BK 7 wood or micarta handles?

beestokk

beestokk

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Hey all, got a buddy who just recently received a BK 7 as a gift. He's wanting to mod and start with handles. He's torn between wood and micarta so thought I'd ask here for some input to pass along. Wood would likely be walnut or other hard wood, micarta probably the Becker micarta replacement scales.

Pros/cons of each for this particular blade? Uses are likely camp and bushcraft, no outright abuse but definitely hard/frequent use as needed/when appropriate.

He's planning to strip the blade as well. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 
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Well, I think the wood looks better, and the micarta might feel better. Granted, I have experience only with the micarta handles, but I do really like them. And BTW if he does go with wood, I would recommend tommy the who.
 
micarta holds up to more abuse and offers more traction, wood looks better and just has a classic feel to it. other than that its just personnal preference
 
He should get a set of each...that way, he'll have a solid justification for buying his next (full sized) BK.
 
For camping and bushcraft, I'd prefer Micarta.


BEFORE he strips ...

~ does he want to retain the blade etchings? If so, then he needs to etch it deeper before stripping. It's quite easy to do, as simple as a battery, wire, salt water, and a q-tip.

~ full strip or just the blade? He can tape off the handle under the scales to retain the protective coating there. CitiStrip is an easy, less offensive method.


Let us know what he wants to do ... better yet, have him post ... and we can do into greater details.
 
Personally I would get the Micarta handles because of the grip and I think they look fantastic. Nothing wrong with wood at all, but it's not really my thing as far as handle material goes.
 
Hey thanks for all of the comments so far!

I am the friend who has the new BK-7. To answer some of the questions you asked, yes I want to retain the blade etchings, but do not know how.

I planned on only stripping the blade so I wouldn't have to worry about rust building up under the scales as much. recently used citristrip to remove the coating from a cold steel pipe hawk and see no problem with being able to apply the gel to the blade leaving the coating on the handle intact.

Thoughts?
 
TravisH said:
For camping and bushcraft, I'd prefer Micarta.


BEFORE he strips ...

~ does he want to retain the blade etchings? If so, then he needs to etch it deeper before stripping. It's quite easy to do, as simple as a battery, wire, salt water, and a q-tip.

~ full strip or just the blade? He can tape off the handle under the scales to retain the protective coating there. CitiStrip is an easy, less offensive method.


Let us know what he wants to do ... better yet, have him post ... and we can do into greater details.
Click to expand...


Above comment pertains to your post, thanks for all of the advice!
 
Welcome aboard outdoor buck! Thanks to everyone for helping us out with this so far!
 
WELCOME!

Here's a YT vid on etching a blade. About as easy as it gets.
[video=youtube;bV-PItEcLXY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-PItEcLXY[/video]
The coating will act as your 'stencil'. Make the water super salty. Don't really need aligator clips BUT make sure only the Qtip touches the blade, not the Qtip's wire.

When stripping, some blue painters tape works and keep the scales on tight. Citistrip won't hurt them. Check the modification thread - strips are in there.
 
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TravisH said:
WELCOME!

Here's a YT vid on etching a blade. About as easy as it gets.
[video=youtube;bV-PItEcLXY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-PItEcLXY[/video]
The coating will act as your 'stencil'. Make the water super salty. Don't really need aligator clips BUT make sure only the Qtip touches the blade, not the Qtip's wire.

When stripping, some blue painters tape works and keep the scales on tight. Citistrip won't hurt them. Check the modification thread - strips are in there.
Click to expand...


What won't citri strip hurt?
 
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