, and that is unusual. This BK2 is flawless right down to its sabre grind. If I had to face the unknown and I could take one tool with me- it would be this or an Ontario RD6, or their SP8. For what it is, $64 is worth it. You can spend a little more and perhaps find its equal (Ontario RD6), but for no amount of money are you going to do better. No, I don't own every blade in the world, but I just can't see doing much better if at all. Oh, and if you want to find its match for less, forget it. Money matters, I know, but it's a matter of "buy once, cry once". Don't worry, you'll feel better once you feel this thing in your hand. It made me want to chop down a tree for no reason at all! But I didn't ;-). UPDATE: I hope you found the info useful in making your decision, except ofcourse for the dimwit who I've noticed has clicked "not helpful" on every single review. Maybe it's not malicious, after all, no review can be found helpful to an illiterate.

There is SO much to say about the Ka-Bar BK2, but I'll try to keep this short, sweet and to the point... no promises First off, I need to say that the pictures that they show of the knife on Amazon.com aren't 100% accurate for this knife. The picture that they show is of the BK2 first edition. The knife that you will receive if you order one is slightly different, but in a good way in my opinion. The bottom of the handle in the picture shows that the handle material and the bottom of the knife are flush together, when in reality the knife you will receive has an extended tang that sticks out of the bottom of the handle by about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch; This allows for the knife to be used as a chisel. The BK2 is an absolute BEAST! You can put this knife through just about any torture test and it'll come out ready to kick Chuck Norris' butt. The blade is 1/4 of an inch thick which makes the entire knife feel sturdy and VERY hefty in your hand. The knife isn't a light one, but for camping or any other place you may need to chop wood, this knife will blow the competition out of the water. The BK2 is definitely more for brute jobs like chopping wood, cutting thick plastic or anything you would need a hatchet for. You can also use this knife as a chisel because of the extended handle that I mentioned earlier. The handle of the BK2 feels just as solid as the blade of the knife. The handle is made of grivory. Grivory is a very hard material which feels a lot like the love child if glass-filled nylon and aluminum had a baby. If you take the two halves of the handle apart, you have a fairly good sized space inside of the handle in which you could store some small survival items like some fishing line and a few hooks. The handle has a very solid feel to the shape of it; while the handle isn't made of a very "grippy" material, the shape of this knife handle will make it pretty hard to slip out of your grip, wet or dry. What better way to finish up a fantastic knife review than to tell you about the fantastic sheath that comes with the knife. The BK2 comes with an extremely well molded kydex sheath. (for those of you who don't like kydex, just ignore me while I gush over this sheath) It comes with many different customization options and places to wrap molle straps, paracord or other kinds of rope or material. Another plus to getting the newer generation model of this knife is that they improved not only the looks of the sheath, but also the functionality of it as well; The sheath now holds the knife in place extremely firmly, which is an area that they had problems with before with the earlier edition. The only downside to the sheath is the nylon strap that they used in order to attach it to your belt; The nylon strap loop is WAY to big. (this can be easily solved by stitching it together in the middle) There is even a section of the sheath that indents, making it possible to put something like a magnesium fire starter on it without interfering with the way the sheath fits snugly against your leg. The last thing that I love about the sheath is that it has a drain hole on the very bottom of the sheath, where the tip of the blade is, in order for water that may get inside of the sheath to drain out through. All together, this is one of the finest, most durable and BEST knives that I've ever owned. You will be VERY hard pressed to find a better knife that can do what this knife does, take the abuse that this knife can and still be as affordable as it is. This knife is absolutely the best value if you're looking for a knife that can take a TON of abuse and still work just as well as the day you bought it!

