A "naked" Becker???

S

Squid

Joined
Jun 21, 1999
Messages
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In an earlier thread, I mentioned using Krylon BBQ grill paint to "touch up" some spots on my C/U 7 where the coating had worn off. Unfortunately, that "experiment" did not go as well as hoped. After chopping and splitting some 2x4 pieces, I noticed the paint came off quite easily, leaving me once again with bare metal. I should have known that the paint probably wasn't abrasion resistant.

This time, I'm taking a different tack. I've decided to remove ALL of the coating! I'm taking the blade to a local machine shop to have the coating blasted off. Doing this, I realize I'll have to be careful with rust, now that I'll be dealing with an non-coated high carbon steel blade. Not that I'm not familiar with high carbon blades either - I have a drawer full of Moras and Opinels!

I still haven't ruled out Boron Carbide, but the idea of an uncoated Becker is growing on me (I've never been a big fan or coated blades).

Hmmmm, here's another thought....hard chrome (a la Mad Dog Knives)???

Any opinions???
 
I've never really been a big fan of the black coating, so I'd always thought about removing it from my C/U 7. I do like the Boron Carbide coating though--that sounds like an interesting idea.
 
Squid: I think you should send it to BodyCote, chrome it and then BC it because I would think the blade would rust rather quickly.
BC is quite durable but in itself it's not very corrosion resistant, getting it chromed should help.
You can always leave out BC, but I don't know how well you'll like the look of chromed blade. I've seen the BC coated chive and I like how that looks.
 
Actually, I like (or should I say, don't mind) the look of a hard chromed blade. I've owned a few Mad Dogs in my lifetime, and have never had any issue with the "looks" of a good hard chrome.

I wonder if I could "polish" the blade? You know, by taking progressively finer grits of sandpaper (440/800/1200/1500) to it. I've read of several instances here on BFC where knifenuts have successfully done this with either their coated or beadblast finished blades. Maybe I'll give it a try.
 
Think about taping off the flats where the handles are and leaving the coating under there for rust prevention. You don't want to have to take the handles off every time you clean the blade. I removed the coating from a Benchmade Nimravus, and polished it. It gets rust under the removable G-10 scales. It's ATS-34 with a 1000grit finish...
Bead blasting the handles might be a good idea, too.

You could also use Klean Strip Klean X Stripper to take the coating off. FrankieCrabs posted about removing the finish from a Busse Basic 9 with it on the Busse forum, and then polishing the blade, which inspired me. I got a can from Wal-Mart for ~$7 IIRC, and it's probably enough to do a hundred knives (or more). Depending on the finish underneath the coating, it may be easier to polish than a bead blasted finish. I wouldn't expect to find a fine finish under there on a $50 knife, so that's up in the air.
So far I've done a Busse Basic 9 and GrooveMaster, but have been eyeing my C/U7. I kind of like the way it looks, though, and will probably just leave it alone.

Doing simple modifications on knives has been alot of fun for me (turning into a Dremel maniac:p).
Good luck with it.
 
Well, I was able to take the C/U 7 to a local machine shop during my lunch hour. It took the guy a total of 30 seconds to blast away all of the finish off the knife. I was pleasantly surprised when, upon taking my wallet out to give the guy some $$$, he said..."forget it, this one's a freebie"!!! Very cool!!!

OwenM, you were right about not expecting a fine finish underneath the coating! Hey, what do you expect from a <$50 knife!?!?! Looks like this polishing project is going to take some patience and elbow grease!

Well, it's off to Home Depot to pick up some sandpaper!!! Wish me luck! ;)
 
As a walmart employee,in the hardware /paint dept., StripX will remove the black finish. ONE IMPORTANT WARNING!!!! make sure you have glves and goggles, that StripX will take the skin off your bones as well!!!:eek:
 
Originally posted by Big-Target
As a walmart employee,in the hardware /paint dept., StripX will remove the black finish. ONE IMPORTANT WARNING!!!! make sure you have glves and goggles, that StripX will take the skin off your bones as well!!!:eek:
Click to expand...
I know this probably sounds like a stupid question, but what kind of gloves? Are we talking like latex dishwashing gloves or something better? I wouldn't want the stuff to eat through the gloves onto my hands.

Squid--I don't know about the Home Depot in your area, but I couldn't find the higher grit sandpapers at mine. If you can't find it, you might want to check out an auto parts store. I got my sandpaper (800-1500 grit) at Checkers.
 
Thanks, Zen.

You were right, my search for high grit paper at HD yielded nothing. I will try my local auto parts shop today.
 
Anythign >=1000 grit would only be in an auto parts shop.
We have lordco here and they have it...
 
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