ONE BECKER TO RULE THEM ALL!!!! I have my wood scales!!!

Nice Cryptyc! I would put that on par with a few $300+ custom's I've looked that! The tan/ die on that leather compliments the scales nicely! Congrats man!
 
That looks really nice, especially with the sheath. Really does change the look of the blade. Now I have to finish some wood scales. Very nicely done, crimsonfalcon. What did you say they were finished with? I've got some black aniline dye I plan on experimenting with on the curly maple...man I need some shop time.
 
300Six said:
Lovely and well chosen piece(s) of fancy-figured Hard Maple, and even more wonderful to see that not everybody on here is into impersonal/inert 'machine-made/machine-formed plastics' Not to throw water on the fire but if you look closely the scales have ever-so-slightly shrunk, and warped, over top the frame ever since they were fitted. A custom gunstock maker/fitter would have been severely reprimanded or fired for this. It truly is an art to choose, prepare and then shape wood knowing how it will behave in the long run.
In this particular instance the pretty wood does not impart any function other than grip and appearance. So: IMO looks have it, and you win! .
Click to expand...

Ummm. Wow. I guess I need to be fired? Good thing these were a gift, free of charge from me to Cryptyc then. To be fair, I ground these out by eye using my BK5, not his BK2, and mine has seen a little wear. These were ground out entirely by eye (and I use no jigs when I grind blades either). A custom gunstock maker would have had the actual gun in hand to get perfect fit. I didn't have that luxury. A custom gunstock maker would also have been able to choose the wood, rather than using a free block of wood sent from another forumite, and also probably would be charging for the services rendered. None of which was the case here. About all the choosing I did was to say that curly maple would match the sheath well, and granitestateofmind was generous enough to donate some to the cause. I also chose the dye I used to match it more closely to the sheath.

And, the screws I sent are slightly smaller diameter than the stock ones, so it may just not be perfectly fitted before the screws got tightened down. Cryptyc, if you do decide to adjust the fit, be aware that the heads strip out pretty easily on those screws. I recommend using a flathead screwdriver instead of the Phillips you might think would be better. I don't really think that the wood has shrunk at all. It looked to be a pretty well-aged piece, although granite would know better than I, since the wood came from him. I'm also not a custom gunstock maker, and don't have all the fancy tools one of those would have. I used a belt grinder, an angle grinder!, and some sandpaper and a whole lot of elbow grease to shape these. Hopefully Cryptyc is pleased with the result.

I don't sell scales. Most every set of Becker scales I've made have been gifts from me to other Beckerheads. I, personally, think these are among the best ones I've been able to make. I hope to get better at making them, but frankly, without the knife, or the gun, for that matter, I'd bet your "custom gunstock maker" would be hard-pressed to get perfect fit. Under similar circumstances, I might have left them slightly large so that the new owner could fit it to his knife himself, but the whole point of this endeavor was that Cryptyc didn't feel confident in his woodworking skills. Critiques are all very well and good, and I welcome them for my work. But you might need a LITTLE more perspective than just some pictures posted on the internet to make your judgments actually accurate.

For my part, as long as Cryptyc is happy with the end result, I'm pleased. I chose a weather resistant finish (it's got about 15 coats of danish oil, a fair amount of paste wax melted into the grain of the wood, and a 5 layer CA finish over all that, with a couple more layers of danish on top). It's not stabilized, but it's also not raw wood. I chose this style of wood treatment and finish because it's a little more forgiving to climate differences (colorado being very arid), and to people who may not regularly maintain their wood.
 
dresnor,
Thank you sir. That is au-natural. I love this knife a little too much and used it for many week long stints, everyday use (cooking, eating, cutting, bushcraft, hunting, etc.). It has gained some sweet character.

jonny,
Thanks man.

Don,
Thank you very much. Believe it or not, I take all my photos with my iPhone 5S. That thing takes some sweet pics!

300,
I really like them. They have a 'real' look to them, like they were personally made and that makes them very special to me. Well they were specially made for me and free at that. I'd easily have paid for these. They have so much character, just like the blade itself. As a whole package it has a spirit of its own.

