See, I knew my ignorance was showing. Thanks so very much for the insight - I hadn't thought of the need for dry core-wood. I have great great respect for the knowledge and experience on this forum. You folks amaze me!!

So I have to ask given that I've never held one in my hand: If I bought a Becker Crewman and used it to slice a tomato, would I have slices or tomato sauce?

I'm serious. Just trying to get a feel for how much of a brute the Crewman is. Its blade doesn't seem much thicker than many of the other knives discussed here.

I couldn't help but notice that one of Doug's lists mentions he carries the 5 inch Crewman. The next question is: Why limit oneself to the 5 inch knife when the 7 inch version is similar in cost? It seems the seven inch version would do much better for chopping/splitting. Or for that matter the 9 inch bowie.

ALSO, the Knife Forum survival forum talks ALOT about Bark River knifes, but I don't recall them mentioned much here. Why is that? I guess I'm bothered by the fact that they don't have much of a hilt and I fear that a slipped hand will get sliced, especially during rough use.