I spent alot of time searching for a good knife to go along with me on our hiking/survival trips. I did plenty of research before i came to the conclusion of the BK2. Chopping, splitting, shaving tinder, skinning, prying, digging, stabbing, and anything else you can imagine... you can do it with this bulldog of a blade. The 1/4 in thick blade is unstoppable. Slashing through 1" to 2" bamboo came suprisingly easy. Splitting 2x4's and even 4x4's down the middle from battoning left me wide eyed. Alot of people that complain about anything regarding this monster should take a second look. The weight, I have no problem with... it helps pack a punch when it comes to chopping (it's like a compact camp axe.) 1/4" thickness of the blade adds muscle when you need to use it for prying (think of a small sharpened crowbar.) The handle feels great, its form gives you that extension of your arm feel. The pummel is beyond perfect. It wears good enough that I've replaced it with my everyday knife. It goes where I go. And the sheath, I like it as well. Most people complain about that and the weight the most. But, the sheath is simple, does a great job of keeping the beast on its leash till the time comes to pull it out. Plus it is one the few things out there that have alot of possibilties when it comes to personally modding it out. It's like the 10/22 of the knife world. My BK2 will be around long after I'm gone, and bringing as much reliability to my son as with me. It came out of the box razor sharp, when i did the simple hair test... it actually took off a couple layers of skin. Which I found funny since I'm normally safe when it comes to tools like knives. So, I took it as a comical blood bond with my new side kick. I have already turned many others onto purchasing this knife, and I would put this mini machete on the front of the list to any outdoor fan/ hiker/ survivalist. Thanks to my beautiful wife for the great birthday blade.******** 3/17/12--- I'm adding to my already posted review, not just to boost the bk2 some more... But to set the record straight on some of the more negative post's that i've read about it. I've had the bk2 for 6 months now. And have hit the trails with it numberous times already. I'm sure everyone already has heard of the chopping power of this monster. Well, living in the deep south of the pine belt... it has gone beyond what i've expected. Fire wood for camp on the trail is blown through with ease. Also, shaving kindling to start your fire will come simple as well. Down here, we also have alot of lighter pine. (old pine wood that has set up lots of resin) And anyone that has delt with this type of wood knows, that it is as hard as stone and always a pain to cut, chop, or chip... but if you do, you have some of the best fire starter out there. The bk2 takes on this task like an axe to a viking. Many that post bad reviews for this knife say that they would rather carry a simple smaller blade, and a camp axe or saw. Well, if thats your take on it... fine. But, i would much rather have a knife that can replace multiple items, than carry 3 or 4 different tools that do one thing each. I've also read that its not as good because it doesn't have a partial seration. Well, yes, but anyone being familier with a knife also knows that other than cutting rope... you really don't use seration. And if you keep your knife sharp, it should go though rope with no problems. People have also posted a negative of it being bulky and unmanagable. ??? Ok, to those people... you either have little girly boy hands, or you have no idea how to handle a blade. My last weekend hike, i used my bk2 to carve a wooden spoon. And it came out great. So, my take on these stupid negative posts i read... is that the people making them are those ultra light backpackers that think anything more than a swiss army knife is too much. (well to those, you can keep your swiss army trash for the cork screw wine bottle opener, and your top dollar north face gear. And i'll keep my bk2 monster that can do everything a knife, axe, saw, or anything else can do except open your bottle of merlot. And my carhart gear that will outlast that north face tent material jacket that will rip passing a rose bush.) And to the others out there that just simply dont know how to use a knife... you shouldn't play with big boy toys in the first place.

I have not put this knife through the ringer yet, but I am sure it can take anything I can dish out. I understand some people's criticisms that this knife is a jack of all trades, but master of none. It could be used to do almost any outdoors task, including being used as a pry bar, but it is so big and heavy that it would not be good for fine cutting work (like a mora, or something lighter and smaller). That being said, if I could have only one knife in the woods, it would be this knife because it could be used for anything, including things that a smaller knife could not do. The thing I like the most about this knife is that if I severely damaged the edge, I could have it re-grinded because the blade is so substantial. I saw a test in a blade forum that involved a guy absolutely torturing this blade (cutting up a lawnmower, a refrigerator, even a cinder block), and the guy was able to re-grind the blade to almost new. After purchasing it, I now understand why. I think it could last a lifetime even if occasionally abused in the way a normal knife shouldn't be. Now for the minor gripes... The blade's edge was not very sharp out of the box. This is not a big deal for me because I usually sharpen blades myself when I get them. Not many companies put a razor edge on knives at the factory anyway. I have found that Mora puts an incredible edge on their knives (especially considering the price) and that my SOG seal pup elite was razor sharp out of the box, but Ka-Bar and Ontario only put adequate edges on their blades. Again, no problem because you need to be able to sharpen/resharpen your own knives anyway. Also, I don't care for the sheath. I have not witnessed the dulling issue that some have had, but I don't like the nylon belt loop. I might buy the blade tech attachment to replace the nylon, or get a custom sheath. The nylon just isn't sturdy enough and makes it difficult to remove the blade with one hand. Other than those two gripes, I couldn't be happier. Some people really bashed this product in reviews because they hated the sheath. To be honest, I haven't purchased many reasonably priced blades that came with good sheaths. And, this is not an "expensive" knife in the vast world of blades. The blade itself, which is why I bought it, gets 5 stars. The sheath would get two and a half. Since I am rating the knife, it gets five.

