I recently order the Becker Combat/Utility-7 knife. It cost $50 from the Cutlery Shoppe.<br><br>This is one solid big knife. The blade is full-tang, flat ground, powder coated carbon steel, that was delivered sharp. The grip is large and slightly slick but again very good. It has a slight exposed tang on the pommel for light pounding. <br><br>The sheath makes this a great system. This is a nylon covered kydex sheath with front Velcro closed pouch. As Doug pointed out in his recent SHOT review, the sheath pouch will hold an Altoids tin. What he did not reveal is that the nylon sheath contains a kydex insert and BEHIND the kydex insert it is possible to slip ~12' of Paracord AND a 2"x3" plastic signal mirror. In addition to the Altoids container, (sealed with tape but not wrapped with cord, ranger bands etc), you can carry a complete unopened container of Potable Aqua at the bottom of the flapped-velcro-closed pouch under the Altoids tin. The thickness of the back of this sheath increased about 4mm with these additions. I have not tried this yet but I think I may be able to slip a rolled up Gerber Seal 'n Go Breast Milk pouch (see Doug's recent Briefings review) along side the Altoids tin. I could also possibly squeeze some Aluminum foil in the back pouch with the Paracord. <br><br>I tried out the knife in various mock situations last weekend. I decided that I would make at least part of a shelter and prepare wood for a spark-ignited fire. I easily split pieces of cedar, and made shavings and fuzz sticks to prepare a fire. I was able to shave a large volume of very fine cedar shavings for the birds nest tinder pile. I pounded the blade with a billet to split the wood. It is large for some chores but not particularly heavy or unwieldy. My hands are small and the grip was slightly too large for me but not too bad. The edge held up to the splitting of this softwood. I also used it like a chopper to sharpen some long Alder limbs to use for A-frame supports in an improvised shelter. Chopping was adequate, controlled but not like using a decent Ax or even hatchet. The blade came through this work in excellent condition. I have not dug with the blade or used as a pry bar. I am sure it would hold up, at least to the digging, I just couldn’t bring myself to do this just yet.<br><br>Overall IMHO this knife is an excellent example of good knife design, excellent ergonomics and great economics. The sheath makes this a great package that will stand the test of Equipped To Survive Forum Altoids Tin Packing Tinkers (ETSFATPT’s). I think this is $50 well spent. Much more knife for the buck than normal in this price range. I believe this knife represents better value and quality than the KaBar type knives.<br><br>If anyone is interested in even greater customization, see Eric Stoskopf’s SASS (Stoskopf Advanced Survival System) modifications to the Becker line of knife grips. I have not yet gone this far….but there is indeed space to fill under these grips….just where did I leave that 4mm hex wrench?<br><br>http://www.woodsdrummer.com/sass.html<br><br><br>

Randy, Nice review of the Becker. Please keep us posted on it's continuing evaluation. If you find a application it doesn't handle well, ie where a small companion knife was more appropriate, let us know.

Chris, thanks for the comments. <br><br>In the large knife category I think this is really a winner.<br><br>I normally use much smaller knives for most tasks. I usually find my small folders (Sebenza) or a 3-4" sheath knife more than adequate for nearly all daily tasks. Big blades like this Becker are too much for EDC carry but I think excellent for larger car or aircraft kits.<br><br>This Becker will suffice in multiple roles but really seems to shine as a Large Kit knife for purposes like shelter and fire building. I was surprised to see it offered at $50 and could not resist purchasing one. I have other large knifes but tend to not use them or even test them as they were so expensive. I decided I wanted a large knife to practice skills and this one really worked out. I was debating between the Cold Steel SRK, a KaBar, and this Becker. Prices were all similar and the Becker won due to blade geometry (flat ground), grip and sheath.<br><br>We had a fresh roadkill squirrel in the street last week....should have tried skinning it :)<br><br>I think you are correct that a smaller companion knife would make up for any shortcomings apparent in this knife. <br><br>I expected the knife to be a good design, but I really was not expecting the knife Sheath to present Altoids like Kit customizations.<br><br>I would appreciate others comments on this blade or others in the Becker line.<br>

Chris: Do you think the Becker Knife & Tool CU7 is a very good buy compared to the a Fallkniven?

The Becker line is an excellent investment for the reasonable cost. Several forum members use them. None of these knives mentioned will disappoint anyone. Again, you have to look them over for that ephemeral bonding that takes place between knife and user.

My problem is I bond with a new knife/tool every week.

I cant afford this anymore haha.

Love all those Becker knives but I feel like i'm cheating on my Cold Steel girls.

So many knives so little time.

Mike

One of the things alot of people like about this knife is the ability to make a kit around the knife and sheath. The handles can be removed and are hollow so a few items can be stored there as long as you carry the Allen wrench.

It was stated in the first post of this thread: "What he did not reveal is that the nylon sheath contains a kydex insert and BEHIND the kydex insert it is possible to slip ~12' of Paracord AND a 2"x3" plastic signal mirror."
This is true with some but not all of the sheaths. Some of them don't have the excess space for this.

If you require more space for storage you could try something like this: Click Here

Hope this helps.

Neal

Neal,
Did you make the modifications yourself ? What stuff did you use and how big is the sheath space ?

Just wondering-as it looks a nice knife!

Thanks
Mark

I agree. I bought one about 3 weeks ago, and I am truly impressed with the knife and cost factor ($45 shipped off Ebay). I have had many large fixed blades in the past, but was afraid to really use them because I didn't want to tear up a +$100 piece of equipment. But not with this Becker, it's built like a tank. I've got a 4 day trip to the Mark Twain Nat'l Forest in Missouri at the end of the month and plan to put it through some tough tasks.

Behind the insert in the sheath I managed to pack in a 50 gallon trash bag, two oven roasting bags, 8 six inch long tie-wraps and a DMT diamond sharpener. In the pouch I have a standard Altoids tin, bottle of iodine tablets, an old Bic lighter packed with wax-dipped matches and vaseline soaked cotton, and could probably pack something else in there. (I'm on revision 20 something, as I am trying to find the perfect combination...like that will ever happen.) In the handles, I managed to squeeze in two scalpel blades, 2 x 2 sheet of aluminum foil, 5 wax-dipped matches, an inch soda-straw with vaseline soaked cotton, homemade zippo flint/house key sparker and 20 feet of 22 gauge snare wire. Wrapped around the bottom of the sheath is 20 feet of 550 cord, and 6 feet of self-adhesive ace bandage secured with inner-tube improvised ranger bands.

While my friends are "everything plus the kitchen sink" backpackers, I generally bring some food, a coffee can and a tarp, then try improvise what I need in the field. Can't wait to put the Becker to the test next week.