Birth of the Neckula!!

PropThePolecat

PropThePolecat

Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
3,292
Hey everybody! I just might get slaughtered for posting this in the Becker forum but i think alot of you guys will understand me!

I currently own a RAT Izula and a Becker Necker. I love both manufacturers but i think neither of them hit the mark with their knives.

I love the Izula, i think its one of the most ergonomical and comfortable bare-handled knife ive ever owned. Only thing IMO is that the blade is a little bit too short for my hiking needs. Id prefer a knife with a bit more blade-length, big enough to baton some more substansial wood but small enough so i can still wear it around my neck.

Enter the Becker Necker...The BK11's blade is perfect for what i need in a neck-knife, but i personally find the handle a real pain! Ive wrapped mine in paracord but i still think it leaves alot to be desired. It just isnt a very ergonomical design. The bottle opener is something ive never used, as i can open a bottle with almost anything. Besides if ive got a knife on me i can just use the spine as a bottle opener.

Then a couple of days ago i decided to rehandle the BK11 with a Izula-styled handle.
I traced the handle up on a piece of 316L stainless steel and managed to drill up the handle in 20 min. The plan is to take a jig-saw and skeletonize the handle, grind down the excess material, saw off the Neckers handle and weld on the new one.
I chose stainless because now ill never have to worry about rust if the paracord gets soaking wet. I might paint it black purely for aestethics.

Im doing all this at work, so i couldnt get it done by today. Im on vacation till monday so ill finish it there and post some more pics when im done.

I call it the Neckula! What do you guys think? First time i post pics so i hope it works...

EDIT: Pics are longer down the thread.






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Would it be feasable to grind down the BK11 handle to the other profile? It would likely have the bulge at the bottom but that could be straightened by heating the bulge with a tourch. As long as the heat doesn't get too close to the blade the heat treat should be fine. You would likely have to worry about that anyway as you try to weld the new handle on.

Great way to customize you knife.
 
Ive got a picture of the Izula on top of the Necker here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/km-m/3548380273/

You can get close to the Izula's profile by grinding some metal off, but youll probably end up very close to the first one of the handle-holes. There wont be much material left, so i imagine youll probably weaken the design. I dont think theres enough material to radically alter the handle design

Im aware of the welding heat messing up the blades heat-treatment. Im gonna TIG-weld it with as low amps as i can, as far away from the blade a possible, plus ill stick two plates of aluminum on the blade to draw the majority of the heat away.
I think the weld will be where the first circular hole is. Only way to find out is to try.

I dont know about heating the handle with a torch. Its a small knife....Itll take alot of heat thatll get transferred up into the blade. Heat from a torch isnt very concentrated plus youll probably burn most of the coating off.


Mads
 
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Good luck with the project! Please keep us posted.

Heber
 
Good luck with the project! Please keep us posted.
Click to expand...

Will do! Ill have some pics up as soon as im done and ill put the blade through its paces to see if edge retention remains unaffected.
 
ka bar should be releasing Micarta handles for the necker soon. But keep going with your project. Sounds cool!
 
Looks like an interesting modification, I've had issues with the necker handle as well and like you I don't need the bottle cap opener for my beer. I had thought of adding my own scales but when I heard about the micarta handled neckers coming out I'm waiting for that version. As I don't have any welding experience I'm curious to know how strong the welded handle will hold up to abuse, is the joint going to be as strong as the original? I'm also curious as to how welding stainless steel to carbon steel works, is that going to be an issue? Anyway, cool sounding project, looking forward to updates!
 
As I don't have any welding experience I'm curious to know how strong the welded handle will hold up to abuse, is the joint going to be as strong as the original? I'm also curious as to how welding stainless steel to carbon steel works, is that going to be an issue?
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As long as a filler material is used and the weld is performed correctly, the weld joint will be just as strong as a single piece of metal.

Welding stainless to carbon steel isnt an issue. I've dont it many times before. Simply put, as long as you use the correct filler-material itll be fine. When selecting the weld filler, the joint is considered as being ss, rather than cs. Normally you would use over-alloyed fillers to avoid "burning off" the alloying elements in the weld zone of the parent stainless steel.
If its some thick stock, over 25-30mm, you usually pre-heat the cs, but thats not neccesary in this case.

