![]() It got stuck more than once in material that the BK-9 plowed through. The edge here is just too thick, and I think the main grind itself could be a bit thinner too. My BK-9 has been with me for two years and I have sharpened it and I just had it mildly reprofiled, but even out of the box, it was thinner behind the cutting bevel and the cutting bevel was much wider, making for a superior cutting experience. Its not simply that this is a chopper, so is my BK-9, but even for a chopper its pretty thick at the edge. That said, the edge on the Battle Axe was especially thick. So our fixation on factory edges is not universal across the cutting tool realm. To talk of "out of the box" sharpness is to speak gibberish. In woodworking, high end planes, customs and expensive production planes, come to the user with the expectation that the use will tune the cutting edge him- or herself. I'd also note that in the role of chopper steel is not as important as grind and blade shape and here the Battle Axe proved that to me. Getting rid of recurves, thin tips, and clip points makes the Battle Axe all the better. The margin of error between the two is very small. Because the blades are so intensely used, anything that departs from a pure functional approach, either causes problems or is revolutionary. Choppers are a place where design flourishes magnify problems. I also like the simple look and feel of the drop point blade. This is a design feature that is definitely more difficult to pull off, but the benefit-fewer hotspots-is a big one given the way choppers are used. #MODERN BATTLE AXE FULL#Compared to a lot of other choppers-Ontarios, ESEEs, and the Beckers-the step up feature here is the full handles, as opposed to slab constructed ones. The Battle Axe lacks the thumb ramp that the BK-9 does and frankly it is a better design for it. It is simpler, easier to use, and cleaner looking. Design is one of the places where the Battle Axe does better. There are places where it does better and places where it does worse. But after a good deal of cutting, I can say that the Battle Axe is quite competitive. That is a a very high bar to meet, as the BK-9 is simply amazing. In my mind, all choppers are going to be compared to the Becker BK-9. Twitter Review Summary: Works great after receiving more abuse than Lou Pinella gave umpires. Here is a link IM Outfitters, one of two retail outlets for the Battle Axe. I'd love to see a kydex sheath with a Tec-loc or similar attachment point. There are upgraded sheath options, but they are either leather or nylon. That's where the Utility Tools Battle Axe comes in. For all of the design magic of the Becker blades, they could use a little more refinement. #MODERN BATTLE AXE SERIES#The middle of the market is still dominated by what are among the best buys in the cutlery world-the Becker series of knives. At the bottom end we have companies like Schrade making inroads with some decent offerings including the Blade 2015 People's Choice SCHF36 and the Jessica X, a chopper designed by a YouTuber. This strikes me as utterly crazy, but I will confess to many visits to the Busse site over the years, though I have never pulled the trigger. They are so amazing, in fact, that folks buy them without sheathes. At the top end Busse has a siren's song playing, combining a proprietary steel and solid, if exaggerated, shapes to make some really amazing blades. The market for big choppers is exploding. ![]()
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