If you are reading this, you've probably read all the specs and other reviews, so I'll just stick to my take on this knife.

Bottom Line: There is no such thing as the ultimate survival knife. If you mostly need to split wood, buy an axe. If you mostly need to skin game, carve wooden tools, build traps, slice veggies for camp dinner etc, buy a smaller, more maneuverable knife. If you need to egress a falling building after an earthquake or other unexpected disaster, carry around a wrecking/pry bar. If you mostly need to fight bad guys and zombies during the apocalypse get yourself a gun...

if you can't carry all of those tools around all the time, but hypothetically need to be able to perform those tasks in a pinch, the Ka-Bar BK2 is a good choice... except for fighting- the weight of the knife would be a huge disadvantage in live combat, unless you are fighting slow moving zombies or a sedated peter griffin from family guy...

That being said, this knife is solid; the feel inspires confidence and feels reliable. The blade angle facilitates a variety of uses, and the blade steel is of working class.

I was looking for a knife with a blade length of 4.75-6.25in. for EDC in a get home bag. The idea was to have a knife capable of a variety of urban/rural survival tasks in a pinch.

For survival bush craft, this knife is great for shelter-building. Some reviewers in survivalist forums complained that the length of the blade limited one to batoning smaller logs during shelter building...I don't know what kind of shelters they are building that would require one to process logs thicker than 5in. in diameter...if you have the time and energy to build yourself a LOG CABIN in a SURVIVAL situation then you probably also have a chainsaw... and a pet unicorn to cuddle with for moral support once your log cabin is built... for the rest of us who would need to budget our time and energy during such a situation, this knife is a good option.

Conclusion:

The BK2 is great because it is good for many things, but it is not great at any ONE thing. ( read that again if you have to )

Its a fantastic buy for those who, for whatever reason, are confined to carrying one relatively small knife, in a get home bag, but are not too concerned about the added weight .

If you are planning on being in a given situation and your resources enable you, do yourself a favor and get a knife(s) designed with that specific function in mind.

All in all, this is Great knife! but is it great for you?

The only possible negative I can find besides the fact that I didn't quite grasp the size of this thing from its description is the sheath. My only complaint here is the nylon bit without the knife strapped in it gets very wobbly. To the point where it can be difficult to insert the knife and buckle it in with one hand. The plastic part of the sheath holds the knife very securely on its own however if you don't strap the handle in the sheath will flop around. The knife itself is very solid, comes shaving sharp and the new powder coating seems much more durable than the previous gens sort of black paint. The blade itself is thick enough that using it for anything short of prying a steel door open should be able to do it much harm. It takes an edge well and holds its pretty respectably. I would recommend this knife highly just be sure you are ready for about a pound of steel riding with you when you order this.

This is a real knife, must be quarter inch thick and its heavy, actuall it probably could double as a small axe. The blade was razor sharp out the box, I'm not a plastic fan, so I don't like the handle, it's too slippery so won't be good for dressing game, I ordered different handles so that will solve that problem, though it's really not a hunting knife. The sheath is also plastic but very high quality and secure. It's not a carry knife for sure because of its weight, but actually rides very comfortably on the belt, I bought if for my UTV so not a problem for me. For the price this is a serious tool, but my big old Kabar fighting knife is better as an all round outdoor knife I think.

Great Knife as others have said.
I don't see how you could destroy this knife, it's a tank.

I just wanted to let people know I found a LEATHER SHEATH that will work for this knife (for those interested).
I prefer leather sheaths.
You just have to soak them real well inside and out in 100% neatsfoot oil.

Fiebing Company 100% Pure Neatsfoot Oil

or

Neatsfoot Pure Oil For Leather Care

They will last forever and not retain moisture. ( I have sheaths that are in perfect order that are more than 40 years old)
I have made my own sheaths. They are very solid. But, to be honest, they are butt ugly. Some jobs just need to be left for those with the talent or skills.

I wrote a review for the BK10 with the sheath info. This sheath works for the BK10 also.
Today I took out my BK2 (which I have both the factory nylon and a custom Kydex sheath for) and gave it a try in this sheath.
The BK2 fit perfectly, very snug fit.
It also fit my Camillus BK2 (partial serrated blade) as well.
As I stated in the BK10 review, you will have to adjust the leather retaining strap accordingly to properly secure the knife.

Sheath - Schrade Uncle Henry Knife Fixed Blade ...$28- don't need or like the knife or stone (comes with cheap sharpening stone). Just need the sheath.....

I riveted and added two snaps and two restraining straps, cut from the 6" condor molle straps, and the knife is very secure.

