Becker BK2 Ebony and Maple Inlaid Scales - 3D

Eero said:
These scales look fantastic. Once you get all the prep work done it looks like you could easily make scales in all sorts of different materials and types of wood. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the BK16 :thumbup:
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Thanks! I have quite a bit of leftover AAA quality woods from the mandolin shop and are always trying to use as much as possible. Sugar Maples, Ebony, Flamed and figured hardwoods, olive wood, zebra wood etc... I am working on a set of scales for a friend, made from100+ yo rosewood. I love wood! Did that sound weird?
 
inlaidknives said:
Thanks! I have quite a bit of leftover AAA quality woods from the mandolin shop and are always trying to use as much as possible. Sugar Maples, Ebony, Flamed and figured hardwoods, olive wood, zebra wood etc... I am working on a set of scales for a friend, made from100+ yo rosewood. I love wood! Did that sound weird?
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No. I make random wood purchases all the time, without anything to use them for...yesterday I bought some seriously figured quartersawn white oak and a piece of mayan walnut....because they were in the shorts bin and on sale, and I liked the figure. I have a 48"x5" piece of Caribbean Rosewood I bought for about 12"x2" of really nice curl....tho the rest of it is nice as well. No, I agree. I love wood....from trees.
 
I wonder what these handles would look like if they were finished off with clear lacquer (or what ever gloss is used) similar to certain types of instruments.
 
Scales and mandolins are both pretty curvaceous!

Eero - I have been in the habit of finishing the knives with a few coats of TruOil unless the buyers has a different idea. Eventually I will find something on the forum that has been working for other folks and try that.. Our mandolins get a hand rubbed french polish, it would be very cool to try that on a knife!
 
I love wood also. Do you have a gallery of your work? I'd love to see a ziricote mandolin. Heres some scales I did for a BK5
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I have never gotten my hands on any ziricote.... yet. Are those scales ziricote?

Granite - Those look great and I know they took some work. Curly maple is no joke to work with.

I heard from my father-in-law that they might stop the production on BK5 and BK15... ya'll heard that?
 
inlaidknives said:
I have never gotten my hands on any ziricote.... yet. Are those scales ziricote?

Granite - Those look great and I know they took some work. Curly maple is no joke to work with.

I heard from my father-in-law that they might stop the production on BK5 and BK15... ya'll heard that?
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Yah. Been a coupla threads, several people looking for them in their sigs. Get 'em now, or pay the premium when they go extinct.

The maple scales were only difficult because I did them by hand and I'm a little too AR for my own sanity sometimes. They have flaws. Mistakes were made. People were sacked. But they were a first try....and bolt on scales are a beech. Much easier to pin and epoxy and shape them in place.....except for if you have a 3D scanner and a CNC router....;)
 
granitestateofmind said:
....and bolt on scales are a beech.
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No doubt. These scales are perfectly flat when off of the blade, as checked on a large machinist's block of granite. BUT, when I bolt them up and seat the bolts nice and snug, the thumb rest area near the lanyard hole pulls off the blade EVER SO SLIGHTLY. It is the tiniest amount (a piece of paper wouldn't even fit) but I feel like it may compromise some strength, especially in the long run. I am considering underlaying the scales with some gasket paper to cushion the scale and distribute the tension from the bolt OR spreading some black epoxy during the final fit. This is a "lifetime" knife so epoxy may be ok to use here. Not 100% sure which way to go.

BTW - I finished the inlay today. I will get some pics up soooooon!:D
 
Alright, the knife has been received by the buyer, Tony, so time for some finished shots! The "Ghost Buck" turned out great and the new owner is hoping to "have an Elk under it" next month in CO. It is his first Becker as far as I can tell. I did quite a bit of shaping and smoothing before I inlaid and it feels great. The final inlaid scale got a few coats of TruOil gunstock finish and a skim coat of black epoxy when I mounted them. Very solid knife! Becker KaBar builds an awesome product. I am a fan for life.

BTW - I just got two BK15s in the mail today. I should be going through this same procedure to model scales for the 15s. They are quite a bit smaller so I may not do the maple backing...we will see!

Thanks for reading this thread!

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WOW.
that's gotta be the prettiest dress ever on a BK2.
 
Seriously. Outstanding.
I'll ditto Daizee: nicest slabs I've ever seen on a Becker. Of course, the BK2 is supposed to be beat on like a it's a rental....but I doubt that's gonna happen with that one.
 
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