Question on uncoated 1095 cro-van

[gdoolittle]

I have a question for all of those who have stripped their beckers. How much extra maintenance is it to ensure that your blade does not rust? I keep all of my high carbon knives oiled with tuff glide but will that be enough? I have never stripped any coatings with anything other than normal wear with hard use, and still then, the coating on most of my knives is pretty durable. I think I may strip my 20, but seeing as it is probably going to end up being my new go-to large blade, im worried about it rusting when it gets wet out in the field. Thanks in advance for the advice!


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[thebrain]

My Bk9 gets spotty during and after use in the rain. I would hate to have a stripped Becker to use in winter or rain here in Michigan but your area may be more bare steel friendly.

 

[gdoolittle]

I live in GA, it gets ridiculously humid here, which was another reason that I was concerned. Not so worried about snow though except for maybe once in a year


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[nutoknives]

Maintenance up to user here is the 2 standing on her perch for 4 years winter summer fall, not used on food so rust not a problem 5 and 15 due most food,
Just make it yours and deal with what comes,



And a little intimidated by the BK20

 

[gdoolittle]

Maintenance up to user here is the 2 standing on her perch for 4 years winter summer fall, not used on food so rust not a problem 5 and 15 due most food,
Just make it yours and deal with what comes,



And a little intimidated by the BK20

Thanks for that picture.. It is helpful in seeing the amount that I would possibly be dealing with

 

[nutoknives]

Thanks for that picture.. It is helpful in seeing the amount that I would possibly be dealing with

On east coast 1 mile from great south Bay so Figure Beckers only good for 47 years and 9 months left in the elements,
The 2 likes the perch and will remain outside I beat the rust off any and every chance I can

 

[gdoolittle]

On east coast 1 mile from great south Bay so Figure Beckers only good for 47 years and 9 months left in the elements,
The 2 likes the perch and will remain outside I beat the rust off any and every chance I can

Thats pretty impressive.. Youre saying that youve kept it outdoors for that long?

 

[Swampdog]

I live in hot, humid, and rainy Florida; I stripped the black protective paint off the blade section of my BK-2. I left the paint on the rest of the knife that is underneath the handle.
To keep the blade from rusting I put a coat of Frog Lube CLP paste on it (food safe lubricant) and just wipe the blade off with a cloth when it gets wet. The stuff works good on cleaning firearms also.
Just apply the Frog Lube every once in awhile when needed.

 

[Ethan Becker]

OOPSie

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey gDoolittle .....

A little olive oil, mineral oil, Vaseline --- they all work just fine and just keeping it dry between uses will go a long way.... Carbon kitchen knives of 1095 last-decades just dried before storage.... I use Vaseline because I always have some with me at home or out and about..... No bad taste, single cell critters hate it and it is cheap and has many uses.....

Ethan

 

[bearfacedkiller]

I strip the blade but not the handle on my Beckers. It gives a little protection under the scales which is the only place I have had trouble on knives (not Beckers as I haven't stripped their handles/tangs). I have had stainless steel rust under handle scales from trapped water on other knives. I have used 1095 for years in all sorts of applications including kitchen knives. It isn't that hard to maintain and for me they only rust when they either are not being used for a long time or if they get put away wet or dirty. Always oil them before long term storage and check every few months and put another wipe of oil on them and they will last for years. Plus, one of the reasons I hate coatings is they can not be restored easily. A stripped blade can be made new again with a little bit of very fine wet/dry sandpaper. Just don't let it pit and you can always remove the rust. Sandpaper is cheap and elbow grease is free. I carried my BK15 on an 8 day Elk hunt this year and I solo tent camped in a variety of conditions including rain and snow during the week. I used the BK15 to bone the Elk out with the help of another knife that was stainless and not a Becker and the BK15 had only a tiny bit of brown where the letters are etched into tang. The blade was fine.

I brought a BK14 on a 3 week vacation to Costa Rica and used it to do all sorts of stuff including opening young coconuts. There was no major rust that I can remember.

