Becker-Ontario Monstrosity

S

Serin 16

Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
148
Hey Beckerhead,

I got an Ontario Afghan around Christmas (I know, not a Becker blade. Wait for it...) and was really disappointed in the hotspot inducing grips. Would there be some way for me to bastardize some Becker grips and attack them to my Afghan in leu if the micarta bricks they included?
 
Without seeing the Afghan, it's difficult to say for sure. Remove the existing handles and lay dome Becker handles on there. Some times trying is the only way to know for sure.


Edit: After a quick search it looks like the Becker bolt pattern is s little more widespread. Without some drilling I'd say it's not happening easily.
 
I would order up some G10 from ebay and make your own handles with the Becker profile. Its not that hard to do and very rewarding!
 
You could try and "adjust" the slabs that are on there if there is enough meat on them, or add some liners and then give them some contours. Micarta works with regular wood tools....
 
granitestateofmind said:
You could try and "adjust" the slabs that are on there if there is enough meat on them, or add some liners and then give them some contours. Micarta works with regular wood tools....
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So raise them, then take material off... That's a good idea.

tobiism said:
I would order up some G10 from ebay and make your own handles with the Becker profile. Its not that hard to do and very rewarding!
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I'm afraid I have little experience with shaping wood, micarta, etc., so that's not really an option. This is my first time modifying any knife at all. Thanks for the tip though.
 
Serin 16 said:
so that's not really an option.
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Considering the forum you are on, its ALWAYS an option LOL. Seriously though, you can cut micarta with a jigsaw and shape it with sanding drums in a drill at the minimum. Your limit is your imagination.
Dont be intimidated by what you havent done, just jump into it.
 
The Ontario RD and Afgan series designed by Justin Gingrich are decent blades although the scales need recontouring. The scales are easily sanded to a more comfortable contour, but the Becker scales and grip are difficult to match. Just get past the "I can't hurdle" and you will be fine.
 
Serin 16 said:
I'm afraid I have little experience with shaping wood, micarta, etc., so that's not really an option. This is my first time modifying any knife at all. Thanks for the tip though.
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I'm sure you can do it, just take your time and check your progress as you go. You could probably do it with some found material like a DVD case or cutting board for the liners and a four-in-hand file to shape them. The files probably cost less than $10, and have curved and flat cutting surfaces in coarse and fine. Like hawkhead says, get over the "I can't" part and you'll be fine.
 
Take some 180 or 220 wet or dry and back with a half round file and remove the bulky square edges. You can also slightly dish out the areas between the screws. I modified the RD7(the scales are the same as the Afgan) some time ago and it feels good. It will feel better when I do a little more contouring someday, but a Becker it will never be. This is the Becker forum so to at least keep thing loosely in that context I will say that no matter what you do you won't get that famous Becker grip once you modify Ethan Becker's creation to fit the Afgan.

 
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hawkhead said:
Take some 180 or 220 wet or dry and back with a half round file and remove the bulky square edges. You can also slightly dish out the areas between the screws. I modified the RD7(the scales are the same as the Afgan) some time ago and it feels good. It will feel better when I do a little more contouring someday, but a Becker it will never be. This is the Becker forum so to at least keep thing loosely in that context I will say that no matter what you do you won't get that famous Becker grip once you modify Ethan Becker's creation to fit the Afgan.

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Sounds good; thanks for the pics. I'm sad that I won't be able to bastardize the Becker grips for my own purposes, but oh well.

Thanks for all your help guys. I'll probably use a few of these tips to make new scales or fix my own.
 
I am aware of your peril! I have an afghan too and I am quite disappointed in the Ergos. I made some handles from a plastic cutting board. Made the Ergos better, but the height of the handle is hard to cope with no matter how you modify or what material you use.

--------------------
Beckerhead #32
 
I have an Ontario TAK1 on the way, and much like my RAT 7, the original handle ergos sort of suck. I purchased the ESEE 6 G10 scales from the knife connection for my RAT and they fit perfectly. So a quick search for the TAK1 handle compared to other handles (notably Becker) showed the TAK 1 vs Becker to have very similar bolt spacing. So I ordered up a set of the knife connection Becker G10 scales and I'm going to make them fit the TAK. The beautiful part is that the G10 scales come with different connection spacing and use hidden pin connections in the original slots. So long story short, it may work or it may not work. I will need to drill two new holes in the TAK tang and refine the fit and finish with some sanding and filing. I'll post pictures as the work progresses. On a side note, prior to purchasing the ESEE 6 scales for the RAT 7, i was able to fit the Becker Micarta scales to the RAT. I used smaller diameter hex head screws (from bk16) and had just enough room to make it all fit. The scales and tang edges didn't match up and I didn't want to bastardize the scales from my BK9, so that's why i ordered the G10 Becker scales. We'll see how it turns out.

This is the comparison picture for the TAK and Becker
beckervstak_zpsa0cb0bcf.jpg
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Here is the picture of the connection points from the knife connection website
 
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I'll definitely keep you posted. it's a shame, so many quality knives are ruined by poor handle ergos. I'm no knife customization expert, and i have no idea if my little project will be a success, but there's just something right about a becker grip. Nothing quite like it.
 
Munzer said:
I'll definitely keep you posted. it's a shame, so many quality knives are ruined by poor handle ergos. I'm no knife customization expert, and i have no idea if my little project will be a success, but there's just something right about a becker grip. Nothing quite like it.
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You'd be surprised to realize there are some highly regarded and smart designers, who lost their minds when it came time to design the handles for their knives. I'll ask you, Why would you ever want to hold something not designed to be held comfortably?
 
Every lump of coal has the potential to become a diamond. Even if something isn't comfortable to hold (in my hand), doesn't make it a bad knife, it just means I have to make it comfortable to hold. No designers have my number on speed dial to ask my opinion when they design a handle, so i'll make it work for me if the ergos don't fit my hand. If i like the design of the blade, i'll figure out how to make it comfortable to hold.
 
One of the problems with the Afghan/RD handle is the hump on the top of the grip. Along with reshaping the scales the metal needs some reshaping. That would be an improvement.
 
Well, about 90% complete. A little more sanding and need to drill out the lanyard hole. But it's coming along fairly well. It's kind of an ugly cuss, and not going to win any beauty contests, but it sure is comfortable to hold. All work done with a chop saw with a 12" metal cutting blade, a hand held drill, and sand paper.

Blade after I drilled the 2 new holes for the hardware:


Shots of the Becker G10 scales, showing what needs to be removed:










End of handle after excess metal removed, last hole is for lanyard:


After rough shaping:








90% complete. Not the prettiest, but grip is much improved:




 
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