bk-7

[MC Chan]

Heh heh.

You're screwed!
You're going to end up like me, with yards of tool steel lying around, thirty pounds of roughed out knife blanks, Green micarta (sp?) slabs and dust everywhere, plans for homemade belt sanders, a crappy grinder, and a few roughly finished knives along the way to looking fairly decent...


Or you could become a very good knife maker.

I kind of tend toward lots of hobbies with not enough time to get really good at any of them. Cept hiking, I like hiking.

How are you going to grind your choil?

 

[powells85]

Sorry I haven't checked my email in a few days. Classes have been keepin me busy and tryin to catch up on sleep

 

[powells85]

The rest.....

 

[scfishr]

Thanks again powells85,

Mc Chan,

I have a lot of hobbies as well, some get time , some don`t. I would imagine that a lot of us here are the same way. I already have a lot of tools and access to tools to have some fun.

I am trying ,with age, to avoid the extremes. Not always successful, LOL

 

[powells85]

No problem Sorry about the delay.

 

[MC Chan]

Interesting....
looks like you removed a fair amount of material without breaking through.
More than I would have expected.
I like the choil on the companion.
Now Im eying my BK-7 with an eye toward modification. I think it would be safer for me if i had one on there.
And of course, some Green Micarta Grips!

 

[scfishr]

Mc Chan,

I did break through in one area(about the size of a pencil head) which is why I decided to fill the cavity with the devcon. The devcon added a weight or substantial feel to the knife that it did not have before. It now feels like a tank.

Just wanted to see what could be done on a fairly inexpensive knife.I have a Busse NOE that I would be more cautious with LOL

I think your idea of using the micarta scales is a good one that will look good too.

I will probably try the scales in the future. I had a lot of fun experimenting with this knife. But value this one for heavy use.

One thing that I spent a lot of time on was fitting the handle to my hand, I feel that I could use this knife for extended periods of time without it being uncomfortable.

 

[RokJok]

How are you going to grind your choil?

Dremel tool works well. See my choil mod to a BK-7 in the following thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214642

if I screwe`d up the plastic scales that came with it that it would not be that difficult to fix.

You can also get a replacement set of scales from Camillus/Becker for a few bucks. Will Fennell has been real clear about that over in the Camillus forum here on BFC. But if you're mod'ing the handles in the first place and mess them up, it's a great time to mount scales of a totally different material/size on the knife.

You're right about the Beckers price point making them a great platform for trying out modifications.

 

[MC Chan]

Nice one Rok Jok
I actually even have a dremel.
Thanks for the post!

Now I have another project to put in at about number 75.
For some reason with the BK-7 I have a tendency to want to put my finger forward of the grip where a choil would be. Such as on an EK bowie. But intead Ive got sharpness there

 

[scfishr]

Sorry for not properly identifying this knife. Its a companion. I did not realize this until I was actually looking at a BK-7.

Sorry for the mix up. I still love the knife, just didn`t know her name

 

[OwenM]

Cool stuff. That Campanion looks great. I started making some scales for my BK7 out of 1/4" black canvas micarta a few days ago, but they've been on the back burner since I finished the week with three back-to-back double shifts. Hopefully I'll finish them tomorrow.
Right now they're just cut to size...

 

[scfishr]

Micarta is a good material, that should improve the feel of your bk-7 alot. Post pictures of the finished product.

 

[pastorsoup]

I started making some scales for my BK7 out of 1/4" black canvas micarta a few days ago,

Just curious where you purchased the micarta from and how hard is it to work with?

 

[powells85]

Just curious where you purchased the micarta from and how hard is it to work with?

Texasknife.com has some of the stuff. You want to keep a dust mask on though, stuff's a little harsh on the lungs.

 

[pastorsoup]

I've never handled micarta. What or how do you fashion it into the shape of the scales? If I get the BK7 that I have bid on, i want to custom make my own micarta scales like you have done. I appreciate your help.

 

[OwenM]

I got the micarta from knifekits.com, a 1/4" thick, 3"x12" piece. It's big enough to get 3 scales from in case you screw one up. I cut the two scales from one end side by side like // but facing each other, with the spine of the scales on the opposite sides of the piece so I would only have to cut the shape, and not worry about messing up a straight cut. The piece left over is big enough to cut another one from diagonally. I'd never cut micarta before, and tried a jigsaw which wasn't working too well, along with a hacksaw, which worked fine, but can't follow contours, and is only good for a straight cut. A coping saw did a lot better, but the blade on mine is designed for cutting wood, and the going was slow. What I wound up doing was laying the original scales on the micarta, and tracing an outline with a utility knife. In the spaces between the scales, I drilled a bunch of holes, which made it much easier for the coping saw, since it just had to cut the little gaps between the holes. A band saw would have been easier, but I was afraid of screwing up my only piece of micarta, and decided to do it the old fashioned way. I cut them a bit oversized, and did final shaping with a belt sander, the outside curves on the flat of the sander, and the inside contours on the drum/pulley, followed by a sanding drum on a Dremel tool.
I'm sure you could get some better advice or techniques in the Shop Talk forum. I'm just a novice doing it for the first time, and have a lot to learn.

I've held up on permanently mounting the scales, since I also redid the shape of the factory ones like scfisher did (mine are not as attractively done, but feel great), and I'm not sure I want the scales on my BK7 any thinner, which they will be, particularly at the butt end where the factory scales flare and support your hand while chopping. I may get a Crewman, and use them on that, or put them on the 7 after my Swamp Rat Camp Tramp comes, since it should take over my camp knife chores, and chopping comfort shouldn't be an issue with the Becker anymore.
That's the plan at the moment, anyway.

btw, here's a pic of what they look like right now.

 

[pastorsoup]

Thanks guys, that's a lot of help, can't wait to tear into my BK7 as soon as it comes in. I think it will be pretty nice with the micarta scales and adding a choil.

 

[MC Chan]

Owen those are sweet!
Want to sell me a pair?

 

[Paul1967]

I have a BK-9 on order and I am thinking about cord wrapping the puppy has anyone had any success wrapping the BK's so they are comfortable during hard chopping sessions.

 

[OwenM]

Owen those are sweet!
Want to sell me a pair?

I wish I don't think I could sell them unless I got really good (and fast!) at making them. Haven't finished these yet, but I do think they'll turn out pretty good.

Paul, I don't think cordwrap does well on a chopper. I've tried the diamond wrap over flat wrap like Strider does on many of their fixed blades on my BK7 and Patrol Machete. Doesn't support the little finger well, and has too many hotspots for extended use, or "shock absorption". It was comfortable in light use, and very secure. Flat wrap was more comfortable, but left the handle too thin-another thing I don't want when chopping.