I will need to recoat the weld-joint to prevent corrosion starting there. The only thing that will be left exposed will be the new ss handle.

Regards
Mads
 
Would like to see pics. Interesting idea. I'm excited about the version with scales.

GregB
 
I'm waiting on the scales, too. I'm a little unclear at the moment whether you will be able to order the BK-11 with the scales already in place, or if they'll be an after-market item. I'm also wondering if the scales will extend the length of the handles (I hope) or not.
 
I dont think the scales will extend the length of the handle. If they do so, then i imagine one couldnt use the bottleopener anymore.

I dont know how much more comfortable the handle would get. I imagine the scales would follow the handles profile. The added girth would probably help a bit.
Paracord also adds girth and grip but its still not very ergonomical.

But im still looking forward to seeing the scales come out.
 
kmm said:
I dont think the scales will extend the length of the handle. If they do so, then i imagine one couldnt use the bottleopener anymore.

I dont know how much more comfortable the handle would get. I imagine the scales would follow the handles profile. The added girth would probably help a bit.
Paracord also adds girth and grip but its still not very ergonomical.

But im still looking forward to seeing the scales come out.
Click to expand...

While I like the BK-11 as it is, it's because of the blade: it's a great length, shape, and steel. But for extended use, I would rather have a better handle on it, and by that I mean longer and fatter. I don't care about the bottle opener; I can always find a way to open a bottle. I could buy another BK-11 if I had to, just for opening bottles. No, I want that blade with a better handle for all the tasks the other Beckers are too big for.

I'm a Becker Backer: they're great.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14Tango
I don't need the bottle cap opener for my beer.

Blasphemy!

rmc85, I wasn't talking about cans or twist offs. I can use any part of the necker handle to pop off a bottle cap and I've used the handles of my Native and other knives as well. That's why I wouldn't mind if the micarta scales cover the entire butt of the blade and why I don't need a bottle opener on my knife or keychain. I've said it before on another thread, I love my necker but scales and an extra half inch of handle would do wonders on improving it's comfort especially during extended use.
 
14Tango said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14Tango
I don't need the bottle cap opener for my beer.

Blasphemy!

rmc85, I wasn't talking about cans or twist offs. I can use any part of the necker handle to pop off a bottle cap and I've used the handles of my Native and other knives as well. That's why I wouldn't mind if the micarta scales cover the entire butt of the blade and why I don't need a bottle opener on my knife or keychain. I've said it before on another thread, I love my necker but scales and an extra half inch of handle would do wonders on improving it's comfort especially during extended use.
Click to expand...

Bingo.
 
14Tango said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14Tango
I don't need the bottle cap opener for my beer.

Blasphemy!

rmc85, I wasn't talking about cans or twist offs. I can use any part of the necker handle to pop off a bottle cap and I've used the handles of my Native and other knives as well. That's why I wouldn't mind if the micarta scales cover the entire butt of the blade and why I don't need a bottle opener on my knife or keychain. I've said it before on another thread, I love my necker but scales and an extra half inch of handle would do wonders on improving it's comfort especially during extended use.
Click to expand...

I agree. I just like opening cold one with the BK11. A little more grip would be great.
 
Well, $1 will buy you a bottle opener at the dollar store. I want the BK-11 with more usable handles. Sure, it's a great knife the way it is, but it would be even better with decent handles so you could use it all day.

I guess we'll know in about a week: Blade show is next weekend.
 
Heres an update guys, unfortunately i havent had time to finish the new handle completely but its starting to take shape.
I took a jigsaw and sawed out the inside of the handle. Now that im done i dont think it was such a good idea cos i cant come in with an angle-grinder and its a real pain to file it straight. If i were to do it again, i would have drilled a series of holes that get progressively smaller. Nobody said it had to be a Izula carbon copy, but i guess i had tunnel-sight.
After i sawed the piece out, i gave it a go on the belt-sander and removed most of the excess material.
Its still far from done but i thought id post a pic to let you know its going forward.

When im done filing, ill polish it. Then ill decide where to weld it on, glass bead-blast it and finally paint it black.

Ive got a pic here but bear in mind its far from done: http://www.flickr.com/photos/km-m/3566500543/

Mads
 
KMM
Just curious, but what is it you do for a living?
This in definitely an interesting idea you've had.
-Chris
 
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