TOPS Tahoma Field Knife VS KaBar Becker BK7 | Chop Tournament

It's the semi finals, and fittingly we have 2 heavy hitters in the blade manufacturing world: TOPS Knives and KaBar. I'm pumped these 2 epic knives made it to the semi-finals! It's 1095 Carbon Steel vs 1095 CroVan in an epic showdown where the Becker BK7 will duke it out with the Tahoma Field Knife.
Chips will fly! Let's chop. Chop Tournament.
Also check out my tutorials on dual grit sharpening.
What's a dual grit edge, you may ask?
Think: high performance aggressive knife edge!!! This method for versatile razor sharp knives is fast, easy, and leads to edge retention increases of up to 50% in some tasks! Watch my tutorials to quickly learn innovative hand sharpening techniques with whetstone, diamond plate, & honing strop.
The dual grit method is a specific method for sharpening one side of the edge coarse and the other fine - an updated tutorial is below:
• CPM MagnaCut Dual Grit...
And the results have been observed by independent testing:
• You Won't Believe How ...
If you're curious about the science behind the edge mechanics, check out this scienceofsharp.com article in which Dr. Todd Simpson analyzes the effect:
scienceofsharp...
Please consider supporting me on Patreon if this helps you,
www.patreon.co...
Whether your passion is bushcraft knives, survival blades, hunting & fishing knives, edc knives, or kitchen knives - this method could revolutionize the way you sharpen your knives and make your edge last longer!!!
#thehomeslicesharpening #dualgritedge #dualgrittest

[@ivanpena6774]

Blessed To Be Able To Share Daddys Traditions An Life Lessons ☝️👑💜

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah!!!

[@richardsveum8452]

Considering that the BK7 is essentially a combat knife It did incredibly well. I really wish they came with better handle scales and sheath. I don’t mind spending a bit more money for better ergonomics and ease of carry

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah - I made some customs scales for mine. It's a fun diy project if you have the patience for it and some equipment or some friends who do!

[@ivanpena6774]

Kabar Is NastyNess Elite Tool Also BlackWalnut Cured In Bees Wax Are Dope

[@homeslicesharpening]

Thanks man - I made those Walnut Scales and love them! The KaBar is gritty man, it just keeps going!

[@computeronzin]

Glad to see your daughter has grown so much.

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah man - how is your son doing? You guys still sharpen together?

[@computeronzin]

@@homeslicesharpening My son lives with his grandmother and occasionally he is brought here for a few days. He has developed his own sharpening style and is of course also busy with his own hobbies. He will go to primary school for 1 more year and then maybe he will live with his mother in Spain.

[@homeslicesharpening]

@@computeronzin I see - that is fun that you have sharpening in common. I hope you get to spend more time together this year.

[@archivist17]

Interesting result from two knives you'd expect to be good at this type of work. But I have been backing the Becker from the outset, so... 😀

[@archivist17]

Btw, the apprentice is coming along well.

[@homeslicesharpening]

Haha - we are doing our best. And she is rocking it! Glad I could reinforce your hopes on the Becker - it has been close, but I was quite surprised by this test!

[@chefbee8123]

When are we going to see the winner against a 3V Recon Scout?

[@homeslicesharpening]

That would be freaking awesome! Spoiler alert - you will see the winner against some 3V in the next 2 weeks if you stay tuned. Thanks for the comment!

[@ChrisvilleUSA]

Your scales look fantastic. 2nd to none I put some Dogwood Customs scales on mine. They make them with glow crystal chunks so you can easily find your blade in the dark

[@homeslicesharpening]

Wow, thank you so much! I would not consider myself an expert, but I am pretty proud of the Becker Scales, they feel as good as they look, and the beeswax enhances grip and makes them pretty impervious to anything nature can throw at them. Never seen the Dogwoods until reading this comment - they are so cool, who would have thought of chunks of glow polymer. That is rad! Cheers mate, thanks for the thoughtful comment, I appreciate it!

[@motorcyclemark2889]

I have and love my BK9 I am going to get the 7 soon I have to have it !

[@homeslicesharpening]

I really love it. Absolutely no regrets for me in picking that one up!

[@ivanpena6774]

Both Elite Tools From What Youve Shown Tops Looks Like It Is More Material Stupid Sharp

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah they both rock!!!

[@thermaltoyzngear3310]

You should introduce the Cold steel trailmaster in San Mai III. It has surprised me with how good a knife it is.

[@homeslicesharpening]

I would love to! I would really like to feature some nice bowie style knives on the channel. At the moment I am dependent on donations as the channel budget is quite small - but I'll keep your recommendation in mind!

[@kevinAuman1]

If you want an incredible performimg chopper i personally recommend either the Esee Darien machete in 1075 or the Svord machete in 15n20 both very thin lightweight with convexed edges and they just bite like no other and the fact they're so light the user experiences very little fatigue at all...

[@homeslicesharpening]

Those sound awesome - I will have to look into them!

[@fathersonsurvival]

Why did you strop twice? That ruined all the work you did. That harder tops edge is gonna take twice the swipes as the soft Becker steel. Those two swipes cleaned enough to edge out tops. But if you hadn’t done that, super curious.

