My awesome night without my BK11. Time for a new sheath.

A

acerpower

Joined
Apr 27, 2013
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My evening started out with much promise. My wife suggested that I take my kayak out and go fishing while she and the kids play at the beach.
The plan was that she and the kids would ride bicycles to the beach(about 4 miles) and I'd meet them there with my kayak in the truck.

So I packed up my kayak and my gear in the pickup, and set off with my trusty BK11 necker on my neck.
A little over a mile down the road I saw my son waving and my wife sitting on the grass in a parking lot off the road.
Apparently she had a dizzy spell from low blood sugar and almost passed out on the ride.

I managed to fit the bikes in the bed of my truck and drove them back home.

Now the fun part.
I still went kayaking at a nearby lake.
The lake I went to was Lake Mille Lacs. For those who never heard of Mille Lacs, it's about 200 square miles, and the second biggest lake in Minnesota.
Some folks call it "the walleye capital of the world", and for good reason.


Here's my kayak at the boat ramp.



The water was nice and calm and almost looked like glass.



The lake is huge and you cant see across it.
So I paddled out about 1/4 mile, then I was going to tie on a lure and fish.
I reached for my trusty BK11 only to find an empty sheath.:eek:

I paddled back to the boat ramp as fast as I could and searched frantically for my knife.
The knife was nowhere to be found, so I made the best of it and got back in my kayak.
Luckily I had an Opinel #8 in my back pocket so I was good to go.

I paddled out almost 7 miles(according to the GPS) and started casting.
I had no luck and even ruined one of my bait casting reels.:grumpy:

I still made the best of it and even enjoyed a nice sunset.




While watching the sunset I continued fishing and hooked a nice walleye.




The size limit for walleye on this lake is between 18-20'', and he measured 20'' so I kept it and went back home.





After I got home I searched for the BK11, but it was still nowhere to be found.:(

This was really upsetting to me since it's a favorite of mine, so as a last ditch attempt to find I retraced my travels and drove to the spot where I picked up my wife and kids.
The knife was lying in the middle of the entrance to the parking lot.:D
It looked like it got run over and my wooden scales were dented up, but the blade still looked good so I was still ecstatic.:thumbup:

I even used the BK11 to clean the fish.;)


Here it is safe and sound with it's jacked up scales.



At least the scales were free since I made then myself. Besides, I have some cammo G10 coming my way so I can make better scales.

I also have a sheet of kydex to make a new neck sheath. I've been putting off making one since I still need to order some rivets.
I'm going to order those rivets ASAP since next time I might not be so blessed to find it.
 
Had this happen to me with a 14. Was on a rig for over 30 hours in Texas working in the gen house on 2 cat engines. It was one of those do or die kinds of jobs so all the mechs/helpers where there. After unloading 6 or more head sets off a truck it was time to head home. Hopped in my truck and started down the road. Got about 15 miles before I reached down out of habit for the 14 and it was gone. Looked all in the truck when I knew I had lost it at the rig. I just knew some a rough neck had found it by now and it was as good as gone. Texted my boss who was leaving location and let him know I was heading back to find it. Thankfully one of our mechs had found it laying in the gravel and knew it was mine. I met up with my boss on a dirt road, took my sheath off my belt and pocketed the blade. The sheath had just completely worn out and had zero retention left. Need to get a new sheath one of these days, but I really like the stock sheath even though I know no one else does lol. The 14 has become my diaper bag blade and the 15 rides on the belt now. I am hesitant about wearing the 14 anymore... superstitious really.
 
Yeah, I imagine Biscuit and Trade will be all over this thread. They'll probably even post some kayak porn of their own. Good to see the 11 getting some water time and you're family getting out too.
 
acerpower said:
My evening started out with much promise. My wife suggested that I take my kayak out and go fishing while she and the kids play at the beach.

I even used the BK11 to clean the fish.;)

You, sir, have excellent taste! There are few knives which rival the Bk-11!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys.
I almost brought my 14, but I have Izula micarta scales on it.
It seems the ESEE micarta is absorbent compared to Kabar micarta, and I figured I'd never be able to wash the fish stink out of it.:barf:
 
WOW! What a sickening feeling that is when an old favorite item is lost. For me at least there's a sentimental value to certain things in life, an old watch I've had for years, my trusty old pocket knife, etc. My BK2 and 14 rank in this category also.

