A shot of the Becker Combat bowie from the Camillus website :
The review consists of :
The Combat Bowie is made by stock removal from 0.215" thick 0170-6C. The blade is 1.865" wide with a flat grind that is 1.46" high tapering to an edge 0.035" - 0.040" thick behind the bevel which is ground at 15 to 19 degrees, getting slightly thicker from base to tip. The bowie weighs 530 grams and balances about one inch (2.5 cm) in front of the handle giving it a decent blade heavy heft. The handle is wide and thick, and made from GV6H a very durable synthetic, however the texture is fairly slick and the guard a little short.
The Becker bowie showed solid performance for a blade of its class in cutting ropes, due to the thin edge and acute sharpening angle. It could make push cuts through 3/8" hemp with 36 (1) lbs
Similar geometrical influences gave it solid performance carving hardwoods, ergonomics were a bit limited as forward grips were hampered by the spine grooves which would bite in sharply between the thumb and index finger. It 11.4 (1.8) slices to form a point on the one inch dowel.
The slended tip showed strong penetration abilities and on a hard stab the Combat Bowie achieved a depth of 748 (10) pages. The tip was also quite robust and easily dug through 2x4's in 33 (5) stabs in 3.2 (5) minutes.
On chopping, the performance was solid due to the efficient profile and decent mass. However the close to neutral balance did reduce the performance significantly by lowering the impact energy but it still achieved a respectible 68 (7) percent of the chopping ability of a Tramontina bolo which is an eqilavent benchmark as the commonly used Wildlife Hatchet.
For comparison, the Camp Tramp required between 31-33 lbs to press cut the hemp through the tip, and 41-43 lbs near the base. On average 7.9 +/- 1.0 slices were required to point the hardwood dowel and it had 55 +/- 4 % of the chopping ability of the Bolo. The Camp Tramp could also be stabbed straight through a phone book (864+ pages), and could dig through a piece of 2x4 in three minutes (3.02) taking twenty eight stabs.
The Becker Bowie was used for a variety of work alongside other blades to gauge its relative performance, mainly the Camp Tramp from Swamp Rat Knife works was used as a benchmark. The Camp Tramp is shorter (seven inch blade) and lighter weighing only 390 g, and with a marginally more neutral balance (2.2 cm in front of the handle). It has slightly higher carving abilities on hardwood though lower chopping ability. The rope cutting, tip penetration and wood digging abilities are similar.
Small sticks of wood were barked and sliced up into shavings with both knives. The Becker Bowie had better penetration when both blades were held with full grips around the handle as on the Becker Bowie the sharpened edge starts only 2.5 centimeters from the center of the index finger, on the Camp Tramp this length is significantly greater at 5.5 centimeters . The greater distances induces a torque disadvantage which comes out to about thirty percent, and thus that much more force has to be applied.
When both blades are used in a choked up grip the Camp Tramp becomes much more powerful and cuts deeper with far less wrist strain as indictated by the stock dowel cutting. However the Camp Tramp isn't comfortable in such a grip unless a decent heavy glove is used as the index finger choil could be more rounded and the grip is the front. In contrast the handle on the Becker bowie doesn't have these issues and is very ergonomic in extreme forward grips.
Both blades were used to chop up a couple of Caribou legs which had been frozen overnight. The cuts were made at an angle of about 45 degrees, maximizing penetration and minimizing stress. The swings were from light to heavy which resulted in the sectioning requiring from two chops near the hoof up to twenty chops close to the knee. The greater chopping power of the Becker Bowie was immediately obvious. The Becker also did much better overall in regards to durability after five sections cut through the blade still readily sliced paper.
The Camp Tramp cut through the first three sections of bone with no edge damage. However the next section cut resulted in two chips, one about 0.012" thick and the other 0.024". Another section of bone was cut with no problems. In the region that the knife chipped the edge was ground at ~16 degrees per side and 0.060" thick. In retrospect, the blade wasn't freshly sharpened and had been seeing very heavy use as of late, a lot of prying and heavy impact work which could have put the edge in a weakened state. It was also possible that the one section that induced chipping was significantly harder than the rest.
The Becker Bowie also had a slight secondary edge bevel during the above cutting of about 22 degrees per side which was about 0.2 mm wide. This was much more obtuse than the edge bevel on the Camp Tramp and thus a large factor in the difference seen in the effect on the edge. However this can't explain the much larger chips seen on the Camp Tramp as they are much wider than the secondary bevel on the Becker Bowie. The Becker is a more powerful chopper and the greater penetration tends to actually increase durability as it makes for a smoother impact which reduces stress in a number of ways.
The Caribou leg chipping was later repeated. The legs had been left out of the freezer accidently. Both knives were fully sharpened before the cutting. The Becker Bowie had the obtuse secondary bevel removed with use of a coarse waterstone, and the Camp Tramp was reground on a 100 grit AO belt to produce an even edge profile of similar angle as the initial profile. Both were polished with waterstones and finished with some stropping on CrO loaded leather, and could easily push cut flimsy glossy paper with just a hint of a slice to start the cut, and could shave decently well.
The blades were each chopped into the legs at full force twenty five times. There was no significant difference in how the bone responded to the chopping as compared to when it was frozen. It could not be cut using a wood chip clearing technique but with heavy hits could be directly sectioned in just a few chops, it would take much longer to cut through a similar sized piece medium density wood. Neither blade took visible damage during the cutting, the chops were again made at approximately a forty five degree angle into the bone to minimize stress. After the chopping both blades could easily remove the skin from the legs, cut away tendons and do other fine cutting. Both would still slice the glossy paper well, but neither would shave beyond scraping the occasional hair.
