Just ordered a BK15 Should I remove the coating?

T

thomasward00

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Jun 30, 2011
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I want a great all around knife, no I don't baton wood with knives, my primary concern is possibly this being my camp cooking knife. Is the Ka Bar blade coating food safe?

I live in South Louisiana, if used for cooking would removing the coating and doing a forced Patina hold up against the elements, or should I just leave the coating on for added rust prevention.

Thanks in advance
 
I got one for the same reason, stripped it and did a mustard/vinegar forced patina on it and as long as you wipe it down after you use it, it will be fine. If you forget even one time and you will get rust. I forgot a few times and had to scotch Brite the blade and re-patina it. the worst one was when my daughter put it in the dishwasher and really rusted the crap out of it that time. Took me about an hour of wet sanding and scotch Brite to fix it that time. She got an earful about blades and steels that time. But it's worth it, it is by far my favorite kitchen knife.
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It should be fine as long as you don't put it away wet. A good patina should prevent most damage as long as you do that.

And, honestly I'm not sure about the coating being food safe or not. This new coating is pretty tough, so I doubt it would come off. However, the texture is quite rough, so I'd imagine it would get annoying when slicing things, as it might bind up more than an uncoated blade.

Personally, I'd strip it, and put a nice good patina on it and just keep it dry :).
 
I'd say it depends on just how far south you are. Salt water/air can be incredibly tough.

I'd consider leaving the coating but sanding it basically smooth. It comes very rough, but with a little elbow grease you can work it down to an acceptable smooth and still have the protection the coating offers.

If you do decide to strip it, only strip the blade. Leave the coating behind the plunge line and definitely behind the handles alone unless you want to take them off EVERY time.

If you aren't all that close to the Gulf, strip the thing and patina it.
 
The coating is food safe but hinders the 15's slicing performance.

For a camp food knife, I'd strip it with CitruStrip which will also add a nice patina. Sanding it to a 'glassy' black finish would work well also.
 
To strip or not to strip? that is the question!

For the price they can currently be found for you're best off just getting two ;)

Strip one and leave the coating on the other! Then see which one you like better. (this is what I did :D)

This is my stripped 15:
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Yes strip it. You'll love it. Just do your basic care and it'll hold up fine. Use it often. Your issues will come into play if its just stored for long periods of time without a good oiling. Use it often, leave it easily available and you won't have any problems. Nice purchase! Check out the Becker forum, there's tons of posts on this Blade. I had 3, gave one to my brother whose not a knife nut and he's in love with it. Down to 2 so I'm feeling a bit naked haha.
 
leave the coating on and have the bevel sharpened to a degree that gives you a sharper and wider bevel. The coating on these knives is excellent. Just take care of the edge its much less hassle than having to constantly trying to keep the whole knife from rusting. Did this with my BK17 and its worked out very well.
 
Glad you asked u this question. Just bought my first Kabar in forest green. I love it. But was thinking about the strip and patina thing. Seeing as though someone said above to leave it on if your near salt water/gulf? And I live about a quarter mile from Choctawhatchee Bay North of Destin Florida. I'll let it wear naturally and recoat in the future if needed? My dive knives are all titanium. Got tired of stainless rusting because I forget to clean them after Spearfishing trips. My bad.
 
I've stripped most of my beckers so far, and I've not had any rusting problems at all. I have lived about 3-6 miles from salt water for the last 2.5 years, and still haven't had ant problems.

I think if your ok with doing basic maintenance, it should be fine. If you're not the best with that, then perhaps you should leave the coating on :).
 
The BKs work well with their coatings.

If you're going to use it primarily for food prep, I would recommend you strip the blade or sand the coating to a shiny black.

Otherwise, its just personal preference. If you clean it and wipe it down with mineral oil before you put it away, you should be fine.

Ethan Becker says we worry too much about rust. These are hard-use knives made of thick steel. It would take years, if not decades, before rust could actually 'hurt' these knives. Surface rust just looks bad, just scrub it off, oil it down, and carry on.
 
Would Parkerizing (Manganese Phosphate) work well with food preparation?

Just a thought
 
Captain O said:
Would Parkerizing (Manganese Phosphate) work well with food preparation?

Just a thought
Click to expand...
Depends.

I'lI defer to Dex at CoyleOutdoors since he offers parkerizing service.

But ... IIRC, the final steps in the park'ing process involves soaking the blade in oil for a period of time during which some of it is absorbed. If that oil is not food safe, then that could be an issue.
 
The coating traps food and makes it hard to clean, especially if your going for sanitary. I would strip and patina and keep a light coat of cooking oil on it.
 
I've had mine stripped for around a month now (maybe more). I've used it in the kitchen every other day and it still hasn't rusted (the rest of the time it sits in my EDC bag). If you keep clean it properly and wipe it down after use to the point where it is dry there is no issue. Only when stuff it left on the knife does surface rust start. If you get surface rust all you need to do is rub it with an abrasive cloth and it comes right off. If you are still paranoid about getting more just use 2k grit paper and re-apply your patina in that spot.

I wouldn't worry about it.
 
TravisH said:
Depends.

I'lI defer to Dex at CoyleOutdoors since he offers parkerizing service.

But ... IIRC, the final steps in the park'ing process involves soaking the blade in oil for a period of time during which some of it is absorbed. If that oil is not food safe, then that could be an issue.
Click to expand...

Having talked with Dex quite a bit about this over the past week, I understand that to be the case. If you get a knife parked, have it baked (one of the final steps) in mineral oil (petroleum-based but food safe) and then always use a food safe oil from then on out. That's what I'm having done.
 
omenwolf said:
I got one for the same reason, stripped it and did a mustard/vinegar forced patina on it and as long as you wipe it down after you use it, it will be fine. If you forget even one time and you will get rust. I forgot a few times and had to scotch Brite the blade and re-patina it. the worst one was when my daughter put it in the dishwasher and really rusted the crap out of it that time. Took me about an hour of wet sanding and scotch Brite to fix it that time. She got an earful about blades and steels that time. But it's worth it, it is by far my favorite kitchen knife.
F61C2A09-93EF-4BDC-812E-A0AFA95D5742.jpg

805350AB-4F66-4EF3-B836-58E24F0C1790.jpg
Click to expand...

Damn, that black micarta is sexy. Or is that the zytel?
 
Are you having Dex parkerize your 15? Please post pics of the results. I have a modded 9 that he did and I love the parking. If I could, I'd have them all done.
 
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