Took a while to get here. Normally super saving shipping doesn't take to long but it did this time, took 1 week before shipping and then recieved in a couple of days. If it waqs in stock I don't understand why it took so long to get out of the shop and into the shipping main stream. Anyway, Got here finally. The knife is a 1/4 inch thick all the way through. It is one Honk'en knife. I don't think you really realize how stout and thick this thing is till you hold it. The pictures online and in catalogs don't do it justice. It seems kind of hard to sharpen and get a really good egde on it ( just got it ). I don't think you will break this knife, it is heavy duty and could be used as a hammer ( because it is heavy ) and has a window breaking type edge on the rear. The blade tip could be used to break glass also due to it's thickness. The only down side to this knife is the sheath. It has a plastic type, locking sheath with a cheap nylon belt loop. The handles are plastic type but seem grippy enough for me but I wrapped them with Para-Cord for a better grip. I was having a hard time deciding wether to get the Gerber LMF2 or the BK2. I watched some youtube torture test on the LMF2 which were pretty impressive and couldn't find anything on the BK2. If you are looking for a survival knife I think the Gerber LMF2 would be a better choice, if you are wanting a woods knife that won't let you down and you don't have to worry about breaking the BK2 is for you. This knife also is available for Military and Law Enforcement ONLY in a partially serrated blade which would be great for this knife and can be reviewed on KABAR's web site. I would not recommend this knife for a woman because it is HEAVY. This is not a fighting knife and I would not put it on my entry vest due to the wieght and the cheap sheath. It can not be welded in your hands quickly for a fighting knife but I wouldn't worry about opening cans or even a ammo cam or car door for that matter you won't damage this knife and if you did there is still a bunch of steel to work with. I can not emphasize the thickness of this knife enough. Pictures don't do it justice. Buy One.

This is a great knife and a great value. I figured I would make my review more of a comparison between two very popular survival and camping knives in order to hopefully give some insight that a regular singular review could not address very easily. I also own the very popular but more expensive ESEE-5 survival knife (~$140) and these two knives are both perfect in many ways and in the ways one knife is comparatively weak the other is comparatively strong. I love the sheaths that come with both knives. Both these knives have the same length blades, same metal composition (1095 steel), almost the same tempering, the same thickness (quarter inch), and the same basic overall weight. They are both coated knives, but the ESEE-5 has a much more significant and harder wearing coating. The ESEE-5 has a pommel point at the handle end to make it great for breaking car window glass, but that very feature makes it harder to use a stick as a baton (at least if you want the stick to last very long before falling apart) to carefully hammer the tip of the knife into something hard. The Becker Campanion has a nice flat pommel end that could easily be used with a rock, stick, etc to hammer the tip of the knife into something hard like a coconut for instance. In my opinion, the blade of the Becker Campanion is shaped a little better than the ESEE-5 for cutting vegetables etc. when camping out, but the ESEE-5 has a better blade shape for a true defense or survival knife. If you look at the tips of the knives the ESEE-5 has a much more noticeable point vs. the Campanion which would make the ESEE-5 better and more efficient as a stabbing tool in a survival defensive situation. The main benefit I see of the more rounded tip shape of the Becker Campanion knife is that in combination with the lighter plastic handle scales the Campanion has vs. the ESEE-5's solid and heavier micarta scales and the small metal cutouts under the handle scales whereas the ESEE-5 is solid metal under the handles is that the center of balance is farther forward on the Campanion knife. This makes the Campanion a noticeably better light chopping tool and it feels better in the hand for that purpose vs the ESEE-5. This would make the Campanion a more enjoyable choice in my opinion for tasks like building an emergency shelter out of tree limbs and branches. One drawback to the Campanion is that the handles are very slippery especially when wet. The micarta handles on the ESEE-5 provide great grip when wet or dry. The solution I found that worked very well to rough up the Campanion grips was to take a soldering iron and to gently touch the hot tip to the surface of the handles and press and melt little dots into the handles all over. That greatly increased the grip without weakening the hollow handles like melting or scratching long grip lines could do. Adding Loktite to the handles is a good idea as well to keep the handle screws from slowly loosening over time. The only other comparison difference that I noticed is that the handles of the ESEE-5 require an allen wrench on each side (2 separate wrenches) of the knife at the same time to loosen and remove the scales for thorough cleaning etc. The Campanion knife has an allen head on one end and a nut that is held from turning by the handle scale itself on the other side. That means the handles can be removed easily in the field using only one single allen wrench. Overall both knives are great, and I use and love both and consider both knives worth the price, but there are differences that might matter to you and I pointed out all the ones I have noticed. I hope this review helped.

