BK-7 Mods -- Pic Heavy

[Greebe]

I got a BK-7 a little while back. I am going to use this thread to post the mods as I do them.

First thing is to remove the paint. I didn't really care much for the black paint so I got an old can of stripper out and introduced it to the 7. They intermingled and magic happened. Here are the results.

First I electro etched the name and model of the knife. I am guessing that it was just laser etched through the paint and not really into the metal all that much. I did a fairly deep etch.

Then I removed the handle scales and covered the knife in the stripper. I was surprised at how the paint or whatever it is started popping off the blade.

After a bit of scraping with a putty knife and rubbing it well with steel wool I ended up with this.

Here you can see how the electro etch worked out.

And last but not least the finished knife.

Overall I am happy with the way it turned out. I was a little surprised to find such a roughly finished knife under all that paint. All the grind marks are there and the mill finish is still present on the flats. It is not a biggy though as I really like this knife and do not intend it to be anything other than a hard use knife.

Sometime if I am motivated I will sand it out and put a rust finish on it.

Greebe

 

[plastid]

Nice job! the look of that steel is dapper

 

[Greebe]

Thanks. I like the way it turned out.

 

[asmith80]

Where'd you get that electro etcher? It looks really simple to use

 

[Greebe]

It is just a 12VDC power supply putting out 2amps. Hook the positive lead to the blade and the negative to your qtip. I just use salt water on the qtip. This works by the current moving towards the qtip and removing metal thus resulting in an etched surface. I got this power supply at Radio Shack back in the 90's.

 

[tfields]

looks great nice work on the etching!

 

[elrond18]

Nice work Greebe!

 

[Greebe]

Thanks. Now I am trying to decide if I want to let it age naturally or force a patina.

 

[Darksidedenny]

Thanks. Now I am trying to decide if I want to let it age naturally or force a patina.

Hey greebee,i did force patina mine and didn't like it.i ended up gun blueing it and sand it a couple days later...i really like how it turned out.

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[tman038]

looking good. nice etch job. use it well.

 

[Greebe]

I changed the title as I am going to use this thread for upcoming mods as well.

Thanks,
Greebe

 

[Greebe]

Well phase 2 is complete. I decided to remove the thumb ramp and add two more jimping groves.

Here it is before.

Started out on the bench grinder doing a few second of grinding and then soaking in cool water.

Then towards the end I slowly took off metal so as not to go to deep and make a dip in the spine.

Once I got it all ground down flat I took a flap sander on my angle grinder and smoothed out all the factory grind marks.

I used 150 grit sand paper around a piece of non metallic pvc conduit to clean up the handle.

Once that was done I uses 220 grit and sanded everything down. and ended up with a nice finish.

This left me with the above single jimp and so I decided to add two more to make it look like it was suppose to be that way. Here are a few pictures of the finished knife.

Overall this took me just about 45 minutes of time to do and I think it makes it look a lot nicer. It is also much more comfortable when you chock up on the blade.

The next thing I want to do is make a leather sheath. Maybe I will get around that this weekend.

Thanks for looking and your feedback is appreciated.

Greebe

 

[MI Yeti]

Nice job , it dose indeed look factory . I'd like to give a bk-10 a similar treatment but leave the ramp on . I think I'm the only person who likes it lol

 

[Greebe]

Thanks I like the way it turned out. I just have a hard time leaving anything the way I bought it.

 

[Cryptyc]

Greebe,
Love it. Good job on the jimping. My wife would say you and I are very alike, I cannot leave anything the way I bought it either. Seriously, literally nothing I use is factory stock hahaha.

 

[Darksidedenny]

Good job,that spine sure looks shinny

 

[tjswarbrick]

Nice work! And nice pics, as well.
Jimping? Isn't that a Triple Wayne?

 

[Greebe]

Thanks guys. The other thing I am trying to decide on is if I want to force some sort of patina. I have done Plum Brown, cold blue and ammonia, slow rust, parkerizing and niter bluing in my shop.Aside from the niter blue any of those would work. Just not sure which one I would like to do if any.

 

[tradewater]

Excellent Wayne job.

 

[Greebe]

Well I decided to go ahead and put a patina on this one. I really like the way it turned out. It turned out almost too well. Now I am going to be afraid to use it. Don't worry I got this as a user.

I am going to probably let it sit for a few weeks to let the finish set. I have found that if you let them rest after forcing a patina that it sets and holds up better.

I will post the process later, but wanted to give you a photo of how it turned out before heading off to bed. Here she is.

Greebe