So, I'm looking for a chopper....

[grunt soldier]

I played with them right after they were done, they were brought to show and tell.

So, I played with them when they weren't covered in fingerprints and slobber

you always have to one up me damn it

beckers are good blades for the money too. I just don't like the big blocky plastic handles. not my cup of tea but they are a lot of blade for the money and if you add the micarta handles they are even better

 

[paddling_man]

I played with them right after they were done, they were brought to show and tell.

So, I played with them when they weren't covered in fingerprints and slobber

Definitely not this one unless I was standing there and I don't remember you.

 

[paddling_man]

I will be the first one to admit that I am usually brand loyal, and have a tendency to become a fan boi.

Brand loyalty works well when you can find something that consistently meets your expectations. After that, the choice is more of a safe bet but keeping an open mind is still the mature thing to do. Ya gotta forgive the fan-boi-ism : typically they're like the recently born-again religious - overly excited and a bit irrational. It usually tempers within a few years for most or they just move onto their next thing. You'll find the most ardent of folks who been going to Blade for a decade or more have a pretty wide representation in their collection and are realistic about the plus/minuses of different manufacturers and steel.

Beckers? Yes... good blades but like GS said, they have B-I-G plastic grips. Think of them like a machete handle but fatter. I find them a little uncomfortable for my ergos but your experience may be different.

Another to look at may be Bark River. There are a few good chopper models, if a chopper is what you want, within your $200 price range. My only advice would be caution if looking at a smaller EDC from BRKT. They do a laser-sharp convex edge and often have grip swells at the rear of the grip with an absence of any real guard to keep you from severing all of your tendons in your damn hand. Grunt has a golok - I've got a Northwind from BRKT.

Grayman, as mentioned, is another solid choice but can he get one in the <$200 range?

 

[M67]

Definitely not this one unless I was standing there and I don't remember you.

Okay, maybe not that one then. The fall KC shoot (if I remember right) is the only time we met. You can't show up at the 1500, Chop In, KC hotel show, or Blade when I'm there so we can shoot the bull

You know, you see one SAR 3 folder you seen em' all Now a folder out of a SARaquatch or a BATAC is something to really behold

 

[moosebag]

 

[paddling_man]

I was working the booth for Busse at your first Blade Show / Induction in 2010. I only remembered you from pictures I saw later with glow-in-the-dark necklace necklace pitching. I don't truly have much of a memory of that night - only that it was a l-o-n-g walk back to the Busse rooms. A l-o-n-g walk.

I looked like this during the day that Blade...

But more like this by the end of that Saturday night.

 

[grunt soldier]

holy **** brother that last picture is freaking killer. that is serious partying right there.

 

[paddling_man]

holy **** brother that last picture is freaking killer. that is serious partying right there.

I can't lie. That last picture was first thing in the morning - sober, just a few weeks ago - after I got a metal splinter in my eye the night before.

That looks like how I felt that night though.

 

[grunt soldier]

lmao. you tricked me damn it

 

[M67]

Wow, my brain is fried. I don't remember you being at 2010 Blade at all. Then again, I don't remember some parts of Blade either.

Damn alcohol.

 

[GBuck]

What is this BLADE you all are speaking of? (Be kind, remember, I'm a total n00b in the world of "snob" knives.)

 

[paddling_man]

Blade Show

 

[GBuck]

Blade Show