BK11 Novice: a couple of questions

[JudeF]

Hello

I am in the coast guard aux. and I was required to purchase a knife. After some research I bought the BK11 - though I don't know if it was the right choice.

I am a knife novice. This is the first knife I have ever owned. Can you please advise on the following.

1. The very small packinging info provided said not to keep the knife stored in its sheath when not in use. Is this really true? How does one safely store the knife then when not in use. I was hoping to keep it safely in its case.

2. Any pictures available with guidance on how to use the handle for breaking wire and which of the two openings is used for bottle caps the one closer to the blade or closer to the end of the handle.

3. again the small pamphelt provided says to treat the sheath with a "preservative" to prevent cracking and drying but does not explain or suggest one: any suggestions?

4. What should I buy to clean the blade after having it out all day out on patrol with water splashing on the blade and probably the case.

5. Please tell me the name of a stone to buy to sharpen the knife.

I appreciate your help. Again this is my first knife so forgive my ignorance.

 

[DISCO]

Hi Judef. The necker is a great little knife.As long as you look after it it should be okay in the environment you work in. I don't claim to have the answers to your questions but i'll give you my take on it. 1. regards sheath care i think the info leaflet may be a general advice especially refering to leather. leather would need to be looked after and preserved.Also leather has chemicals or whatever in it that can affect the blades metal. The necker sheath is kydex and i would say rinse it with plain cold water and make sure it's dry and if you treat the knife i don't see why you can't keep it in the sheath.
2.Never used wire breaker,but the outermost two parts at the end of the handle are the bottle opener.
3. see 1.
4.You could wipe it down with a silicone cloth .Personally i rinse it with water dry it well and treat the edge with vaseline.
5.i'm sure you will get some more educated suggestions but a small diamond stone would be good. I have a fiskars or whatever make pocket sharpener it's easy quick and you can ranger band it onto the necker sheath.

Hope this helps. Welcome to the forums.:thumbup:

 

[JudeF]

Disco

Thank you so much for taking time to reply to my post. I appreciate the info you did provide and will continue to watch the thread to see any further info on the wire cutter etc.

I feel better hearing you say this was a good "first knife" choice for my use and will use the info you provided.

Thanks for the help and the "welcome to the forum".

Jude

 

[Mike Kerins]

Disco,
I spent 22 years in the Navy and the best advice I can give you is to treat the leather sheath with neatsfoot oil. After being out in the salt air all day you may want to rinse the knife in fresh water and dry. The recommendation to apply a thin coat of vaseline sounds good, but only for long term storage. I would not personally want to carry the knife that way. The best thing is to carry it dry. That way the lubricant/preservative won't be an attraction for foreign material. Just my two cents.
Mike

 

[Cutshaw]

The BK11 necker sheath made of kydex... not leather.

I kept mine stored in the sheath above the car visor. It lived there for months. Maybe it was the heat of the car interior, but the knife would get so bloody tight in the sheath that the force requred to remove it made removal a dangerous thing for anyone standing within 3 feet!

The BK11 is great little knife when concealability/portability is important. Depending on your usage, you might want something with a bit more substantial grip. At the very least, consider wrapping the grip in paracord.

Sharpening? The Spyderco Sharpmaker system is great but at $50 it may be overkill if this will be your only knife. Lansky is another fine sharpening system. Standard whetstones are fine but are difficult for the novice to get used to maintaining the correct angle. For only occasional, light usage, you might want to get an old leather belt and some jeweler's rouge compound. You can then just strop the blade back to razor sharpness unless you've terribly dinged the edge.

Good luck and stick around. You may find this is not your last knife!

 

[sodak]

I have 5 neckers, and have stored them all in their sheaths with no problem at all. I also live in Colorado, which is dry. The only part that might be subject to rust is the edge, which you can easily sharpen off. I prefer a DMT diafold coarse/fine (blue/red) for sharpening, finishing with a ceramic rod/stone. Enjoy your Becker, you purchased a very good knife. If you want any details, please feel free to email me.

 

[ahgar]

Don't worry you picked a great little knife. I think the sheath instructions were for leather also as kydex doesn't require any care to speak of. as far as rust as long as the black finish is intact it won't rust. as mentioned above keep something{break free,vasoline,grease, spam, anything" on the edge since the edge will rust especially when exposed to salt spray. Using a carbon steel blade around salt water will require a little more attention than stainless but not that much. I'm curious did they specify a fixed blade knife?? If not you might want to look into the spyderco SALT knives. from what i understand the steel they use can't rust and is designed for use around seawater. good luck and watch out for sharks, ahgar

 

[bigbcustom]

Hello

I am in the coast guard aux. and I was required to purchase a knife. After some research I bought the BK11 - though I don't know if it was the right choice.

Good choice IMHO

I am a knife novice. This is the first knife I have ever owned. Can you please advise on the following.

I would be happy to give you my opinions. Keep in mind that these are only my opinions.

1. The very small packinging info provided said not to keep the knife stored in its sheath when not in use. Is this really true? How does one safely store the knife then when not in use. I was hoping to keep it safely in its case.

I keep carbon steel knives in kydex sheaths for extended periods, and I haven't had any problems. Chrome tanned leather can cause issues, but I haven't heard of any problems with kydex.

2. Any pictures available with guidance on how to use the handle for breaking wire and which of the two openings is used for bottle caps the one closer to the blade or closer to the end of the handle.

Sorry, can't help you here.

3. again the small pamphelt provided says to treat the sheath with a "preservative" to prevent cracking and drying but does not explain or suggest one: any suggestions?

I am not aware of kydex needing any kind of preservative, but I would suggest you email Normark or some other sheath maker to make sure.

4. What should I buy to clean the blade after having it out all day out on patrol with water splashing on the blade and probably the case.

Marine tuff cloth by sentry solutions hands down the way to go in your case. Here is the link http://www.sentrysolutions.com/welcome.shtml made specifically for your application. I use these and they are highly effective.

5. Please tell me the name of a stone to buy to sharpen the knife.

For someone new to sharpening, I would suggest the Spyderco sharpmaker, or, if you are looking for something to carry in your pocket, and are willing to put in the time to learn how to use it, a two sided diamond hone from eze lap or dmt.

I appreciate your help. Again this is my first knife so forgive my ignorance.

Nothing to forgive my friend, these forums exist (or should exist lol) as a knowledge sharing tool for people to learn, grow, and share with each other. What you are doing is simply utilizing the forum for it's intended purpose. I am sure there are things that you will be able to help other people with.

 

[JudeF]

Wow

I've been away on business and am just getting to check back to this forum.

Holy Cow, what incredibly helpful information!

YOu have all been amazing to take the time to contribute so much helpful information. I am printing out this thread now so that I can read all the details tomorrow.

If I have any further questions I may post again.

Thanks so much everyone!

JudeF