Patinas on the Beckers

E

europeanoutdoorsman

Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
456
Hey all,
Like many of you I am a huge Becker knife fan. I just ordered my 4th BK2. I have 1 in my truck, 1 for camps, 1 for collecting (I love it that much), and 1 I got to giveaway in a contest to people who watch my videos.

ANYWAYS, I love the way the patinas look with those micarta slabs. My question is, how is the rust and wear resistance on with the patinas vs the coating (black oxide I think)?

The reason I ask is I am not in a salt water environment, but after 2 hours of work I saw quite a bit of rust (as expected, but happened surprisingly fast), on the blade of one of my BK2s. I will be using this blade, but I baton rarely.

Thanks
 
The coating is better for rust protection, but if you do strip it and put a patina on, just make sure you wipe the blade down with a mineral-oil impregnated rag every now and again and you shouldn't have any problems. And if you do manage to rust your stripped knife, a little fine-grit sandpaper and another coating of A-1 sauce and mustard should get you back to good as new.
 
I'd say oil it man. I don't coat or patina my blade and have never had a problem. Mineral oil is cheap, everywhere, and safe to eat.
 
When I store my blades, I use veggie oil because I like that it gums up. This does not apply to my folders, which I don't oil at all and usually don't have issues with em.
 
You will be fine using mineral oil. I don't think you're gonna get anywhere close to even 1 table spoon of it in your food just by doing some prep with an oil wiped blade. You'd be hard pressed to even pass on 1/20th of a table spoon into your food unless you're way too generous with your oiling. So while it has laxative properties, it's just a thin coating on your blade you're not taking a full dose of it.
 
I like apple cider vinegar. Wrap it in several layers of paper towels then SOAK it in the ACV. leave in shallow plastic dish overnight. It will look very black and grey before wiping. A good wipe and then a coating of veg or castor oil..(at that tiny amount, will not act as a laxitive). Looks great with deep and different tones of grey, (the paper towel will leave a pattern).
Works for me. YMMV

Oh, yeah, ...AFTER you strip it with Rustoleum Aircraft Remover...the bomb..
 
I'm not talking about a patina as a form of rust protection cause I already oil my knives when I put them away. My thing is, if I am going to remove the finish, I don't want the blade to be high maintenance. I only have put a patina on one blade and it was AUS8 (yes because AUS8 rusts, you can give it a patina). So there was already a good amount of rust resistance.

The real question is... Will a patina on my BK2 require more care (maintenance, checking for rust) than with the stock coating?

Thanks for all the replies too!
 
europeanoutdoorsman said:
I'm not talking about a patina as a form of rust protection cause I already oil my knives when I put them away. My thing is, if I am going to remove the finish, I don't want the blade to be high maintenance. I only have put a patina on one blade and it was AUS8 (yes because AUS8 rusts, you can give it a patina). So there was already a good amount of rust resistance.

The real question is... Will a patina on my BK2 require more care (maintenance, checking for rust) than with the stock coating?

Thanks for all the replies too!
Click to expand...

In short, yes. But if you're going to really be using your BK's hard, the coating is going to just start coming off anyways. Stripping and a patina is kind of like cutting out the middle man and setting up for the long haul. Unless you wanna do your own coating. BUT...new BK's will come with new coating that supposedly will be more durable and similar to ESEE's coating (which is tough as nails).
 
RogueBowie said:
In short, yes. But if you're going to really be using your BK's hard, the coating is going to just start coming off anyways. Stripping and a patina is kind of like cutting out the middle man and setting up for the long haul. Unless you wanna do your own coating. BUT...new BK's will come with new coating that supposedly will be more durable and similar to ESEE's coating (which is tough as nails).
Click to expand...

I have ESEEs and their coating is tough. What is the RD on the new coatings 'cause damn, I just bought another BK2?
 
europeanoutdoorsman said:
I have ESEEs and their coating is tough. What is the RD on the new coatings 'cause damn, I just bought another BK2?
Click to expand...

I have no idea (nor have I heard round these forums) when the older models will be coming out of Ka-Bar with the new coatings/laser etching. But I do know that if you are ordering off of many big online sellers (including a certain big online dealer known for selling books) they will probably be getting rid of their older versions for awhile before they hit new stock. Maybe if you buy direct from Ka-Bar's site or Tomars? IDK though, maybe a mod will chime in on this.

But if it's tweeners you want, when those are finally released they will ALL have the new coating and laser etching.
 
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