KA-BARBecker Folder, Black

Goes from opening parts boxes to cutting materials mechanic shop to outdoor use. Holds edge handle fills my hand so I'm not worried for dropping or slipping.

I've used a few different folders in my lifetime from Smith& Wesson, Crkt, Gerber, couple others. As a Marine I feel naked without a Kabar. This is my 4th Kabar folder. This is the best by far. The dozer is the only other folder I still have, use it for my ankle med kit. Back to why we are here. This is a great EDC knife. Great weight, fits comfortably in my hand in a normal or a reverse grip. But the best part is the pocket clip. 4 different positions. Great for you lefties out there. The pocket clip is my make it or break it when it comes to an EDC knife. Everyone has had their clip get hooked or snagged on something and gets bent or broken. Bent it a few times. This is the easiest by far to unscrew, bend back, and reinstall. Get this knife you won't be disappointed.

I already own three fixed-blade Ethan Becker knives, and they're all outstanding and almost indestructible. I was excited that he'd designed some folding knives, and I thought this would be an excellent larger folding knife for camping and utility work. (Note: this is *not* a 'tactical' knife, and it also can't be used for batoning firewood.)My particular knife was fatally flawed by poor quality control, and the design has some ergonomic weak points. Even for $40, I'm disappointed.GOOD POINTS:1. It's got a bigger blade which is very sturdy *and* very good at slicing things. It slices vegetables, instead of splitting them like some utility blades.2. The spine of the blade has sharp edges for using spark rods.3. The handle is very comfortable and secure, once you've got the knife opened and in your hand.SO-SO POINTS:1. AUS-8 steel isn't bad, but must be resharpened more frequently.2. I don't love wire pocket clips, but these are 4-way reversible and they work fine.3. The knife isn't easy to fish is out of your pants pocket, because it's big and heavy and too smooth. It's a little big for EDC in a pants pocket.BAD POINTS:1. No folding knife blade should wobble front-to-back. This is a critical failure, which usually only occurs in crappy hardware-store knives. I returned mine for an exchange and I hope the next one has a proper lockup.2. The blade is difficult to open, because the scales are too smooth and the blade pivot is too stiff. (If you loosen the blade pivot, the blade wobbles side-to-side due to poor QC.)3. The opening studs are too smooth, which doesn't help with opening.4. The blade is so stiff, and the scales are so slick, that your fingers could slip and you could cut yourself on the blade as it's opening. I'm sure this varies by knife to knife (see QC) but it's still not cool.NEED TO BE FIXED:1. Quality control: eliminate the front-to-back blade wobble completely.2. Textured scales and gently knurled opening studs for easier/safer opening. It might never be an instant-opening EDC, but that's fine because this is a camping/working knife.HOW TO MAKE IT GREAT:1. Offer a version with D2 steel at a slightly higher price. D2 is slightly more susceptible to corrosion, but D2 steel is tougher and keeps a very sharp edge much longer than the AUS-8 steel in this knife. A sharp knife with some surface rust is still a sharp knife, but a shiny dull knife is useless and dangerous.

Very comfortable handle and hard use blade make this an awesome knife for the money. The handle is super comfortable and the Aus8a blade comes the sharpest I've seen on any knife. It's very Becker like as far as sturdiness goes. Great economy knife.

This knife is really stiff....gonna take a little more than a break in period. I'll have to take it apart, clean it, oil it, and adjust the tension to get it where it needs to be. But, hey, it's a new knife. It's reasonable to expect to have to tune it up a bit in the beginning. This might not be a good choice for people with small hands or a first time knife buyer.

Excellent general use knife good value.

Save your money people, this thing is certainly no "OKC RAT killer" by any stretch the RAT is a far superior knife and this thing should not even bare the KABAR name or have Ethan Becker on the hook for Kabars poor choice in manufacturing having it made in china! The edge angle out of the box was roughly 35deg on one side and 45deg on the other it was TERRIBLE and very thick behind the edge as well so using diamond bench stones by hand it took me forever to try and a decent usable edge on the thing and even then it weighs as much as a brick so I doubt I'd ever carry it... Also they just had to Lazer etch the word CHINA right on the spine for everyone to see kabars poor choice and it required more than sand paper or a file to remove I literally had to use my angle grinder which I did benefit by gaining a great squared off spine for striking a ferro rod but all in all I'd be ashamed if I manufactured this thing...

Love the knife! Feels great in the hand it’s a buy. I’m going to get a fixed blade BK to match