HEST mod journey

B

britchcock

Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
47
So, I finally got my HEST. First things I noticed was how well it sat in my hand- I was a little worried about the bottle opener feature but everything fits well (I would say I have average sized hands- between a medium and large in Mechanix gloves if that helps anyone). Second thing I noticed was how badly the knife smelled- hopefullly this will go away with time, my brother says his did. The skulls are cheesy and a bit lame so at some point I'm going to end up doing my own micarta handles. But, I was really surprised to see how much room is actually in the storage "compartment". Very nice feature. Nothing to add from a usage standpoint so far except that it does come shaving sharp out of the box.

Anyway, I decided to do a little work on it. I was inspired by NEMO to strip it but it ended up being a bit of a process. Total time was about 12 hours or so.


Scales come off first...
IMG_5220.jpg


I used Citristrip paint stripping gel because that was the only thing they had at the local Home Depot.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae340/britchcock/BladeForum/IMG_5221.jpg

I wiped the blade clean just in case there was any residue or whatever and plopped it down into the gel. I planned on it taking 30-45 minutes based on NEMO's process so I waited...
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae340/britchcock/BladeForum/IMG_5233.jpg

30 minutes later I unearthed the hunk of metal and did a little scrubbing with an old toothbrush. Nothing. So I grabbed a non-scratch scrubby and did a little work on it. Nothing. Back in the orange goop for another 45 minutes. This time I went straight for the scrubby and had a bit of success.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae340/britchcock/BladeForum/IMG_5227.jpg

Repeated this process again, this time leaving the blade in for 2 hours. I was able to get most of the black off but the hard to reach places continued to put up a fight so I put her back in the gel. This time for 6 hours straight. After getting back from work i was able to take off the rest with a q-tip, chop stick, and my thumbnail (go figure).
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae340/britchcock/BladeForum/IMG_5235.jpg
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae340/britchcock/BladeForum/IMG_5237.jpg

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm not a DIY kind of guy, but I had a lot of fun with this. The knife feels dryer if that makes any sense. The blade is more grippy now and it looks a bit older and more rugged. Straight business. I'm going to keep a close eye on the rusting issue and see how it reacts after the strip. I'll attempt making the new handles in a couple weeks... we'll see how that one goes.
 
"The skulls are cheesy and a bit lame so at some point I'm going to end up doing my own micarta handles. "

At some point you will learn the story of Mr DP and then tears of lost coolness will flow to rust and stain your stripped and naked HEST :)) Mr DP is known around the world from Kabul, to Mog to Grozny and makes you part of a very elite club. No Mr DP?...well brother, you are on your own :)

Standard furniture stripper will make your HEST nekkid and reveal the bead blasted raw steel. But it will also rust. Its a faux titanium look but I have to agree very sexy looking. Being older and more rugged is something you have to earn, not get out of a bottle. Peace and enjoy your DPx HEST
 
RYP said:
"The skulls are cheesy and a bit lame so at some point I'm going to end up doing my own micarta handles. "

At some point you will learn the story of Mr DP and then tears of lost coolness will flow to rust and stain your stripped and naked HEST :)) Mr DP is known around the world from Kabul, to Mog to Grozny and makes you part of a very elite club. No Mr DP?...well brother, you are on your own :)

Standard furniture stripper will make your HEST nekkid and reveal the bead blasted raw steel. But it will also rust. Its a faux titanium look but I have to agree very sexy looking. Being older and more rugged is something you have to earn, not get out of a bottle. Peace and enjoy your DPx HEST
Click to expand...

Ha! tear stained HEST. Funny guy. I figured the blade would rust much easier. If it becomes a real problem, I'll find a way to duracoat it.

I agree with ruggedness being earned though. Alas I live in a Chicago suburb wasteland and don't get out into the great out of doors as much as I would like. Next time I do though, I'll have another great blade to aid in my adventuring. Just me... no mr. skull. :D
 
Looks good now just dust it lightly with a Gun blueing kit from Wally world($10) and she'll be protected to a degree and still be super cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
My HEST also really stunk when I got it out of the bag. I think the smell is from the burning of "Mr. DP" onto the handles. Fortunately in a few days it was smelling like a normal knife and not a hell knife anymore :p.
 
Oh my. I've got something to wonder about again. The stripped knife looks awesome! It seems like a blasphemy to me to remove the protective coating, yet it looks so good... I like to see the wear and tear and patina on the bare steel... I'm helpless now :(
 
Great striptease ! ;)

I love my stripped HEST but prefer my RC3 to be blackcoated. Not all knives are made to be stripped. The thickness of the HEST calls for being pure metal....
Also the Izula...
 
Hot bluing is just oxidation of the steel surface. No toxicity after the bluing chemicals are washed away, but you still do need oil to prevent rust, so use food-safe oil. I don't know about cold bluing.

There are lots of ways to give carbon steel a patina. I used a phosphoric acid rust remover on a rusty carbon steel cleaver I bought for 50 cents at a yard sale. It cleaned off the rust and left a nice matte blue patina.
 
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