Question about strippers

Bloodloss · Apr 21, 2023

Hey, everyone! I see a lot of Busse knives out there that have the original coating removed. What I am wondering about involves the stripping process and the long term results thereafter. The pictures I see of stripped knives posted for sale look really clean, as in the coating is removed from all of the blade and the edges of the handle. I only assume the process involves taping off the scales and just being as careful as possible to not get stripper everywhere. So, my question is, what if stripper gets on micarta or g10? Does it continue to break it down over time? How do the edges of the scales look years down the road? Any drying out, discoloration, crumbling, gummyness? Those of you in the know, please set me straight on this.
Thanks for your help!

jd4320t · Apr 21, 2023

Unnecessary to tape off handles. The stripper doesn’t stay on that long anyway.

I haven’t seen any impact on handles at all. Strip on!

ferider · Apr 21, 2023

I sometimes take the scales off, sometimes I don't and sometimes you can't (when you strip a RES-C knife, for instance). As long as you wash properly after stripping, there are no issues, with either scales (if you decide to leave them on), or blade/edge/etc. The knife (and edge) might rust during stripping, so typically you have to sharpen the knife after stripping.

A couple of examples:

On the right my "oldest" stripper, was done by another forum member at least 5 years ago. On the left, one of my strippers where I removed the scales, so it could be sandblasted afterwards:

Here is an SR77 stripper, first stripped, and then after cleaning, this one I took the scales off, it's just easier to clean afterwards without touching the scales with sandpaper:

Here are two RES-C strippers, obviously the scales can not be removed:

The following was a weird one, it had black flats after stripping (not decarb). I left them on, because I like the look:

It is another copy of the Son of Dogfather in the pic above, where the coating came off entirely.

I've also stripped other knives. This one was interesting as it's European and I had to look for matching metric screws. And it has laser engraving which remains on the blade.

It's quite bit of work, and the coating often hides imperfections, chatter marks, etc. .... so only do it if you like the look and it really matters to you.

Hope this helps.

Roland.

tinfoil hat timmy · Apr 21, 2023

They're nice to you until you run out of money.

Bloodloss · Apr 21, 2023

ferider said:
I sometimes take the scales off, sometimes I don't and sometimes you can't (when you strip a RES-C knife, for instance). As long as you wash properly after stripping, there are no issues, with either scales (if you decide to leave them on), or blade/edge/etc. The knife (and edge) might rust during stripping, so typically you have to sharpen the knife after stripping.

A couple of examples:

On the right my "oldest" stripper, was done by another forum member at least 5 years ago. On the left, one of my strippers where I removed the scales, so it could be sandblasted afterwards:

Here is an SR77 stripper, first stripped, and then after cleaning, this one I took the scales off, it's just easier to clean afterwards without touching the scales with sandpaper:

Here are two RES-C strippers, obviously the scales can not be removed:

The following was a weird one, it had black flats after stripping (not decarb). I left them on, because I like the look:

It is another copy of the Son of Dogfather in the pic above, where the coating came off entirely.

I've also stripped other knives. This one was interesting as it's European and I had to look for matching metric screws. And it has laser engraving which remains on the blade.

It's quite bit of work, and the coating often hides imperfections, chatter marks, etc. .... so only do it if you like the look and it really matters to you.

Hope this helps.

Roland.

Some great knives there!
Very helpful, thank you!

EngrSorenson · Apr 21, 2023

tinfoil hat timmy said:
They're nice to you until you run out of money.

I came out of my way to come here and make sure this joke got made.
It's nice to know people are looking out.

Seems my expertise is no longer required.

tinfoil hat timmy · Apr 21, 2023

EngrSorenson said:
I came out of my way to come here and make sure this joke got made.
It's nice to know people are looking out.

Seems my expertise is no longer required.

I got your back fam

sawgrass7 · Jul 7, 2023

Hey guys,
I can’t find any mention of this on here and I know jack about metallurgy, so:

I just used Citristrip and as a final step it mentions using After Wash or mineral spirits to remove residue. But I had neither of those. Do I need to get some? Thanks

Dadgummit · Jul 7, 2023

Hi, Where can I get those screws that you use in place of the hollow rivets that are there from the factory?