Ka-Bar BK7 vs KA-BAR BKR7-BRK Combat Utility?

[crowhaven2000]

You could always deepen the etch on your knife before you strip it. Easy peasy with a DC source - car battery charger, old cellphone cord, even a 9V battery. Or if you happen to have some PCB etchant, you can deepen it chemically.

I might try either method, but I might not mess with it. I have been looking at how to's and picture threads. Almost too much information. I haven't found one on youtube doing a becker knife logo, only really thin custom designs. I would want it deep enough to be there for life. I wonder why BK&T quit stamping like on the old knives? Oh well.. they did.
Lots of options. And I don't have a lot of patience..lol If there is no logo or model number on it, I will still know what it is. A big knife.

 

[Aikiguy]

Yeah, I agree, etching is for purely cosmetic reasons. That said, I do like the looks of an etched logo on a clean blade.

AFAIK, they changed from stamping to the laser etching to stop the stresses on the metal. A couple of blades broke where the stamp was. Better technology and all that.

Etching is fairly easy to do. Here’s a tutorial from this forum:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ng-electrochemical-etching-on-a-bk12.1157003/

It’s what I always refer to when I’m etching my blades. Don’t worry about the build stuff at the beginning; like I said, you can use an old cell phone charger, or even a 9V battery as your power source. Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[crowhaven2000]

Yeah, I agree, etching is for purely cosmetic reasons. That said, I do like the looks of an etched logo on a clean blade.

AFAIK, they changed from stamping to the laser etching to stop the stresses on the metal. A couple of blades broke where the stamp was. Better technology and all that.

Etching is fairly easy to do. Here’s a tutorial from this forum:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ng-electrochemical-etching-on-a-bk12.1157003/

It’s what I always refer to when I’m etching my blades. Don’t worry about the build stuff at the beginning; like I said, you can use an old cell phone charger, or even a 9V battery as your power source. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Earlier tonight I did a google image search and found that thread of yours, and several others. You Sir did some amazing work. Electricity befuddles me, always has. But q-tips I am familiar with..lol..
I have one question, in the factory etching it looks white? Almost like paint. It's not paint is it? That's not bare metal is it?
That Celtic design is killer.very nice.
I may well have some questions for you if I decide to try it. Thank you very much.

 

[Xr6x]

If I strip my knife, I am going to lose the etching of the name and model right? I don't think my knife is stamped like yours. It doesn't seem to be as deep as yours looks. Or am I mistaken? I think I read somewhere that the new knives are different?
edit again:
I just did some reading on the etching on these newer knives. It looks like I am correct. If that happens, I am fine with that. I prefer to let what happens happen. The rolled stamping is way cool, but the new knives just don't have it. No worries. Not that big of a deal to me.

To deepen the etch is easy and truly only cosmetic If you want a deeper logo you have to do that first . A 9 volt battery, 3 alligator clips, 2 copper wires, some Q-tips and a little heavily salted cup of water is all that's needed .The important thing to remember IS THE POSITIVE GO'S TO GROND! Sorry this is the last knife that I deepened the etch on and took pics. Hope the pics help give you the idea

I just hold the bare positive side to the bare edge the negative Q-Tip salt water to the logo move it and hold in one spot as needed. A new battery is best and add more salt to your water if you don't see results soon .

 

[Xr6x]

Xr6x, that 7 looks amazing!

Thank you SALTY

 

[crowhaven2000]

To deepen the etch is easy and truly only cosmetic If you want a deeper logo you have to do that first . A 9 volt battery, 3 alligator clips, 2 copper wires, some Q-tips and a little heavily salted cup of water is all that's needed .The important thing to remember IS THE POSITIVE GO'S TO GROND! Sorry this is the last knife that I deepened the etch on and took pics. Hope the pics help give you the idea
I just hold the bare positive side to the bare edge the negative Q-Tip salt water to the logo move it and hold in one spot as needed. A new battery is best and add more salt to your water if you don't see results soon .

So you just laid the big heavier wire on the cutting edge? Wow, I haven't seen anyone do that. Most strip off a spot on the blade and clamp the wire to it. I can see that this works but my brain isn't imagining it actually staying in one spot..lol. Whenever I take my big hands and start working with small wires, things bounce around a lot...lol.. I have even have heck soldering pickups on my guitars because nothing stays in place..lol..I guess you could easily use another clamp to hold it on the edge if need be. You sure make it look simple..lol. That is simple. Do you have a picture of that blade after you stripped it? Does the etched area want to rust quicker than the bare steel? Or is etched just bare steel too?? I guess so en? Thanks for the pics. hhmmm very simple for a simple mind like mine that tends to want to complicate things.

