Ka-Bar Becker Campanion Fixed Blade Knife Black vs Schrade Extreme Survival Large Fixed Blade Knife

The blade is sturdy and of good quality. The plastic handle is cheap plastic junk that offers a slippery poor grip. Be prepared to spend an additional $40 to $60 to upgrade the handle. 2/16/22 update: the sheath is poorly designed

I had a small Schrade folder from when I was a kid, but I haven't seen any since, so I thought I would test it out and if I hated it I could just exchange it towards one of the Beckers. The knife arrived beautifully, protected well in it's box, even though some textbooks in my order crushed it. The blade steel was clean and spotless, almost a bead blasted- gunmetal gray tone. Heavy, as expected, with a beautiful curve to the blade that resembles the kopis style on my CS Spartan

Finally, on to the ugly: the sheath. It's not a looker, being some sort of injection molded plastic attached to nylon, but my problem with it is with function rather than form. I suspect there might be some sort of glass fiber in the plastic, because I found it was actively dulling my blade. I thought I was going nuts, but after sharpening to a hair-popping edge, the knife would get too dull to shave after nothing more than being sheathed and unsheathed a few times to do very small cutting tasks

rubber handle is not flushed with the tang, you can feel the metal edges when holding. heavy, solid and sturdy. surely will last

That's the good thing about it, but at the same time why I returned it. I have no doubt this knife is built to last and will have no issue dealing with tasks you throw at it. But, my issue was the weight and general size. I know there are specifications detailing size, but it is truly hard to judge until you hold in your hands

Out of the box, the sheer bulk of the knife was the first thing I noticed - as many others have said, this thing is a beast, weighing in at close to a full pound. The grips are nicer than expected, rubber-like and with a slight give that gives a comfortable feel. I wish they fit better, as the tang slightly protrudes all around the handle. It's not uncomfortable, but I do wonder if that would be true once the knife was used for any extended period

There are a great many reviews on this knife so I’ll try to be brief and point out a few things that I’ve learned. I was looking for a reasonably priced knife that balanced form and function. I wanted something solid (full tang) but I did not want to carry around a sword either. I appreciate the knife’s stout design, as I’m not an Aussie on walkabout in NYC

Let's be clear here... This knife is definitely one of the best bargains going! I don't think you can get a more heavy duty knife for this price guys

Which brings me to firesteel... Anyone who's tried to make a fire with this or other similar Becker blades, knows you can't strike ferrocerium off the back of the knife

1095 steel, for the price this is a plus since this steel is pretty good for outdoors/survival tasks, will need to be taken care of to avoid rust though. Looks and feels tough, very thick spine, don't think it will suffer any damage when chopping or battoning. Price!, for the size and steel material this is a great price point. Ok now for the CONS: The balance feels a little off, I can't quite describe it but it just something you have to feel for yourself

First- the handle scales are sturdy and comfortable but have no texture or grip. This makes the handle slippery when wet.

The edges of the handle do not come flush with the tang of the knife and when you look closely along the top of the sides of the handles you can see small dimples from the molding process. If you use gloves, which I do, the handle defects will not be a problem. However, it would be nice if the handles were defect-free. Another defect is found in the blade itself

The sheath is useless because you can't get the knife out with one hand. It's so stiff that, once I inserted the knife, I had to tie a loop through the bottom of the sheath to put my foot in so I could pull the knife out. You can not get it out by pushing with your thumb without first inserting a wedge into the slit to pry it open. This is the reason I gave it a 4 rating, although that was probably worth a further downgrade to 3 specifically because of that problem

-Extra, removable mini cargo pouch on the sheath. I'm HUGE on more pockets, and this comes through! CONS: -THE SHEATH!! Now although the knife itself is absolutely fantastic, the sheath leaves a bit to be desired. First off its just nylon with a plastic insert for the blade. Not a high quality nylon, but in all fairness