Ethan Becker in conjunction with Ka-bar knives are coming out with a few new knife models for 2012 that I am excited about.

Ka-Bar/Becker BK15

The first is the BK15, which is a short trailing point knife. While I am not a knife expert, just someone who uses them when out enjoying bushcraft, I also enjoy using a good knife when cooking. This specific knife seems like it is taking bushcraft to the kitchen(or the kitchen to bushcraft). The BK15 seems like it would be the perfect slicer for kitchen or camp kitchen chores.

Weight: .40
Blade Length: 5 1/2″
Steel: 1095 high carbon steel
Coating:Epoxy Powder Coat
Overall Length: 10 3/8″
Grind: Flat Grind
Tang: Full tang construction

It also includes a new sheath that has a front pouch, an extra set of handle scales.

Ka-Bar/Becker BK16

For me personally, out of these newly released knives the BK16 it the one I am most excited about.  It seems to have the most use for bushcraft and will excel at the tasks I would be interested in using it for.  I have always enjoyed using my BK2, but my main complaint was it was just a little too big and a little too thick for my likes. The BK16 seems to be just what I was looking for.

Weight: .40
Blade Length: 4 3/8″
Steel: 1095 high carbon steel
Coating:Epoxy Powder Coat
Overall Length: 9 1/4″
Grind: Flat Grind
Tang: Full tang construction

It also includes a sheath that has a front pouch, an extra set of handle scales.

KABAR BECKER 16 NIB!!!!!! BECKER 16 BK16

Current price:

$63.00

No. of bids so far:

0

Ends in:

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Seller: eBay

KABAR BECKER BK16 SHORT DROP POINT FIXED BLADE KNIFE WITH SHEATH - NEW!

Current price:

$78.29

Ends in:

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Seller: eBay

 

Ka-Bar/Becker BK17

The BK17 is a short clip point knife. Very similar to the larger BK7.  The BK7 has a popular following so I expect the BK17 to be equally as popular. The clip point isn’t something I am interested in, but it seems like it would be a great knife for a soldier to carry or a self defense knife that would be easy to conceal.

Weight: .40
Blade Length: 4 3/8″
Steel: 1095 high carbon steel
Coating:Epoxy Powder Coat
Overall Length: 9 1/4″
Grind: Flat Grind
Tang: Full tang construction

Just as the others it includes a sheath that has a front pouch, an extra set of handle scales.

Ka-Bar/Becker BK4

Last but not least is the second knife that I personally am most excited for and will be purchasing the minute it is release. It is the BK4 or Machax, it is a combination between a knife, machete and hatchet. Looks wise it is inspired by a kukri knife/machete.

Weight: 95
Blade Length: 9 3/8″
Steel: 1095 high carbon steel
Coating:Epoxy Powder Coat
Overall Length: 14 11/16″
Grind: Flat Grind
Tang: Full tang construction

BK15, 16, 17 Sheath

The BK15, BK16, and BK17 will all have the same sheath design. The sheath has a slot for the knife, with retention snap and a small pocket on the front to store a small firesteel, sharpening stone or whatever else you would like.

The nylon sheath is will dry quickly and by design has many different options for those individuals who like a wide variety of carries.

Having a reliable, well made axe to use while practicing bushcraft is important. If you buy a good quality axe and properly care for it you will have the axe for your lifetime and even your children’s lifetime.

Personally I have purchased a few different axes with different length handles, different weight heads all the way from a hatchet to a four pound splitting axe.

There really is no right or wrong answer because the best axe for you is mostly determined by the environment you frequent. Time of year also plays a role, for example, if you are in the Northern US states in winter time a large axe is more suitable than a hatchet.

Personally I have found that a boys axe with a handle length between 26″ and 30″ to be ideal with somewhere around a 2 to 2 1/2 pound head weight.

The top two most respected axe manufacturers are Swedish makers Gransfor Bruks and Wetterings. These axes usually cost somewhere around $100 and up.

If your budget is tight don’t worry, you can still get a quality axe for a reasonable price. Council Tool makes a boys axe that is 28″ in length with a 2 1/4 pound head that is a quality tool that costs less than $45. The fit and finish isn’t as nice as the Swedish makers but with a little handle sanding and (my personal preference) removing the red paint from the axe head will make it a nice looking usable tool.

Fiskars makes a 24″ chopping axe that sells for around $30 it is a little shorter than the other axes listed above. It also has a “fibercomp” handle which looks like fiber glass, where the above axes all have hickory wood handles.

At the end of the day any one of the above axes will be a solid user for you, you can base your decision on how much you can spend.

People are extremely loyal to certain packs, maybe they grew up using a pack from the same company, or received a hand me down back that was once their grandfathers.  In general there are three main styles of bushcraft packs.

1) Military surplus or military style packs
2) Light weight hiking style packs
3) Traditional style packs

Military Surplus Packs / Military Style Packs

At the top of anyone’s list of military style packs has to be the Alice Pack, there are two different sizes of Alice Packs (medium and large).  The medium can be used with or without the external frame, while the large requires the frame.

The Alice Pack isn’t great at any one specific point(weight, durability etc…), but for what it is it is and what it cost you get a solid pack for the price.

The first pack I had when I became interested in bushcraft was an Alice Pack.

Light Weight Hiking Style Packs

These packs can get really expensive, they are made from lighter materials and are generally more comfortable to pack around for long periods of time than the military surplus packs. Generally, they aren’t as rugged as surplus packs and cost significantly more.

Traditional Style Packs

These packs are great for those individuals looking for a more traditional design, they are usually made from leather or canvas, do not have a frame and generally have buckles or toggles instead of snaps and zippers. Traditional style packs can be costly for a higher end pack that are made in the USA, but cheaper varieties can be found as well.

The Cold Steel Shovel (otherwise known as the Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel), is a great piece of gear.  The main thing I like about it is you can do normal tasks of a shovel like digging and scraping, but you also can chop with it as the sides of the shovel come pre-sharpened.  Essentially, you get a shovel, hatchet, machete and knife all in one.  While it isn’t the best knife, hatchet or machete it is serviceable and for the 26 oz it weighs it can be a “backup” to your main blade.

Cold Steel modeled the shovel based on the Soviet Spetznaz shovel which was used by the Soviet Spetznaz(Soviet Special Forces).

The shovel can be purchased separate or with a cordura sheath.  One mistake I made was purchasing without the sheath not realizing that the shovel was really sharp.  I ended up purchasing the sheath separately, do not make the same mistake I did.

People who have come to find the usefulness of these shovels have also made leather sheaths which provide a more durable, longer lasting protection over the standard Cordura ones.

I have also used it for removing coals from the campfire to cook with a dutch oven, it worked well but if you do try this understand that it can possibly hurt the heat treating of the metal.  With that said I have chopped with it since without any issues.

For under $25 you really cannot go wrong with this purchase.

Here is a video where Terry Barney from Midwest School Of Bushcraft goes over some modifications and uses for the shovel other than to dig with.