- Joined
- Apr 20, 2013
- Messages
- 7,205
Our very own James Terrio made what I thought was a great suggestion in another thread of mine, regarding neoprene liners to prevent water intrusion on a completely stripped Becker. Unfortunately for me, the full size Becker handles are all my tiny-ish man hands can handle when it comes to girth, but I find the Tweener grip to be a little too narrow for my liking. Luckily, I have a 15 that was stripped by the person that sold it to me, and after JT made his suggestion, the wheels started to turn (some of you who are nearby can probably smell the electrical fire). Went to the Home Despot and picked up some shower pan liner and some rubber gasket material....and decided that since the shower pan liner already had the word "liner" in it, that would be my starting point 
. Actually, the rubber gasket is thicker and I figured I'd see first what the 4 mil liner material would feel like first....did I mention my tiny-ish hands?
This was really easy, and the material is dirt cheap. Total cost less than $5, and I can probably do another 2 dozen knives. I already had the stainless hardware, tho.
Before:
Scales removed and the small amount of corrosion adressed:
Kinda slicey, so I decide to tape up before I hurt myself....some SNBC Torpedos may have been involved...
Which to choose?
Laid out, took 30 seconds:
I am lucky enough to have a (very ancient) punch; I chose the 1/8" to provide a good seal for the 5/32" bolts:
The stuff is easy to cut; prolly use about anything sharp to get the holes in. Halfway there:
A little carnauba wax on the mini-buffer (a gift from the previous homeowner 11 years ago):
Buffing under where the scales will go for a little added pro:
Scales and liners bolted together, ready for trimming:
Pretty close to done. Probably took longer to make this post than it did to do this mod. I used a craft knife leftover from my ski mechanic days and an X-Acto for the tighter curves. I'm going to either find slightly shorter SS bolts or trim the ones I have as these are a little long:
The back finished:
Finished product after tape removal, WS and strops:
Bottom line: very easy mod with minimal tools and cost. If you're looking for a bit more out of any of your Becker handles, go for it. I would have used the rubber plumbing gasket but I thought it might be too thick (for me, at any rate. YMMV). Seems like it'll seal out the water fairly well, especially if you undersize the bolt holes. We'll see; this is the knife that goes on the fishing pack.....although it hasn't seen duty gutting any fish, as I haven't been successful catching any stripers this year....yet.
. Actually, the rubber gasket is thicker and I figured I'd see first what the 4 mil liner material would feel like first....did I mention my tiny-ish hands?This was really easy, and the material is dirt cheap. Total cost less than $5, and I can probably do another 2 dozen knives. I already had the stainless hardware, tho.
Before:
Scales removed and the small amount of corrosion adressed:
Kinda slicey, so I decide to tape up before I hurt myself....some SNBC Torpedos may have been involved...
Which to choose?
Laid out, took 30 seconds
:
I am lucky enough to have a (very ancient) punch; I chose the 1/8" to provide a good seal for the 5/32" bolts:
The stuff is easy to cut; prolly use about anything sharp to get the holes in. Halfway there:
A little carnauba wax on the mini-buffer (a gift from the previous homeowner 11 years ago):
Buffing under where the scales will go for a little added pro:
Scales and liners bolted together, ready for trimming:
Pretty close to done. Probably took longer to make this post than it did to do this mod. I used a craft knife leftover from my ski mechanic days and an X-Acto for the tighter curves. I'm going to either find slightly shorter SS bolts or trim the ones I have as these are a little long:
The back finished:
Finished product after tape removal, WS and strops:
Bottom line: very easy mod with minimal tools and cost. If you're looking for a bit more out of any of your Becker handles, go for it. I would have used the rubber plumbing gasket but I thought it might be too thick (for me, at any rate. YMMV). Seems like it'll seal out the water fairly well, especially if you undersize the bolt holes. We'll see; this is the knife that goes on the fishing pack.....although it hasn't seen duty gutting any fish, as I haven't been successful catching any stripers this year....yet.
