The BK10 is among my favorite “Tactical” style knives. While tactical knives aren’t generally my favorite for bushcraft, they can sometimes be very good for general use still. The Becker BK2 is one of those. Here is my short write-up.

Features

1. High carbon steel blade
2. Full tang construction
3. Durable nylon sheath out of the box

The steel

The steel is a very high quality 1095 Cro-Van steel. This means that along with a high carbon content for durability, it has elements in the alloy such as Chromium and Vanadium. These elements are common in high quality steel tools, such as wrenches, hammers, and other knives. And for good reason.
Without going to much into the metallurgy of it as I can’t say that is my best field of knowledge, I definitely know that this steel works great and is very durable both at holding an edge and holding up to chopping and batoning.

Full tang Construction

Full tang construction is generally considered the “gold standard” of making a durable knife for the harsh environments of the outdoors. It’s not necessarily the most important, as some knives are extremely durable and only have a “rat tail” tang, (such as most Morakniv knives) but it usually means that the knife is well made if considering that it has good steel as well.

The Sheath

The sheath that this knife comes with is pretty ugly, but it’s durable and “just works”. The stitching is durable and it has held up pretty good for now.

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Fatwood is an excellent resource for firemaking. Pitch can also be extracted from fatwood and used as a sealant for leather water vessels, or be used as a glue/adhesive. So, how do you collect it?

Decaying logs

On some decaying logs on the forest floor, you can chop into the core with an axe and find fatwood within.

Standing dead timber

Standing dead timber can be a good source of fatwood as well. Search for low branches, and snap them off at the base of where they connect to the timber. Near the knothole, a lot of pitch has usually collected which makes for rich fatwood. The branches can often be used for firewood as well, as they are usually nice and dry due to being elevated off of the wet ground. Sometimes you will still have to split these open to get dry sides of these branches of course.

Dead old stumps

Old stumps left over from thinning by loggers or the forest service can be a very abundant source of rich red fatwood. Chop around with an axe, usually near the bottom of the stump and you might find some great fatwood, in some cases, more than you can carry!

Processing the fatwood

Splitting the fatwood into smaller chunks is always a great idea, I like splitting it into sticks that can be shaved later to make smaller material for fire starting.

Why is fatwood so good for firecraft?

The main reason is because so much sap/pitch is in fatwood, it can burn for a very long time. this can help start other materials to catch fire if they were otherwise too wet to burn, because they can be exposed to heat long enough to dry out. Also, a pile of fatwood shavings burns like a torch! Very hot, and a lot of flame, which will as said previously, help dry out wet branches or other firewood.

As with any firecraft material, I reccommend carrying whatever you can if you are traveling through nature. Of course if car camping, or traveling with an ATV, you can carry much more. Either way, you never know if the place you camp next will have enough firecraft material. Also, when it’s cold and rainy, you won’t want to deal with collection.

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The old hickory carbon steel butcher knife is a great classic, full tang, and extremely affordable knife that can be great for bushcraft or survival tasks. It is also fairly lightweight as well and has nice hardwood scales/grips.

1. The steel.

I’d say the steel is of excellent quality, and has a good heat treat especially when considering the price. Almost any other knife in this price range besides a Morakniv knife will be made of low quality steel. I love my Morakniv knives but the old hickory knife is my current go-to. Due to the nature of basic high carbon steel, it can be rough sharpened on a sandstone (with skill) and stropped with a leather belt or strip. The blade must be dried or oiled after use to prevent rust. Over time, it will gain a natural patina, essentially a small amount of oxidation but not red, crappy rust, and this will make the blade a dark grey color and help prevent actual rust from setting in. This knife also throws sparks with a flint or quarts rock very nicely due to the high carbon content.

2. The general shape.

Overall, the knife is shaped very nicely out of the box/bag, but it is a little rough around the edges. You will want to take some light sandpaper to the handle to round off the corners, and file or grind the back to a nice square/90 degree angle to help the knife strike ferrocerium rods as well as making it more useful for scraping tasks with the back of the blade. Use caution with a power grinder not to over heat the blade and damage the heat treat. This knife does not include a sheath, but I have found that the USMC Ka Bar leather sheath, which is made of a thick durable full grain leather can be used as well as a yucca plant stock. For a yucca plant stock sheath, get a section of stock that is wider in diameter than the blade and carefully shove the blade through until it makes a nice groove/hole to keep the knife blade secure when carrying the knife in a bag. These makeshift yucca sheathes can also be wrapped with cord or sinew to prevent the from splitting, and if you can’t find a dry piece to make a fireboard or spindle, it could double as a firecraft piece for a friction fire set.

3. Links to purchase this product and other equipment. (Affiliate links, no extra cost for you to support the blog!)

The knife (Regular carbon steel butcher knife no longer on amazon, but they have a “hunting knife” that is exactly the same. (unfortunately more expensive these days)

Flint Rocks for firecraft

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On this site, we will focus on topics such as:

• Desert survival and bushcraft skills and practices.
• Equipment ranging from radios to rope.
• Forest survival in the mountains of Arizona.
• Two-Way radio communications systems.