Just call me Crow

 

[Aikiguy]

Earlier tonight I did a google image search and found that thread of yours, and several others. You Sir did some amazing work. Electricity befuddles me, always has. But q-tips I am familiar with..lol..
I have one question, in the factory etching it looks white? Almost like paint. It's not paint is it? That's not bare metal is it?
That Celtic design is killer.very nice.
I may well have some questions for you if I decide to try it. Thank you very much.

Hey Crow. Wish I could take credit for this, but that’s definitely not my work haha. GSOM’s a member here that wrote up that tutorial. Awesome work.
The laser etch does look kinda white, but it’s not paint. The laser just burns through the coating and just barely hits the metal underneath. Comes out a kinda shiny metal colour.
Xr6x pictures above are a great visual on how to do it. When I do mine, I either use a car battery charger, in which the clamps are big enough to clamp across the blade, or I use a plastic clamp to hold the wire on the edge. That way there’s no need to take off he coating right away. Hope that made sense.

I do have to etch my daughter’s blade sometime. If you want me to snap some more pics for you, let me know.

 

[crowhaven2000]

Hey Crow. Wish I could take credit for this, but that’s definitely not my work haha. GSOM’s a member here that wrote up that tutorial. Awesome work.
The laser etch does look kinda white, but it’s not paint. The laser just burns through the coating and just barely hits the metal underneath. Comes out a kinda shiny metal colour.
Xr6x pictures above are a great visual on how to do it. When I do mine, I either use a car battery charger, in which the clamps are big enough to clamp across the blade, or I use a plastic clamp to hold the wire on the edge. That way there’s no need to take off he coating right away. Hope that made sense.

I do have to etch my daughter’s blade sometime. If you want me to snap some more pics for you, let me know.

Ha! Sorry about that. I was looking at too many threads I guess. He did a sweet job. I think it was partially sanded off later. Kudo's to him! Yes I am understanding teh concept now. I was thinking plastic clamp on the "nekked edge" too. There were so many threads I forget what technique went with that picture. Someone used bluing too but that might have been a chemical etching. I have two Beckers, a 7 and a 9. And I am not sure what I am going to do with either one of them. I suspect I will go ahead and strip them both. I have a can of stripper. I am fond of the model being on the knife, the simple BK-7 would be enough for me. The other side, I wouldn't miss. Also not sure if I will remove teh coating from under the handle but I probably will. I like steel.
It's funny this whole adventure started with My 93 year old Mother passing away last year, and me finding 8 or 10 old butcher knives in her kitchen drawers. I grew up using those knives. So most of them are as old as I am (67) or older. There are also a couple of old cleavers.
I started enjoying looking at them, fondling them, then I started removing some of the rust and sharpening them. Most of them have no markings, a couple do, one is a forgecraft, I think only two old hickory on the handle. One of my favorites is a green river style "sheep skinner" . Probably made by Russel & Company Green River knife works. It has no stamping but I found a newer version on ebay, and bought it for teh sheath. My older on has a thicker blade than the more recent one I bought. I like the handle on them. I wanted a sheath for it, and somewhere ran across a mountain man thread on another forum and saw a couple of BK-2's. That was a year ago, and at some point I decided I wanted a Becker. Did a lot of googling and youtubing and decided I wanted a bigger knife.
I may never get out in the woods again. I am getting old, and life has changed. I live on 19 acres, so I can go outside and build a camp anytime I want to..lol..I won't bore you with my life's history..lol..
I would love to see any pictures you can muster. That's one reason we are here right? Who doesn't love looking at knives?
I haven't taken any pictures of the butcher knives but here is the Sheep Shinner I bought of ebay. I says it is vintage, but my Mom's is older. Same style handle, but no finish and no stampping and a thicker blade. I know you can buy brand new ones from Dexter Russel online. Cool knives.

Just call me Crow

 

[Xr6x]

, I push that wire down on the edge and hold it there . Not a great idea just how I've done it Stripping a spot off and using a clip is a much better way and safer way to go about it I was just in a hurry to see if it was going to work and it did it was so fast I just continued hey one more thing that is important make sure to clean off any oil from the logo with soap or rubbing alcohol first. The way I deepened the etch above is a bare minimum way to show how simple it is .There are lots of better ways to go about it for sure funny though, I failed the first 3 blades I tried to do . After reading Graniteminds post I finally got it
View attachment 1062466
I have several

 

[Xr6x]

This should be enough but I do have more
View attachment 1062476
If you would like ?

