Today I rounded up eight 7" combat/utility knives for some light chopping and wood splitting. They ranged in weight from 11 oz. to 15 oz. and from 5/32" to nearly 5/16" in blade thickness. These knives are all about the same size.

The knives tested are the SYKCO Yard Guard, Becker BK-7, SOG Seal 2000, Gryphon Combat/Utility, Benchmade Offsider, Ontario RAT-7, Ka-Bar Next Generation Combat, and the Ontario Marine Combat.
First up was the Gryphon. It chopped soft green wax myrtle and pine pretty well.

Next came the Yard Guard. The YG's heavy recurve blade outchopped the Gryphon easily.

Next up was the Benchmade Offsider. The thin handle scales and light feeling blade make it more of a fighter and less of a camp knife or chopper, but it did reasonably well.

The SOG Seal 2000 was up next. It has a .25" thick blade of AUS-6 Stainless steel. The handle is checkered Zytel. It is like holding a green pine cone after a few chops. Those Seals are tough! Mine is good and sharp, but the Gryphon will out chop it.

I actually preferred the Ka-Bar because of the kraton handle, but it chopped about as well as the SOG.

Time to bring out the bad boys now. I put this RAT-7 through hell today, chopping and splitting live oak. This knife works!


The RAT is in a whole different class than the Ka-Bar type knives.

The Becker was up next. I gave it some hard use, too. It chops and batons as well as the RAT-7. The 0170-6C steel stayed sharp all the way through, as did the 1095 on the RAT.


Both the Becker and the RAT-7 are superb camp knives.

The Ontario Marine Combat did about the same as the Ka-Bar. They take little bites at a time, but they will chop. I did not even try chopping through the live oak with them. I was getting too tired to waste energy!

Time to do some splitting with the Yard Guard.

The YG beats both the Becker and the Ontario RAT-7 in splitting oak!
These are the three knives that stand out for camp use.

Very informative. Thanks for sharing.

Nice review Vic!

The best thing about this little test is the realization that all these seven inch blades will chop. None of them will beat a machete or big chopper, but they will get the job done. I expected the Yard Guard to chop way better than the Becker and the RAT, but that was not the case. The thinner edge profiles on the Becker and Ontario bit deep. The weight of the blade on the YG made it a little less fatiguing to chop the hard stuff, but the other two chopped about as well. The handles on all three of the finalists were comfortable for me, with a slight edge going to the Yard Guard. I did not do any prying, but I am pretty sure that the Guard is the toughest of the seven inchers. The Yard Guard excelled in splitting, using a baton.
My daughter, Linda is holding the overall winner.

cool review

Thanks, Vance. I wanted to chop something bigger, but all these tests have used up my wood!