The Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion is an American-made fixed blade knife with a 5" black powder-coated 1095 Cro-Van carbon steel drop point blade, a full tang, and black Grivory handle scales. It comes with a black glass-reinforced nylon belt sheath. With a blade a full quarter inch thick, it's built to split wood, process game, and take punishment that would break a typical hunting knife. It is the most popular knife in the Becker lineup.
Short and Sweet
- Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion
- 10.75" (27.31 cm) overall with a 5" (12.7 cm) blade
- 1095 Cro-Van carbon steel, 1/4" thick, drop point
- Black epoxy powder coat finish
- Full tang with removable black Grivory handle scales
- Lanyard hole
- Black glass-reinforced nylon belt sheath
- Made in Olean, New York, USA
- Condition: New
Becker Knife & Tool, Built by Ka-Bar
Ethan Becker, a lifelong outdoorsman, hunter, and martial artist, founded Becker Knife & Tool in the early 1980s to build the heavy-duty survival and camp knives he couldn't find anywhere else. He spent years refining his idea of the ideal "big knife." Camillus originally manufactured his designs, and when that company went bankrupt in 2007, Becker bought back the rights to his knives at auction. Ka-Bar, the Olean, New York, company best known for the USMC fighting knife of World War II, has made the Becker line ever since, with Becker's approval on every model.
A Quarter Inch of 1095 Cro-Van
The blade is 1095 Cro-Van, Ka-Bar's carbon steel with added chromium and vanadium for toughness and edge holding. It sharpens easily in the field and handles heavy impact without chipping. The 1/4" thick spine lets you drive the blade through split wood with a baton, the most common reason buyers choose the BK2. A black epoxy powder coat protects the steel from rust. The Grivory handle scales are bolted to the full tang, so you can remove them for cleaning or swap in aftermarket scales. The knife weighs about a pound, and it feels more like a small hatchet than a hunting knife.
Splitting Kindling to Carving Turkey
Ka-Bar describes the Campanion as a knife that splits kindling, pries apart joints, skins game, and chops onions for campfire chili, and owners use it for all of those jobs. Bushcrafters rely on it to split firewood and carve fire-starting materials. Hunters use it to quarter deer and hogs, and one owner reported it went through a holiday turkey with no trouble. The tradeoff for that toughness is weight and thickness. It's not the best choice for fine slicing or light everyday carry. If you want one American-made knife that can do the work of a hatchet and a camp knife, the BK2 is a proven choice at a fair price.