Overview
Offered for your consideration is an exceptionally rare Becker Knife & Tool Machax. The original Machax was sort of a Kukri-inspired, all-purpose survival knife designed and crafted by Ethan Becker. It's an exceptional chopping knife that has a proven history with roughly 30 years or so of history now. Its production history has resulted in several variations and its performance has developed a large, highly devoted following, which makes it very collectible. This is a very early, Cincinnati made example of what would become the classic (many might even say "legendary") BK4 Machax with later examples made by first Blackjack (early 1990's I believe), Camillus (until their closure in 2007), and then by KA-BAR. This example was almost certainly made in the mid 1980's and it has the Walnut handle with the unique six rivet pattern. The markings were hand engraved! We believe this might be the second version, although we are not certain. This example comes with the unique (and VERY rare) black leather sheath that was made by custom holstermaker Gary Brommeland. Brommeland made very few of these sheaths and they are of exceptional quality. This Machax and sheath combination is one that very few advanced Becker collectors/enthusiasts would even have in their collection.The knife shows very few (if any) signs of use and no signs of sharpening or carry. It remains in excellent condition with just a few light scuffs. It has not been cleaned or buffed and remains original. The knife shows no signs of abuse or rough treatment and it's been very well cared for over the years. This is just an awesome knife all the way around! The knife was beautifully crafted and it has a very distinctive appearance. It presents an aggressive "all business" kind of profile and it was built to perform. It exhibits crisp, clean grinds with that certain special feel of premium-quality precision. The thick blade was precisely ground from 1/4" thick stock and shows excellent symmetry. I'm not sure what steel was used on the very early variants, although I'm almost certain it was a carbon steel. It has some sort of Parkerized non-glare finish and the markings were done by hand (likely Ethan Becker's hand) with a vibro-engraver. The spine is flat along the entire length with no edge bevels.