Under magnification there was one spot of damage on the Becker Bowie about 0.4 to 0.6 mm deep and one mm long. There was also a rough spot where the edge had impacted / fractured to about 0.1 mm deep and a few mm long. The Camp Tramp showed a similar rough spot slightly longer, and had four chips the size of the one on the Becker Bowie. A light stropping on some CrO loaded leather (10 passes per side) and both blades were push shaving sharp, except for the few mm of described damage . In reflection, the Camp Tramp had large scratches in the edge from the 100 AO belt which would have weakened its edge, these should have been completely removed in order to place it on equal footing with the Becker Bowie, in any case the durability was much closer this time around. On examination of the cutting board (a 4x4), the most likely cause of the damage was bits of bone which were driven into the wood and formed debris that the edge would slam into and twist around.
In short, the previous round of heavy damage on the Camp Tramp doesn't seem to be its expected behavior, and was as expected the result of very recent heavy use while it was on loan. The Becker Bowie did very well showing possibly slightly greater edge durability than the Camp Tramp however given the large difference in chopping ability it is very difficult to conclude that it is a difference in steels being seen. The first round of cutting on the frozen legs showed the huge benefit of even a very small more obtuse secondary bevel which can add significant durability with little loss to cutting ability.
Both blades were used to split some well seasoned and knotty woods. Over a period of a few days about one hundred two to found inch thick rounds were split with each blade using a piece of wood as a mallet. In general the Camp Tramp was much more comfortable as the handle was more ergonomic and better able to handle the heavy shock. The vibration also knocked the handle screws loose on the Becker Bowie. The Bowie is however significantly longer which makes it more productive on larger pieces of wood. No significant difference was noted in the raw splitting ability. The edge on the Camp Tramp was not effected by the splitting and the Bowie suffered one small dent about 0.15 millimeters deep which could be reduced to about half its extend with some steeling to push the metal back in place.
The Becker Bowie was used along with a Tramontina Bolo for some limbing and a small amount of bucking. This was mainly clearing up waste woods from previous years of felling as well as removing any dead, diseased or insect infected trees. The bowie had a decent amount of power, it could not match the raw brute force of the longer and more blade balanced Bolo, but was was easily enough to handle limbing and bucking shelter sized wood (three inches and under). The grip was too slick in hand though and tended to induce slippage and impacts off of the end hook. Some grip tape (guard tape from Lee Valley) solved this problem. The bowie was occasionally used with a three fingered grip around the end of the handle to increase the reach and swing power, a lanyard was then of significant benefit. The bowie took one small chip during the limbing, a fraction of a millimeter, and the bolo took much larger dents both in terms of width and depth . The Camp Tramp was also used for some limbing and other brush work, but because of its much shorter length, the Becker Bowie was a much better choice due to its increased reach. The Camp Tramp however showed no edge damage even on cutting the harder woods. Though again since the Becker Bowie is a more powerful chopper it is difficult to make a direct inference on the inherent nature of the steel because the Becker has to deal with much larger impact shocks. However the assisted splitting removes the effect of the more powerful swing of the Becker as the force comes from the mallet, and again the Becker was more readily edge damaged.
The slick handle scales and short guard on the Becker Combat Bowie made hard stabs impossible even in lightly compromised grip conditions. With any significant interference in grip (simulated with soap or grease), the blade becomes basically nonfunctional in stabbing and even regular cutting and chopping is greatly impaired.
The Becker Bowie sharpens easily, the steel grinds easily being a low alloy carbon steel, and has little issues with burr formation, as expected from the steel type.
The coating didn't suffer excessive wear as seen on the Becker Machax. It was in a similar class with other powder coatings. The coating on the Becker Bowie did wear faster than the coating on the Camp Tramp, but the Becker Bowie is heavier and more blade balanced so the impacts are more energetic.
With a three quarter inch stab into a seasoned log, the point on the Becker Combat bowie broke easily, the knife lost a half inch of the tip. Little flex was seen in the tip before it broke, the blade was 0.086" thick behind the break. The break showed very jagged and scalloped steel. An attempt to do a 250 lbs pull-up on the blade with the edge pounded into a tree (wooden mallet), the knife broke well before the full weight was taken. Again little flex was noted in the blade, this time however the steel was very fine in the break. The Camp Tramp handled both without any problems.
The Becker Combat Bowie does however have some durability advantages over the Camp Tramp (and other Swamp Rat knives) in the grip which much harder and thus far more resistant to cuts, punctures and abrasion. The tang is also extended into a hammer / crushing pommel which can be used to pound on or with, even with hardened metals. In comparison, the butt of the grip on the Swamp Rat knives will get tore up quite readily in contacts with hard objects. A shot of the knife after the above work :
The Kydex insert in the Cordura sheath was problematic due to an improper fit. However the general construction of the sheath, while not as rugged as those offered by SOE, showed no degradation in wear. In long term extended use however, the stitching could afforded to be doubled and additionally reinforced.
The Becker Combat Bowie was found to be a very solid performing large knife over a wide range of applications. It sets a fine standard for its price range. The cutting ability was high and the chopping performance solid. The only real functional drawback was the low prying ability. The grip is a little slick however and the holes abrasive / irritating, a little grip tape solves both problems.
Compared to the Swamp Rat knives, the Becker Bowie holds its own in general cutting, having some ergonomic advantages, and stays in the same class in regards to chopping. The point penetration and tip strength significantly favor the Swamp Rats as do the overall blade strength. Grip ergonomics and security were also found to be superior for the Swamp Rats, but this can be significantly person dependent.
Comments can be sent to : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com or by posting in the following thread :
There is a website for the Becker
Knife and Tool Collection from Camillus Cutlery, which can be visited
for more information.
| Last updated : | 04 : 20 : 2006 |
| Wed May 28 11:55:18 NDT 2003 |