Ok, what is the price difference in a 5" blade? I was going to make my own handles. Isn't both of them rc hardness 57-59? Thanks again.
It depends on what you call gen1 & gen2. Really, it would be gen1, gen2 and gen3.
gen1 would be when Ethan was having the blades produced in concert with Blackjack knives (associated with Mike Stewart of later Bark River.) The Blackjack days were reasonable.
gen2 would be the Camillus years before Camillus went toes-up from poor management and further union issues. The Camillus days were spotty... the earlier ones were fine but as Camillus ground to a halt, there were a lot of "Friday afternoon" knives. Avoid the digicamo ones from the end... that was in the death throes of the factory when unfamiliar folks (management) might be trying to make a knife. The Camillus years always used 0170-6 steel, with the exception of the bk-77 that used s30v. (S30V is a great folder steel but not one that I would recommend for a chopper...)
gen3 - The current batch. This is now Ethan working with ka-bar. Any issues you have now could/should be able to be solved by working directly with ka-bar.
Ethan Becker is "good folks." Seriously. A man of honor and of the highest caliber. Some of the folks he had to work with in the past? Not so much.
I own(ed) a few Beckers. A Campanion, a BK11, a BK7 and two BK9s. They could take a keen edge, are relatively tough, tended to chip rather than roll though, and the exposed edge would rust/corrode if you breathed on it. His designs are well thought out but while the machete-like handles work well for large blades (7"+) they seemed overly large for any blade smaller.
They are, like ESEE, very good deals for the price.
Is your blade defective? Probably not. If it had taken a BIG chunk out of it rather than edge deformation, then "yes." If it bothers you, then talk directly to ka-bar/becker. They may (should) replace it just to keep you happy. I would replicate the same chopping on the replacement if it is what you regularly plan to do. If it performs the same, then you should expect that as typical behavior and deal with it or search for another steel/manufacturer that performs as you expect. I certainly wouldn't, in good conscience, ask for a *second* replacement if it performs the same. Your expectations and the steel's attributes just may not be a match.
BK2 compared to a lil Gerber boot knife.
Ranger Knives RD9 and a BK91 (Justin Gingrich... he nows has Ontario making his stuff but this was the early years when he still made them in the garage in Columbus, GA.)
Another size comp with a Swamp Rat Howling Rat at the top.
I would still like to have one of the BK6 becker patrol.
Some of the variations of the Campanion. (Not mine or my pic)
EVERYTHING you likely want to know about Beckers.