Was gonna wait till my son got home with the good camera but I was too excited so here they are!
This all started when I was looking for a camp knife for doing all around stuff but also be able to chop and split wood. The BK2 was the knife I found that seemed perfect. BUT..... I didn't like the handles, especially if they got wet, I hate, and not just on the Becker knives but all knives, hate painted, coated, epoxied blades, and I didn't care for the kydex sheath.
So I searched for something like the Becker but with the things I didn't like about the BK2 solved, better handles, not painted but beadblasted finish, and a leather sheath.
Guess what? Couldn't find it! At least not for anywhere's near a price I would pay for a knife I will abuse.
So the idea came to modify the BK2 and make it exactly what I wanted so I started looking and lucky for me Lamont Coombs http://www.knivesby.com/coombs-knives.html a knifemaker on these forums lives like 10 miles from me and he agreed to modify my knife.
So beadblasted finish, new handles made from black canvas (linen) micarta, replaced the screws with stainless pins, and since I like the the thumb jimpings on Bushman5's landshark so much I had Lamont do those too. It turned out so much better than I hoped! Lamont made the grip a little narrower too which is better for me because I have wide palms but short fingers.
Now it goes off to Heber Ellsworth http://www.hjeleather.com/ Wildmanh here on the forums for a custom leather pouch style sheath with removeable piggy back straps, stone pouch, firesteel loop and D ring with dangler. I will be able to wear the knife either horizantally, vertically or with the dangler further down on my thigh.
All told I will have spent about $200 on the knife, mods and sheath and I am sure I couldn't have gotten anything close to as perfectly what I wanted for even twice that amount.
This all started when I was looking for a camp knife for doing all around stuff but also be able to chop and split wood. The BK2 was the knife I found that seemed perfect. BUT..... I didn't like the handles, especially if they got wet, I hate, and not just on the Becker knives but all knives, hate painted, coated, epoxied blades, and I didn't care for the kydex sheath.
So I searched for something like the Becker but with the things I didn't like about the BK2 solved, better handles, not painted but beadblasted finish, and a leather sheath.
Guess what? Couldn't find it! At least not for anywhere's near a price I would pay for a knife I will abuse.
So the idea came to modify the BK2 and make it exactly what I wanted so I started looking and lucky for me Lamont Coombs http://www.knivesby.com/coombs-knives.html a knifemaker on these forums lives like 10 miles from me and he agreed to modify my knife.
So beadblasted finish, new handles made from black canvas (linen) micarta, replaced the screws with stainless pins, and since I like the the thumb jimpings on Bushman5's landshark so much I had Lamont do those too. It turned out so much better than I hoped! Lamont made the grip a little narrower too which is better for me because I have wide palms but short fingers.
Now it goes off to Heber Ellsworth http://www.hjeleather.com/ Wildmanh here on the forums for a custom leather pouch style sheath with removeable piggy back straps, stone pouch, firesteel loop and D ring with dangler. I will be able to wear the knife either horizantally, vertically or with the dangler further down on my thigh.
All told I will have spent about $200 on the knife, mods and sheath and I am sure I couldn't have gotten anything close to as perfectly what I wanted for even twice that amount.
heh heh heh.
