I bought a yard hook recently and I have owned a Becker Brute for years. The yard hook is almost as heavy as the Brute and could easily replace it for heavy duty cutting chores around the camp and elsewhere. The Brute was sharp, but nothing like the yard hook. I easily chopped half-way through a cardboard box with the top flap pulled down alongside the side of the box, so I was cutting through two layers of heavy duty cardboard. A really half-hearted swing at the box cut through about 5 inches. I'm very impressed with the hook.