I have used my BK14 and BK15 icefishing a lot without issue. I cut bait and clean fish with them. I keep them in the sun on the corner of the sled to keep them dry. Again, don't put them away wet and dirty and you should be OK. If not, break out a little sandpaper.

 

[tradewater]

Outstanding fish notch. :thumbup:

 

[bearfacedkiller]

Yeah, carving notches in frozen suckers for bait is the real test of a knife. This was two suckers frozen together. Whoa!!!

The notch? I like to use half of a steak cut from the sucker. That way I can get the hook through some tough skin as I tip the jig and the bait stays on longer. Lakers like to nibble at it for a while before they take it and cutting it that way helps.

I haven't found anything that works on Lake Trout like tube jigs tipped with sucker meat.

Gratuitous fishing pics? Sure...

 

[KingMC]

I can feel the cold from here.

 

[gdoolittle]

Hey gDoolittle .....

A little olive oil, mineral oil, Vaseline --- they all work just fine and just keeping it dry between uses will go a long way.... Carbon kitchen knives of 1095 last-decades just dried before storage.... I use Vaseline because I always have some with me at home or out and about..... No bad taste, single cell critters hate it and it is cheap and has many uses.....

Ethan

Thanks Mr. Ethan! I always figured Vaseline must have some kind of taste (never been curious enough to grab a spoon) seems like thats a better option than the tuff glide I'm using now, which is apparently "harmful or fatal if swallowed." [emoji32] because i do eat off of my knives quite a bit.

 

[gdoolittle]

I strip the blade but not the handle on my Beckers. It gives a little protection under the scales which is the only place I have had trouble on knives (not Beckers as I haven't stripped their handles/tangs). I have had stainless steel rust under handle scales from trapped water on other knives. I have used 1095 for years in all sorts of applications including kitchen knives. It isn't that hard to maintain and for me they only rust when they either are not being used for a long time or if they get put away wet or dirty. Always oil them before long term storage and check every few months and put another wipe of oil on them and they will last for years. Plus, one of the reasons I hate coatings is they can not be restored easily. A stripped blade can be made new again with a little bit of very fine wet/dry sandpaper. Just don't let it pit and you can always remove the rust. Sandpaper is cheap and elbow grease is free. I carried my BK15 on an 8 day Elk hunt this year and I solo tent camped in a variety of conditions including rain and snow during the week. I used the BK15 to bone the Elk out with the help of another knife that was stainless and not a Becker and the BK15 had only a tiny bit of brown where the letters are etched into tang. The blade was fine.

I brought a BK14 on a 3 week vacation to Costa Rica and used it to do all sorts of stuff including opening young coconuts. There was no major rust that I can remember.

I have used my BK14 and BK15 icefishing a lot without issue. I cut bait and clean fish with them. I keep them in the sun on the corner of the sled to keep them dry. Again, don't put them away wet and dirty and you should be OK. If not, break out a little sandpaper.

Thanks! Really enjoyed all of the pictures as well!

 

[bearfacedkiller]

Thanks! I use mineral oil as it is non toxic and I have it on hand for my cutting board. It is common to treat cutting boards with mineral oil.

 

[DavidCAndersen]

Me three for mineral oil! Not only does it work just fine, it is cheap, widely available, and yes, food safe.

 

[granitestateofmind]

Me four for mineral oil - though I got a tip from daizee a couple gatherings ago and now I use Howard's from the Gnome Despot. Has beeswax as well and seems to stay on better than straight mineral oil. As a contact lens wearer, I have accumulated lots of little eyedropper bottles that are quite handy to store and apply from.

 

[bootzon]

Maintenance up to user here is the 2 standing on her perch for 4 years winter summer fall, not used on food so rust not a problem 5 and 15 due most food,
Just make it yours and deal with what comes,



And a little intimidated by the BK20

Man, if you're going to leave the BK2 outside, let me trade you something to take it's place and let me spoil it like a Grandkid.

What handle scales are those white ones?