Becker BK62! *UPDATED*

UPDATE!

Ok so we now know this not a limited release it will be a standard production model and the scales are indeed walnut.

Also, pre-order is available now from several dealers. (I recommend Tomars). If you dont get one from the first batch the next batch wont be coming until after the new year. So get on it if its going to be a Christmas gift!

Here are some threads from Bladeforums you should check out.

The Kephart is here!

First Run of BK62's

Beckerhead Camping and Woodcraft Reviews....

Here is the BK62 video Kabar made at Ethan's

Finally the cat is out of the bag at Blade Show West! Ethan has had me sworn to secrecy for too long now! The long awaited Becker-Kephart is now confirmed!

Photos thanks to Bladeforums member Jonny1280! Here is the link to Jonny's thread on BF


Still not sure if this will be a limited release from the Kabar custom shop State & Union like the bk98 was. Hopefully this is a full production model. Or perhaps this version with the woods scales, clear coated 1095, and leather sheath will be the custom shop version followed by a standard black coated, laser etch, with ultrimid handle scales as the regular model?

If I remember what Ethan told me correctly, these wood scales on the bk62 should be walnut. The original Kephart scales were walnut and he wanted it to be the same on the Kabar model.


No official release date yet, but please don't bug Kabar about it.

September updates.

Just a quick post to let you know whats changed. 

TONS of new stuff in the ads-reviews-info-history page and all the images are larger!

New Blackjack dive knife photos.

New Camillus helicopter egress photo with handle.

New Camillus bk91 photo.

New Kabar bk11az photo.

New Kabar signature tweeners photo. 

New Kabar bk3sg photo.

and of course the new CAM1A1 and Dogwood Firefly post.

Dogwood Firefly

Just wanted to throw out a quick post on an amazing product for your Becker knives. The Dogwood Knives Firefly.

Dogwood makes aftermarket scales for both the full size Beckers and Tweeners. 30 minutes of sunlight can equal 8+ hours of glow.

They come in a variety of colors, liners, and glow stones. Green glow will be the brightest.

The full size feel just like the stock Kabar handles, while the Tweener handles have some very nice subtle texturing.

Click here for the Tweeners

Click here for the full size

So let me talk about why I like these.

1. They glow. Seriously I think this has happened to everyone at some point. You are sitting by a fire whittling a stick and night begins to fall. You put your blade down for just one second to maybe throw another log on. The blade disappears, now you're feeling around looking for it hoping to find the handle before you find the blade. This has even happened to me with large blades in daylight! I will be limbing a branch with my bk4 and then put it down on the ground for just a minute to gather up the cut off branches. I spend at least three minutes walking around in a grid looking for it. These handles really help with the visibility day or night.

2. Ever since I got married most of my camping has been car camping. Usually in one of the paved drive-in spots next to all of the nice RVs. Well when I'm out swinging blades and making noise I get the sense it makes everyone else feel uneasy. The full size grips give the bk4 a less threatening look. Probably a good thing. Definitely looks less threatening hanging out of the sheath on a pack.

Just by themselves.

Add some light.

SUPER GLOW.

Full size in green with green glow.

White liners, orange handle, with green glow.

Family photo.

Blue with blue glow.

Cam1A1

Hello my nonexistent readers, it's been a while. Quick post for you here: something I've been trying to knock out for a while.

The Camillus Cam1a1 Bayonet is not a Becker design. In fact it was designed by Bob Terzuola. Why am I telling you this? Because to this day due to some oversight, people think the Cam1a1 is a Becker blade. No joke go check eBay right now, I bet you find at least one that says it's made by Becker Knife & Tool. So the apparent story here is Camillus accidentally shipped all of them in their Becker boxes. The label on the box only said Cam1a1. So for all these years after Camillus closed their doors, people still think Ethan Becker designed a bayonet.