[@homeslicesharpening]

Fair question - I always strop twice on unloaded roo. I don't want to penalize blades for edge bend/misalignment that could be easily restored to full functionality. Yeah - I think the TOPS is harder, but I am not entirely sure. I suppose you could be right. If what you are saying is true though, wouldn't it be the case that all softer steels would be at an advantage? Seems odd, then, that the Kershaw would have lost to the KaBar BK9 - I'd assume Kershaw is running lower carbon steel, and softer. If you were to take out the 2 chipped readings (1000 something grams TOPS and 600 something grams Kabar), then the BESS Scores are extremely close. I definitely think you could test a TOPS and Kabar and see the results swing the other way and see the TOPS take the lead. They are not hugely different performing knives in my experience and the TOPS is definitely a great blade. Also, the KaBar has an advantage of a much thicker edge - which is significant in chopping, so it's not entirely fair or indicative of quality alone. That said, the TOPS lost on a micro-chip which was a fully flat piece of edge. If the BK7 had one that was equally bad, I don't think 2 swipes would take it from 1000 g all the way up to 600 g, so it seems like the KaBar is likely to have taken less tip damage. But I could be wrong, it's all just speculation. I may not have set up the rules of the Tournament in the best possible way, and I would/will be super interested to continue to test TOPS knives. I think they are a great, high performance knife company.

[@kevinAuman1]

In this same general blade length there are two others I'd like to suggest also one which may not be easy to find but it blew my mind how well it performed is the American Knife Co DENALI and then the 2nd suggestion would be the Hogue EXF-O1 7in in A2 tool steel but the two machetes i mentioned in my previous comment will far outchop them both but these two have a much better all around capability where the machetes are just choppers and can be pushed into other roles but not do them nearly as well as the 7in blade knives can...

[@homeslicesharpening]

Nice! Those look great - I'm going to have to start saving money if we are going to be friends.

[@ivanpena6774]

Yes More Money More Nife An Quality

[@gaberoo9099]

Hey Gabe, nice comparo! I wondered if you ever had a chance to chop/slice with a Silky Nata tool? The Dutch bushcraft guys compared that knife to a custom made (700 euro model) one and the Silky was a bit better even than that knife in chopping. They were surprised (and so was I).

[@homeslicesharpening]

I would love to try out a Silky Nata - I think they are so cool! Not sure if there is a good place to source them in NZ - will have to check around.

[@gaberoo9099]

@@homeslicesharpening They are going for around 120-125$ here (US) however they are currently on sale at REI for around 90$ (if that helps).

[@homeslicesharpening]

@@gaberoo9099 Nice! I don't know if they will ship to NZ, but I'll take a look - thanks!!!

[@sabelfechter7136]

Take a look at those blade competition knives 😅 they are monsters, and actually mostly use 4V / 4VE with reeeally good HT. Btw, make sure to show us the edge damage under your microscope before you resharpen. That would be awesome! (If its not too late.)

[@homeslicesharpening]

I am sorry - I totally forgot to take microscope videos. I will get some on the next video. Maybe I can pull the TOPS out and take a shot of that microchip as well. Cheers man. PS who were you referring to when you said there are "lots of sources" of people getting 50-70 BESS? I would really like to check out the videos you have been checking out. I struggle on some of these blades to break 90.

[@sabelfechter7136]

@@homeslicesharpening Did you see my reply where i mentioned the pdf about practical sharpness tests translating to BESS numbers? Look up that reply again. I meant, i dont know "lots" who did BESS testings, just that ive seen tons of people over the years who got edges free standing hair popping (which isnt that hard) so id assume they *would* get sub 100g BESS readings, if owning and using the device.

[@homeslicesharpening]

@@sabelfechter7136 Ah got it - I'm sorry I looked for your reply and didn't see it KZbin - my apologies for doubling up the question. That makes sense - thanks for clarifying, I misunderstood your original comment. I have been getting some in the 70's lately but not down to 50 yet. With regard to the BladeSports blades - those would be super cool! I don't have one in 4V, but I have a chopper designed in that style in 5160 lined up for the next tournament. So that should be fun!

[@kevinAuman1]

You see everyone thinks Kabar knives is just plain ol 1095 but it is infact so far from it the actual steel they used to use was called 50100B which is no longer made but it is now called 1095CroVan and still is a far greater steel then your typical run of the mill 1095 high carbon steel...

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah, I have heard that it is called 50100B technically - it's really good stuff considering the simplicity and price!

[@knickly]

I wonder if the 1095 chrovan is less prone to lath martensite!

[@homeslicesharpening]

Perhaps - or plate martensite? Is that the weakest phase? I think it is, because the alloys help the carbon and iron restructure in more helpful ways during heat treatment. But I could be wrong - that's just an assumption from a loose collection of articles I've read.

[@knickly]

@@homeslicesharpening yes! That's what I meant to say!

[@Supra_Mare_Cultro_Bloke]

I own a BK7 and find it to be a more useless combat knife. I now carry OKC RAT7 for all camping work.

[@homeslicesharpening]

Interesting - I have an ESEE 6 coming up in testing. It will be interesting to see what differences arise in design and edge retention. I like the Ontario/ESEE knife designs for their versatility. I have small hands, so the blocky handles on the ESEE I have don't work well for me. The Becker is helpful in that regard, and it swings harder than the ESEE 6 - though I assume a RAT7 would be better just due to the leverage you get with extra length. Cheers dude - keep putting those blades to use. That's the main thing 😁

[@stevenlachance8576]

Gourse is nasty stuff. Whatever the black coating is on the Becker is less durable than dlc in my experience, no effect on function of course.

[@homeslicesharpening]

Yeah, I'd agree. Although In my experience DLC sometimes causes extra friction and prevents the edge from sinking as deep as it could. At least it seemed to last time I tried one.