The Becker BK 18 Becker Harpoon vs the Kronos Knives Flat Out. Similar quality in the blade steel. Similar pricing currently. The BK 18 is about an inch larger. But I hated – HATED – the coating. So I had to remove the scales, use a stripper, and then scrape the coating all off the blade. The plastic scales were atrocious, so 35 bucks for micarta replacements. After all that… I’m happy with the knife, and it feels good in the hand.

The Kronos came out of the box in a condition that I like, and it feels good in the hand too. Both blades have a good belly, and a sharp tip. But both also needed just a bit of stone work to have a hair shaving edge. Being smaller doesn’t hamper this knife at all. It has that “Just Right” feeling in the hand, no matter how you grip it. The BK 18 came with a standard KaBar type scabbard, made of nylon and injection molded plastic. It works just fine, but only allows tip down carry with a belt through the loop, low like a cowboy. If you like you could fashion other methods, but I’ve not done that yet. The Kronos comes with a Kydex sheath that is way too tight and drawing the knife is far too difficult, and there is no thumbshelf or such to help push out from that deathgrip. But it does come with the BladeTech attachment that allows you to carry it however you like. Being slightly smaller, it carries very well horizontally.

Both knives are winners, but I do like the Becker’s sheath better, simply because it doesn’t fight me. But the Kronos is just begging for a leather sheath. Maybe in a saddle brown, with a distressed finish.