- Joined
- Aug 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,214
I like using my BK-5 in the kitchen and do so with some regularity--it does a dandy job of breaking down a chicken and will properly carve up a brisket too--but I had stripped the finish off the whole knife. I stripped it to avoid finish wearing off I to the food and I think it cuts a bit better without the coating. And I like the way it looks as well.
On the left (after striping):
But here's the catch, my regular use led to frequent washing. Dish water would find it's way under the OEM scales and, despite the force patina, the tang started to rust. In hindsight I think I would have left the coating on under the scales and just stripped the blade. With the coating stripped off, I found I was constantly removing the original scales to clean and dry the tang. Easy to do, but a bit of an annoyance.
The obvious solution was to create new scales and epoxy them on to provide some water proofing. I used 1/4" green linen micarta, epoxy, and copper pins. I was fairly liberal with the expoxy and there is a bit of excess that was squeezed out during clamping that is a mess on the front of the new scales, but it does seem to have filled in everywhere and will keep water out. I suppose I could use a dermal to clean it up a bit, but it's a working knife and there doesn't seem much need to fix the cosmetics up any more than has been done. The new scales are very comfortable, and the balance has been slightly shifted to the handle.
New handle:
On the left (after striping):
But here's the catch, my regular use led to frequent washing. Dish water would find it's way under the OEM scales and, despite the force patina, the tang started to rust. In hindsight I think I would have left the coating on under the scales and just stripped the blade. With the coating stripped off, I found I was constantly removing the original scales to clean and dry the tang. Easy to do, but a bit of an annoyance.
The obvious solution was to create new scales and epoxy them on to provide some water proofing. I used 1/4" green linen micarta, epoxy, and copper pins. I was fairly liberal with the expoxy and there is a bit of excess that was squeezed out during clamping that is a mess on the front of the new scales, but it does seem to have filled in everywhere and will keep water out. I suppose I could use a dermal to clean it up a bit, but it's a working knife and there doesn't seem much need to fix the cosmetics up any more than has been done. The new scales are very comfortable, and the balance has been slightly shifted to the handle.
New handle:
Last edited:
