BK-2 Campanion Project Thread

Guyon

Guyon

Biscuit Whisperer
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First, let me begin with the inspiration pictures, compliments of soup_monger.


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Sources:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=413911

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=418569
 
Next step was to decide on a knife. I wound up going with the BK-2 for a few reasons. First, it's a smaller Becker, so there's less sanding involved. Next, I like the traditional blade shape of the BK-2 a little more than that of the tanto-shaped BK-10. And finally, the BK-2 has a little more history in that Ethan put out a Campanion at Blackjack before the Becker line moved to Camillus.

Tom at Chestnut Ridge Knife Shop still has some BK-2's left, so I got my order in and took receipt of the knife today. Great blade with which to start a project. Good grind, nice machining all around, and virtually no pitting on this one. I couldn't have been happier with it.

Here's what I started with:

BK21.jpg


Here's what I hit it with:

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And here's what I wound up with:

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To be continued...
 
Hello Guyon.
You have made a good choice with the BK2 because it gives you far more steel in the handle area than is required.

This means that you can reshape the tang to suit your own hand.

I have tweaked my BK2 a bit more since that last photo was taken....

Here is a photo beside yours to show just how much steel I removed from the tang...

BK22.jpg


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It took me a long time to finish this knife... not because of the work involved...but, because I had to think about what I had to change to get it to feel right in the hand.

I also thinned out the edge to convex grind using nothing more than different grades sandpaper on top of a strip of foam.

I wanted this knife razor sharp... and this was the way to achieve it.

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The highly polished edge is a real slicer now. :)

An important tip for you would be.....

Do not use too coarse a grit of sandpaper when you are sanding your BK2.... I made the mistake of using 80 grit at first on that BK2 and most of my time was spent sanding out the marks I had unnecessarily put on the metal.

Start with 400 grit Wet and Dry and then 600, 800.... further if you want.

Believe me ... this makes the whole job easier.

My latest modification was this BK9.

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Feel free to PM with any questions, Guyon.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.
 
Knives are looking great !!!! Nice work !!!! Thanks for sharing :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
I should add that Jerzee Devil.com requires you to register...but..it's painless.

And it's worth it. :)

(I'm not spamming... it's a very good resource for modders)

Cheers.
 
It would be good to see progress photos as you go along Guyon.... :thumbup:

I'm a bit crap at remembering to take them when I am modifying things.

Cheers.
 
soup_monger said:
It would be good to see progress photos as you go along Guyon.... :thumbup:

I'm a bit crap at remembering to take them when I am modifying things.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Going to pick up some various grades of wet/dry sandpaper today. I'll try to get a snapshot of each stage of sanding.
 
soup_monger,
your knife is very inspiring! It's beautiful.

Guyon,
have you noticed any difference between Klean-Strip vs Jasco paint stripper?
wondering which one is better for removing knife coatings.

Great project!
 
tony22r said:
soup_monger,
your knife is very inspiring! It's beautiful.

Guyon,
have you noticed any difference between Klean-Strip vs Jasco paint stripper?
wondering which one is better for removing knife coatings.

Great project!
Click to expand...

Never tried Jasco. I picked up that Klean-Strip on Wal-Mart clearance for about $2. It worked just fine on both a RD-9 and the Becker BK-2.
 
Very nicely modified blade by soup_monger and one soon to be done by Guyon!

I might be tempted one day to try this myself! Guyon, cannot wait to see your final results!
 
I wonder if, after stripping off the coating and just before polishing the blade, it could be dangerous (I mean unealthy) to slice and prepare food with the knife. I'm asking this because I really like the "raw" look of the blade in that condition, it looks like stone. Of course polishing the blade makes it look good and the pics above are just great, good job. :)
 
the european said:
I wonder if, after stripping off the coating and just before polishing the blade, it could be dangerous (I mean unealthy) to slice and prepare food with the knife. I'm asking this because I really like the "raw" look of the blade in that condition, it looks like stone. Of course polishing the blade makes it look good and the pics above are just great, good job. :)
Click to expand...

I would say that would definitely be bad for your health!

The paint-stripper I used ate through the rubber gloves I was using.

The blade was washed thoroughly with detergent and lots of running water after the stripper had been used.
 
soup_monger said:
I would say that would definitely be bad for your health!

The paint-stripper I used ate through the rubber gloves I was using.

The blade was washed thoroughly with detergent and lots of running water after the stripper had been used.
Click to expand...

Oh, yes, I'm sure the paint-stripper is highly toxic, but this is not what I meant with my question, sorry. :o I'm not sure if removing the black coating with paint-stripper (and thoroughly washing the knife, of course) is safe enough to use the knife for food prepping or if it's absolutely necessary to polish the blade with sandpaper in order to use it with food. :)
 
@ Soup_Monger : nice work on those beckers! Specially that BK9 with the wood handles!:thumbup:

@ Guyon : what are you going to use for handles?
 
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