Psyop,
Thank you sir. That sheath makes it pop a little too hahaha.

TBL,
Wow thank you. That's some high praise.

Nathan,
Thank you, and you're welcome.

granite,
heck yes you need to finish some wood scales. They are amazing on the blade. Thank you again for sending that wood to Crimson, I love it.

Crimson,
Please do not let that comment shake you at all. These are AMAZING! I don't think the pictures even do them justice. The fit is great, and they are rock solid. I appreciate how well you prepped the wood, understanding that I am a total noob with wood scales. You went above and beyond with these scales and damn does it show. Lovely pieces of work and NOW THEY ARE MINE! No take backs.

You have no need to explain yourself....you rocked em Crim!
 
wow.. very nice indeed. Crimsonfalcon07 is an awesome guy and very talented. he did my BK6 for me (it was blank that wasn't even hardened) and that thing is beautiful. i posted some pics on IG and one in the becker pic thread... i am going to do a thread on it just haven't had the chance. The scales he put on my BK6 were Bocote per my request. he even made a sheath for it as an "extra". Stand up guy for sure. I definitely owe him one for mine. Congrats on yours. :thumbup:
forgot to mention, the sheath looks amazing too!! very nice setup.
 
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tman,
Thank you very much for the kind words and for sharing your own crimson story. We should start a crimson thread.
 
That is one classy looking 2.
Those scales look awesome!
And the sheath compliments the knife perfectly.
 
I have to say, I love that sheath. I make my own, but nowhere NEAR as good looking as Psy's pieces. I might send my RBK and 6 to him for sheathing, after I get around to making handles for those.

tman, glad you like the 6. That was a fun project. I really thought the blank was hardened, since my files didn't bite into it at all, and was a bit shocked when I put an edge on it and discovered it wasn't. Fortunately, Peters HT was able to take care of that for me. That's a quick blade. I find I love the discontinued ones the most, with the RBK coming in first for my affections, followed by the 6, and then the Haze modified BK9. Although I'd take hawkhead's amazingly gorgeous modded 9 in a HEARTBEAT if it were offered up. Which I hope it will never be, because that's one heck of a cool mod. I've got plans for my 5 too. Problem is, if I mess with the 5, I'll have no Beckers in pristine condition.
 
Crim,
I can attest to the thickness and durability of Psy's sheaths. Mine is a bushcraft style. It is built like a tank. I've rolled onto it laying prone waiting for shots and changing positions, I've gotten rained on for hours, etc. That thing is a beast!
 
Crimsonfalcon07, Good on you for making them for Cryptyc. And they look fantastic. Nice work.

Cryptyc I may have to upgrade my phone soon. My iphone (3) pics are barely usable. I usually have to get my daughter or wife involved to take pics for me.
 
Don,
I've had an original Droid forever till my wife forced this iPhone on me. The camera is awesome. You can record in slow motion. Let me tell you what, seeing a slow motion snow ball smash into your kids is hilarious.

trailbum,
Thank you, exactly how I feel about it as well. Complete package.
 
Congrats, Cryptyc, on a a beautiful set of scales, and sheath!, for your 2.
I have a few of Psy's sheaths and while they don't get as much use as I would like, they are awesome.

It's not easy to shape a set of scales like that with basic tools - especially with no knife or jig! (I always wrap the blade and use the knife/spine as a template/guide for finish shaping. And they still don't come out perfect.)
Really nice work, crimsonfalcon.
 
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tjswarbrick,
Thank you very much for the kind words. The whole package looks even better in person. Even my wife said my knife looks cool....DID YOU HEAR ME?! My wife even thinks it looks cool. That's the highest of compliments.
 
Quillan,
Hahahaha, I can't blame you. I'm jealous of the drawer it sits in all day when I'm working.
 
You're so punny!

I found a source for relatively affordable curly maple. I think you may see a bunch of it on my upcoming blades...
 
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