Condor Straps - Condor 6" MOD Strap - Black, 8 Pack ...$15 for 8 straps -BLACK-
These can also be used for drop leg rigs with split ring key rings sized 1" - 3" Stainless Steel.

Snaps - Tandy Leather Line 24 Gunmetal Black Plated Steel Snaps 10 pack 1263-03 ...$8 for 10 pack. Just needed the "male" for each strap.

I used the original "female" snap from the Condor strap, which is black and is the part that is visible.
The snap on the Condor straps is a #24
FYI - Most heavy gear uses the Line 24 snap (heavy duty).
(Some lighter duty stuff will use the smaller Line 20 snap).

You really don't need to do anything but adjust the leather retaining strap around to secure the knife.

I suggest using a rivet to better secure the strap.

Rivets - Tandy Leather Factory Easy-To-Do Series Rapid Rivets $11 for 60 assorted sizes. (You can use others. This is what I had).
You don't need a punch tool for this application just use an sharp awl or sharp nail to make a hole "just big enough" for the rivet to fit through both pieces.
Make sure you have the "flat" side of the rivet towards (or against) your knife handle so that it will not scratch.
The rivet tool is included.
Just insert and connect both parts of the rivet.
Place the "shoe" between the rivet and other side of the leather belt loop.
Place the whole sheath on anvil/vise/solid surface and hit the rivet with a hammer.
You don't have to hit it that hard. Just enough so that the rivet does not "spin".
You do not need to use the bar/setter for this application.
It is harder to explain, than do.
You might want to practice on something first before you do it for "real".
Once the rivet is in place it can be a pain to remove. Not impossible, just a pain.

You have to decide which knife suits your purpose/needs/terrain/length of stay, etc......
For a short day hike, there are a gazillion choices.
You may only need a Morakniv (Mora) or Ontario Cabbage Knife or Ka-Bar 2-1232-1 as your inexpensive fixed blade....
Or, you may decide that all you need is a quality pocket knife.
The best knife in the world is............ the one that you have with you when one is needed.
Something is better than nothing.
Always carry something, within the limits of the law. Always carry something!

The class of knife we are talking about here is a serious heavy duty type knife.
You don't need to carry this type of knife to a Church picnic (I hope not anyway).
This type of knife can be counted on to save your life in a survival situation.
Not TV, but real life SHTF stuff.
It is the kind of "tool" you must carry, as well as other tools, if you are going into a wilderness area.
For the money, I can not think of a "better" tool than the BK2.
Like I said, it is a tank!!!
It can not do everything.
There is no such thing as a "one" knife does it all!
But, it will be able to do everything that you will need a knife to do to survive and do it quite well.

With that said......
I like the BK2.
But, due to weight and ergonomics I prefer the BK10 ($81) or the Esee LSP ($107 - INCLUDES KYDEX SHEATH). (Leather sheath from Condor Rodan 6" works well for the Esee LSP (friction fit) - $32).

BK10 - KA-BAR BK-10 BECKER CREWMAN FIXED BLADE SURVIVAL KNIFE w/ FRONT POCKET SHEATH - $81

ESEE LSP - ESEE Knives LSP Laser Strike Fixed Blade Knife with Canvas Micarta Handles - $107 (Lifetime Guarantee)

I own all of these quality knives.
(IMO) - IN THIS PRICE RANGE, any one of these 3, roughly 5" blade, knives will get the job done (BK2, BK10, ESEE LSP).

There are MANY others!!

With proper care, any one of these knives will be able to be handed down to your grandchildren's, grandchildren.....

Yes, this is "American" steel, field tested and proven!!
Yes, they ARE indeed that good!!

I own a lot of knives but this is probably the most heavy duty blade I have ever handled. It weighs a ton and as far as I can tell its basically bombproof. It is not a multi-tasker that is for sure but if you need something that wont break or fail this would be a good choice. Keep in mind the blade is 1/4 of an inch thick, so it doesn't handle delicate work well but for everything else its great. It balances well in the hand and the pommel is large enough that you can grab onto it and use the knife for heavy shopping tasks. Batoning is very easy as well, this thing works about as well as a spitting maul for small logs. The blade has a thick coating on it that seems to be very durable, I have split a lot of logs with this so far and the coating hasn't come off yet. The sheath is very nice too, it holds the knife well and is tough, it also has plenty of slots and holes to attach other items to it or wrap it with cordage. The only downside of the sheath is that if you don't strap the handle in the knife dangles and flops around which because of its weight makes it a bit awkward to carry, upgrading to a tek lok solves this problem but it takes some modification to do that. Overall this is a knife that will probably last forever, and while its a little heavy, having something that you can count on 100% is worth the extra weight.