So I cant find a 100% confirmed story about why they ended up in the Becker boxes. I've heard they never actually sold these to the public or even issued them. So one theory, they had a large stock left when they were going under and they just stuck them in what ever box they could find or had extras of. I've also heard they sold most all of them in one large lot to Smokey Mountain Knife Works (SMKW) during the closing action. Rumor has it SMKW also bought up all the extra Camillus boxes. So another theory is that they purposely put them in the Becker boxes just to move them. However if this was the case I don't think they would have taken the time to put the labels on all the boxes, but still a possibility. I do know for a fact that all those cleaning cloths Camillus sent out with with these and the other blades that went to government/military are currently residing in a massive barrel on the bottom floor of SMKW. I think they are selling them for $1 each. So SMKW defiantly bought up a bunch of junk from Camillus at the closing auction.

So lets talk about the price. Holy cow these thing sell for so much money! If you get the complete set (as pictured above) it can really cost you. I'm personally not into bayonets. However, knowing the knife industry I'm sure there a massive amount of bayonet collectors. It fits the categories for both blade collectors and militaria collectors. I suppose if they really were never issued or sold they might have some extra value, but honestly I know nothing about the bayonet market. I would need a real expert or collector to chime in.

Side note: the MOLLE backer currently on the one above was not originally included. I got that from a guy on eBay who claims to be the only one to have them. He says he bought the only box of them at the auction. He said something like Camillus was making them so the troops could attach them to their vests. Again I don't even know if these left the factory and saw any action, but still... a cool find.

Random Updates

Just thought Id pass along some updates that have been made. 

The BK98 and BK2FDE have been added to the KaBar page.

New and updated prototype photos in the KaBar page. 

New prototype added to the Blackjack page. 

Photos of the Cincinnati Divtul/Tactul added.

Database chart updated to included new models. 

Larry Harley Machax

A little while ago this Machax listed on Ebay.

It was made by the late Larry Harley. It had the same logo as another Machax I had seen before in Ethan's shop. I asked Ethan about it, he told me he was at a gun show way back when selling his knives and thats when he meet Larry. Larry liked the machax a lot. He said he literally pulled out a pen and paper and traced out the shape right in front of him. At first he was like what the hell? Larry said don't worry I'll only make a few and it will only make it more popular for you. Ethan said he reluctantly agreed. Later Ethan said he and a bunch of other knife makers tried to help him out when he was down on his luck. He mailed him a whole crate of Cincinnati machax blanks to finish.The one in Ethan's shop is a true custom made by Larry. It's slightly smaller and .25" thick. It's very wobbly compared to a regular Machax. 

The one in the photo from Ebay is Identical to a cincin, so that one was made from a blank.

If I remember correctly Ethan told me the the the top one in the photo bellow was re-handled by Larry and he also smoothed out the nub next to the plunge line, similar to the others above. The bottom one was another one of Larry's full customs. The customs seem to have the sharpening choil on them. I've always wanted a smaller Machax, but holding the one bellow changed my mind. 

As said above, Ethan sent Larry a whole crate of blanks: probably 50 or so. There should only be a very few number of customs: maybe around 5 total, but who knows how many blanks Larry finished. Keep an eye out. 

Bush Hog

While I was taking photos of some blades in Ethan's shop I came across this bk6. I was originally  looking at the early prototype Camillus micarta handles on this bk6 when I saw the name "BUSH HOG" where the normal logo would have been. I then looked at the other two bk6's Ethan has in his shop and they all said "BUSH HOG." I asked Ethan about it and he said that was the original name. He says some company called up Camillus because they had a trademark on that name for some other product. Ethan said Camillus almost scrapped making the bk6 until he said "Why don't we just change the name." So Ethan renamed it the Patrol Machete. Ethan said he's unsure if any actually shipped out with the Bush Hog name on it. I've never seen any. From what I've gathered it may have been called the bush hog on some early catalogs or ads. They might be out there, so collectors keep an eye out.