Any idea what happened while stripping BK7 coating?

JBravo920

JBravo920

Joined
Oct 7, 2013
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So I started off this morning checking USPS tracking and saw that my new textured micarta handles for my BK7 were on the truck to be delivered today! Time to make it pretty!

I laid out my BK7 and took the factory handles off.




I did a final watch of this video:
Customizing the Becker BK7 Part 2: Stripping the Black Coating - YouTube

Which led me to believe that in about 30-45 minutes I would have a blade that looked as clean as this (Not my picture and sorry if it belongs to anyone here, I just meant to use it as a reference photo):
60312-becker-bk2-w-micarta-camillus-era-bk7-w-micarta-and-benchmade-15000-d2-fixed-blade.jpg


I got my saftey glasses on and had a brand new box of nitrile gloves at my side. Tongs and screwdrivers to flip and hold the knife with and razor blades for scraping! I special ordered the Jasco product that the guy used it the video and referred to as "Alien Blood" because I wanted this to be a super easy process.

Let's get this party started!


I should have taken some shots during the process but, things didn't go quite as planned. After the first 15 minutes I started scraping and the coating was coming off, but nothing at all like it did in the videos. My blade didn't appear to be a shiny polished blade at all! So I did a second coating and got a very tiny bit more coating off where I had missed at first.

So it's not at all what I was expecting and I have absolutely no idea what happened or if I just have a different generation knife, if I did something wrong, etc. I have no clue. It's not terrible I guess though...


I ran the razor over all the edges (not the cutting edge) on the blade which kind of cleaned up the lines. I also rubbed down the knife with some Break Free CLP since I don't know if this is still considered coated or not, haha. So after doing the dishes, I checked online and saw that the scales had been delivered. I ran down the street to the mailboxes and grabbed the package, not excited as I was this morning because things did not go as planned at all but, I was still excited to put them on because I was sure they'd be more comfortable then the factory Becker handles.

Boom!




Again, this is not at all what I had in mind when I woke up this morning. I am pleasantly surprised though! I think it looks badass!

If anyone has any insight into what could have happened or why mine isn't the normal polished blade that I see in all the pictures of others who have stripped the coating off, please reply and let me know what you've got. I really ended up liking the way it looks though. All in all this was a success in my book and I'm really happy with how it turned out! Now I just need to get a better sheath than the factory one! To kydex or leather...

The handle was even more of a pain than the blade...


 
I think it looks better like it does now than if it had a polished look to it.
as for the sheath I would go for something leather. skystorm leatherworks makes some cool sheaths. I like the fact that he uses elastic on the retention straps so they are pulled out of the way of the blade when you open them
 
Yea, I've stripped about 25-30 Becker's, and most are pretty ugly under the coating. That's one reason they coat them, to save on money. Sometimes the steel is colored like that from the steel mill. Just get a pack of assorted automotive sand paper and work your way up, 400 thru 2000 or 2500 should do it. Might take 30 or 45 mins. Or just leave it? It's all personal preference.
 
You did everything right. They look like that under the skin. The pics you are seeing are after they take some medium then light grit sandpaper to the blade after the stripper.

Personally I just use 800 or 1000 grit then bump it up to 1500 grit and a half hour of elbow grease and you can get a decent satin finish look. I also use a dremel and a sanding wheel to do the contours and back of the blade and handle areas.
 
I'm glad to hear I didn't do anything wrong, haha. I'm still curious why in the video his coating came off and immediately left a polished blade though...
I think I'm probably going to leave it the way it is honestly, I kinda dig the look! I really like the scales too! I bought them from Kryptoglow in his big sell-off thread.
 
I think your knife looks great! You won't be afraid to use it now, spend too much time sanding and it'll become a safe queen.

P.S. What are those scales and where did you get them?

Dax
 
Haaa. That's my picture of the pretty BK7 in the original post. I can tell you that I spent a significant amount of time with scotchbrite to get it looking that good. I miss that one.
 
I stripped my BK9 about 4 times and used an exacto knife to scrape things off.
Finally I rubbed mine with steel wool while the stripper was still moist. (wow this sentence does sound weird)
Looked better than yours. Not really shiny but not as black either. Liking it a lot.
 
DaxMan said:
I think your knife looks great! You won't be afraid to use it now, spend too much time sanding and it'll become a safe queen.

indeed. It takes a lot of nerve to use a knife once you have spent so much time polishing it. That stonewashed look is fine to beat up on.
Click to expand...
 
Dax - I bought them from a member on here, Kryptoglow, from his big for sale thread a while back. I don't know if he's still in the business or not though...
UCPOPO - you did a good job! I'm probably going to pick up another BK model (still trying to decide which) and hopefully I'll be able to make it almost as pretty as that!
Jens - Could you post a picture? I'd love to see that!
 
UCPOPO said:
Haaa. That's my picture of the pretty BK7 in the original post. I can tell you that I spent a significant amount of time with scotchbrite to get it looking that good. I miss that one.
Click to expand...

And....it was a Camillus BK7.
In my experience the few Camillus Beckers that I have stripped have been much "prettier" than most Ka-bar models that I've stripped.
The Camillus blades had a better finish under the coating. Much smoother.

Mystery solved?...

Anyway, the Ka-bar models will (just like the others have said) clean up nicely with some sandpaper and elbow grease.
That's a good looking 7 you got there! Those scales are sweet!
 
This may be a dumb question, given that it seems like most here have stripped their Beckers, but does removing the factory finish in any way void the warranty?
Not that I'm afraid of ever breaking the beasts...but you never know.

@JBravo
That knife looks awesome! Great job!
 
Last edited:
Jens Schuetz said:
I stripped my BK9 about 4 times and used an exacto knife to scrape things off.
Finally I rubbed mine with steel wool while the stripper was still moist. (wow this sentence does sound weird)
Looked better than yours. Not really shiny but not as black either. Liking it a lot.
Click to expand...


Epic post. :D

Moose
 
I don't have a picture of mine prior to patina, but that's pretty much how it looked - except mine had an even rougher surface finish. Several hours in vinegar didn't change it a whole bunch.
 
Dex speaks the truth...and btw...I think the blade looks killer with that gray weathered look. A forced patina without being a forced patina. I wouldn't change a thing. Love it just the way it is....
 
You have an awesome blade, Jbravo. Much more hardcore look than any polished knife ever will have. And the handle scales are sweet.
 
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