I can't add much that hasn't already been said. I did a lot of reading before I bought this knife because I was researching for my first survival/camp knife. Let me make a few comments based on my limited experience. 1) This is my first fixed blade knife although as a kid I had lots of pocketknives for whittling. I think this is a great first knife. It has good heft to it. I immediately put it on my belt and carried it around. Sure you notice it and it is a bit weighty but not much different than carrying a hammer or a camp axe on your belt. In other words, the weight complaint isn't what people sometimes make it. 2) Came razor sharp out of the box. I could slice paper holding the paper up with one hand. I could shave my leg hair. Great blade. 3) I had no trouble immediately feathering a pencil (it was dark out so I didn't go get a tree limb). One complaint I had read in some reviews is that it is too big or heavy for detail work. I had no trouble holding a slim pencil and making very fine feathers from it. I did choke up on the knife a little and rested my thumb on the back of the spin for stability. 4) The standard grip is fine. I could see a slight concern if it got wet. It would still be a decent grip. I do however plan on adding some grip table or parachord. I also will add a lanyard. The "hooks" at either end of the grip will keep your hand from sliding up and down. In my opinion this makes the knife fit firmly into the shape of the hand. (for reference I consider my hands to be average male size hands). My review is not a full review and I look forward to putting this knife to work and really running it through it's paces. I would recommend reading fuller reviews or YouTube Reviews and field tests. My purpose in writing this review was to comment a few things I had read or seen in other reviews on the internet that almost kept me from buying this knife. I do not for a second regret my purchase. I would say that the "complaints" or criticisms about this knife are find something to critique. No knife is perfect but this is a great purchase. A quality tool at a very great price point. I will update this review if after heavier use my opinion changes.

Ok, I really love my Gerber LMFII knives (yes, I have 2 of them) and I have used those as my primary survival knife whenever I go outdoors. Well, I've been bugging to get this BK2 for months and finally pulled the trigger. Let me just say that it's my new primary knife. Here's my comparison of the Gerber LMFII to the BK2 and why I prefer the Ka-Bar: - I like the pointed tip of the back of the handle on the Gerber LMFII, but the flat back of the handle on the BK2 is more practical as a tool. The Gerber handle would be a sharper weapon and a better glass breaker, but the BK2 flat handle is better for hammering, which is what I would expect to use it more for - Blade thickness on both knives are right about the same, but I think I give a little bit of an advantage to the BK2. The BK2's blade is larger from edge to spine than the LMFII though - The handles on the BK2 can be replaced. This gives you options that the LMFII doesn't give you. While I prefer the more hard rubber texture of the LMFII, I like the size and versatility of the BK2 more. The diameter of the BK2 handle is a little larger than the LMFII as well, which I preferred more for my larger hands - The sheath on the BK2 is simple but sufficient. The sheaths on both knives do the job - they hold the knife either upside down or on a belt. Both have a pinch area on the sheath that holds the knife handle in so you can hang the sheath upside down from your gear, but I like the shape of the BK2's pinch area better. My thumb naturally goes to the spot where you press against to get the knife to release. The LMFII is a little more cumbersome to pull out because there's not really a thumb rest area to leverage against. Also I actually broke one of the pinch tabs off of the sheath of one of my LMFII's which surprised me. I was forcing it though, trying to "reshape" it so it would be tighter again after getting deformed from an aftermarket paracord wrap that I had put on the LMFII handle. My own fault. However, the LMFII sheath wins for functionality though because it does include a built-in knife sharpener that the BK2 doesn't have. I am convinced that a big thick survival knife is very necessary. It could be your one and only tool to hammer, cut, pry, chop and slice with. The BK2 and the LMF both have a great blade that has held up very well so I find both still very useful. This BK2 just feels good in the hand, is very balanced, and the sheath is simple and does the job. I have it hanging from the shoulder strap on my bail-out bag so it goes everywhere I need it to go. I love this knife.