Neck knife – Sterile BK24 ESEE/KA-BAR USA-Made D’Eskabar $39.95 + $2.99 s/h
I bought this myself, earlier. They ran out of stock quickly then, but have restocked. I have a lot of neck knives, I’m fond of them as a type, but for legal reasons I avoid wearing them when I’m out-and-about, by necessity I pretty much only wear them on my own property. I haven’t used this one much yet, so this is not a review on that level, just an overview. The model seems well-regarded, feels good in the hand, and I certainly don’t regret purchasing it.
This is the D2-steel version of the BK14, a combination of the best features of “Becker Necker” (blade) and the ESEE Izula (handle, closest in size to the Izula II, I’m told) and manufactured by KA-BAR in the US. That’s how the unofficial name evolved, “Eskabar” was taken from ESEE + KA-Bar, and then the D2 version was named D’eskabar. The ESEE handle design is loved for simplicity, light weight, adequate length and versatility (allowing different grips) while retaining some indexing (you can easily tell by feel, without thought, where the point and edge are). The Becker Necker blade is loved for the full-flat-grind (slicing) and a point acute enough to be useful but oblique enough to resist damage from dropping or abuse. Both Becker and ESEE seem to favor non-stainless steels with coatings and are apparently reluctant to use any others, so even D2 steel (qualifies as “high chromium” but not quite “stainless”) is a (welcome, IMHO) exception for them.
NOTE that this is a new “sterile” version, there are no markings on the knife, no trademarks, no model names or numbers, no serial numbers, no logos, no country of origin, no type of steel, no CAGE code, no disclaimers or warnings to read the manual before using or not stick it into an electrical socket, nothing. To the best of my knowledge this was first explicitly done with equipment for plausible deniability even as to nationality, “the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions”, but personally I find it refreshing these days to see pretty much ANYTHING for sale that isn’t slathered with advertising that adds no value to the owner… prettier, and sort of classy, IMHO.
Prices elsewhere for the non-sterile version seem to run about $55-60.
I’m not going to defend neck knives at any length here but they have several advantages, not the least of which is that they can easily be worn outside of however many layers of clothing you have on. They’re in the same spot, quickly available, whether you’re shirtless in the tropics or wearing an arctic parka on a glacier. In the latter case you can lose a LOT of body heat just opening your parka to get at a knife worn on the belt or carried in a pocket, and of course it is much slower and prone to fumbling and snagging in an emergency. If you actually USE a neck knife as opposed to just wearing one for possible tactical use, that’s a huge convenience.
Of course they are also easily concealable, but check your state and local laws, police tend to assume any knife is carried as a weapon, and there is a huge assortment of very strange, vague, archaic, arbitrary and even contradictory laws out there.
The handle on this model can be used as-is for minimum fuss and weight or maximum carry concealment (least bulk), or there are a number of options for wrapping it or adding various scales. I don’t care for paracord wrapped handles, they get wet and stay wet for a LONG time if you’re caught in a downpour or otherwise soaked, a situation pretty much designed to rust even rust-resistant steels (especially with salt water or blood from skinning, etc.). There is a kit of two pair of scales that’s “official” for this knife (Amazon), and some ESEE scales are used, but there are some very nice custom and semi-custom ones out there as well, if it’s worth it to you.
https://www.theknifeconnection.net/becker-bk14-24-g10-scales/
I bought the “Midnite Tiger G10 2×2”.
You can make some scales pretty easily if you’re handy. Just be aware that working with a number of exotic woods (cocobolo) and plastics (glow-in-the-dark) creates VERY toxic dust, and that the inside surfaces of these are milled to fit the handles, not just flat, which adds some strength… in theory.
Caveat: they’ve had problems with these in the past, not with the knife but with the “glass-filled plastic” (FRN) sheath dulling the edge. That was some time ago, and I don’t remember the sheath looking like this, so hopefully it has changed. It still says “glass-filled”, but even if that’s still true it could have been corrected by changing the geometry.
Of course, being such a popular model of knife, there are aftermarket options for sheaths. I went with Azwelke for a custom pancake Kydex sheath, I’ve used them before and they’re as good as Kydex sheaths get so far, zero complaints that don’t pertain to the entire type. I was especially gratified that they already had the option for the BK14/BK24 WITH the Knife Connection scales, saving a great deal of hassle:
– Robert the Wombat