 

[crowhaven2000]

I think I posted to no one in particular.....lol

 

[crowhaven2000]

This should be enough but I do have more
View attachment 1062476 View attachment 1062477
If you would like ?

That's plenty. Thanks! Wow that worked great. I don't see why another way would be better..lol. Easy is best for me.
When you say it didn't work a couple of tries, and idea why not? These knives are brand new no oil on them. I don't think I have any salt in the house, only sea salt. That is salt I wonder if it will work? It is "fine" sea salt. Thoughts??
Thank you for the pictures. Am I replying to the right person??..lol

Just call me Crow

 

[Xr6x]

That's plenty. Thanks! Wow that worked great. I don't see why another way would be better..lol. Easy is best for me.
When you say it didn't work a couple of tries, and idea why not? These knives are brand new no oil on them. I don't think I have any salt in the house, only sea salt. That is salt I wonder if it will work? It is "fine" sea salt. Thoughts??
Thank you for the pictures. Am I replying to the right person??..lol

Just call me Crow

It didn't work cause I had negative to ground and not the positive that's why I capitalize it above . Easy to make that mistake any salt should be fine

 

[crowhaven2000]

It didn't work cause I had negative to ground and not the positive that's why I capitalize it above . Easy to make that mistake any salt should be fine

I see..lol.. well I have some course sea salt. I should get some different salt to it will desolve better. Is there any other battery that might work better than a 9 volt? I forget what I read elsewhere already..
So those knives were done with salt and a nine volt battery? The etching looks plenty deep me. If I aint seeing black on the q-tip, I guess it aint workin too good?
Do I have any more questions???

Is the sky blue? What is the meaning of life.. or knife?

 

[Aikiguy]

Table salt. Sea salt. Pickling salt. Hippy dippy Himalayan pink salt. Road salt (?). Should all be fine (dunno about the last one). Just use hot water to dissolve it and you’re good to go.

As for power supply, probably the bigger the battery the better. Car battery would work. I use a car battery charger. You could use any old cell phone charger cord. Power cord from an old laptop. Anything that has a DC output will work, and you don’t have to worry about your battery dying midway. Hook it up the way Xr describes, then go to town. You’ll see it bubble and the saltwater will turn brown and gross. Dip, dap, and repeat, until your satisfied with the depth. Rinse off with some water and baking soda. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

 

[Aikiguy]

Oh, and good story about your mother. Sorry about your loss, but 93 sounds like a nice ripe old age to live to. Good to hear you’re keeping her old cutlery. Would love to see some pics one day.

 

[crowhaven2000]

Table salt. Sea salt. Pickling salt. Hippy dippy Himalayan pink salt. Road salt (?). Should all be fine (dunno about the last one). Just use hot water to dissolve it and you’re good to go.

As for power supply, probably the bigger the battery the better. Car battery would work. I use a car battery charger. You could use any old cell phone charger cord. Power cord from an old laptop. Anything that has a DC output will work, and you don’t have to worry about your battery dying midway. Hook it up the way Xr describes, then go to town. You’ll see it bubble and the saltwater will turn brown and gross. Dip, dap, and repeat, until your satisfied with the depth. Rinse off with some water and baking soda. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Wonderful! I have some old Mountain hippie salt around the edges of my hat's sweatband. That should work if I can get the grease off of it.
I was thinking about a 12 volt battery charger too. But what amp? I have a 2 amp and a 10 amp setting, and a 6 volt setting that doesn't say what amperage. It is a modern automatic charger so it may not work come to think of it. It may turn itself off.... hhmmm
Yes my Mother and my Father lived long good lives. he was only 83 when he passed but he lived a lot. I should write a book about them. They both loved their knives. My Dad always made sure I had a sharp "Barlow" (he called all pocket knifes Barlows) when I was a kid. he was always gifting me pocket knives. I still have a drawer full of them, and his old ones that still had blades. They are sharp like razors..lol.. I knew those old butcher knives were there, but found more than I expected kind of hidden in a cabinet. They are treasures to me. Just a couple of Days before my mom passed she told me she had a good pocket knife in teh console of her car. It's a pretty good knife. She wanted to make sure I got it.
I will find something to use. I was thinking the auto battery would work but I don't think it will without a manual setting. Thanks for the Colour commentary, I enjoyed it.

Just call me Crow