This is one reason why I LOVE the BK2 factory sheath - it LOCKS into place so positively that it simply cannot come out unless you give it a stout yank. To me a pet peeve over the years with knives is the sheaths they come with oftentimes suck. I've had a few totally awesome knives but the sheath is far too often poor to fair in longterm durability, security in retention, etc. The BK2 is the very best factory sheath I've found with a factory knife.

So glad you found it! The BK14/11 kydex factory sheath is not that great. I got a nice leather one from Psyop and prefer it over the factory one.
 
arizonaranchman said:
WOW! What a sickening feeling that is when an old favorite item is lost. For me at least there's a sentimental value to certain things in life, an old watch I've had for years, my trusty old pocket knife, etc. My BK2 and 14 rank in this category also.

This is one reason why I LOVE the BK2 factory sheath - it LOCKS into place so positively that it simply cannot come out unless you give it a stout yank. To me a pet peeve over the years with knives is the sheaths they come with oftentimes suck. I've had a few totally awesome knives but the sheath is far too often poor to fair in longterm durability, security in retention, etc. The BK2 is the very best factory sheath I've found with a factory knife.

So glad you found it! The BK14/11 kydex factory sheath is not that great. I got a nice leather one from Psyop and prefer it over the factory one.
Click to expand...

I'm a fan of the BK2 sheath too. The 11/14 sheath wouldn't be so bad if it had a bit more retention.
I might take a heat gun to it and see if I can tighten it up a bit till I have a new sheath.
I'd rather have a leather sheath, but since I already have some kydex I'll just go the cheap way.

I've only had the BK11 for a few months so there's not much sentiment for it yet, but times like this make me value it more.
Can't wait to get my hands on the G10 so I can give it the scales it deserves.:D
 
acerpower said:
I'm a fan of the BK2 sheath too. The 11/14 sheath wouldn't be so bad if it had a bit more retention.
I might take a heat gun to it and see if I can tighten it up a bit till I have a new sheath.
I'd rather have a leather sheath, but since I already have some kydex I'll just go the cheap way.

I've only had the BK11 for a few months so there's not much sentiment for it yet, but times like this make me value it more.
Can't wait to get my hands on the G10 so I can give it the scales it deserves.:D
Click to expand...

A heat gun should work or boil up some water and dip the sheath in. This is a little safer because your risk of melting the sheath goes down and the boiling water will still get it soft enough to reform. Then all you have to do is clamp with some vice grips were the retention needs to be added. On the 11/14 sheaths there are little retention nodules inside the sheath that wear out over time. You just have to clamp where they are at and you should be good to go. Ive done this is plastic sheaths, GRN Sheaths, Securex Sheaths.... They all loose retention over time but the 11/14 did it about the fastest.
 
I just boiled it in some water and tightened it up a few minutes ago.
It's nice and tight, and no more rattle either.
Not sure how long this will last, but at least I probably wont lose it again today.:p
 
Murphnuge said:
Yeah, I imagine Biscuit and Trade will be all over this thread. They'll probably even post some kayak porn of their own. Good to see the 11 getting some water time and you're family getting out too.
Click to expand...

Didn't you lose your necker in a terrible kayak accident?
 
I take my 11 on my kayaking adventures that I won from a Give away from Ctanner awhile back and he used shock cord looped through one of the top rivets and then stretched over the bottle opener, and it works as a great secondary retention point.
IMAG0427.jpg

My summer set up
 
Glad you got it back! My 14 jumped out of its sheath as I was hurrying across a parking lot the other day and bounced about 30 feet before stopping. Definitely time for a new sheath.
 
How odd, with all these loose/lost knives attributed to the OEM sheath; my Necker fits tighter then a gnats azz in its sheath, requiring significant effort on my part to remove; hmmmmmmm........
 
Alnamvet68 said:
How odd, with all these loose/lost knives attributed to the OEM sheath; my Necker fits tighter then a gnats azz in its sheath, requiring significant effort on my part to remove; hmmmmmmm........
Click to expand...

Give it some more time and that may change.
If not, you just might be the lucky one.
 
Both my Beckers are loose in the OEM sheaths. The BK11 was really tight when I got the AZWELKE custom sheath, but it is perfect now. Good retention, no rattling and they hold tight.
 
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