Stripping and Logo Etching Becker's

[Dexwithers]

Ok Guys, I need a little help deciding if I should offer Blade Stripping and Logo Etching to the new knives I sell?

First off, If you are like me, then you would never pay for this service because you have access to the tools and supplies needed to do this and you are the kinda person that loves to get dirty and mod knives (or anything for that matter) yourself. That's why I got into Becker's so much in the beginning, I could mod them the way I wanted and really enjoy doing it.

So what about the rest of you? Either you love to mod things but don't have the place to work with chemicals and sanders and such, or you really don't want to mess around with modding. You would just rather get out and use these knives with out having to do thing? Or there may be other reasons you would rather not mess with it?


So anyway, I do believe that the coatings have a purpose and are great left on for some peoples knives. Like a back up knife just left in a bag or vehicle that rarely gets checked for rust or moisture damage. Or someone who is near the coast or spends a lot of time near water. Those would probably be better off left coated. If it is stripped then at the very least it should be left coated under the handle scales in my opinion.

But for most tasks like food prep, cleaning animals, and stuff like that, I much prefer a stripped and lightly sanded blade. Maybe with a patina.
Especially with the new coating. The old coating wasn't so bad but I still stripped most of those too.

I know some guys could care less and just use them till the coating comes off on it's own. I've done that as well.

But I also know that some people do like the Becker's but don't buy because they want an uncoated blade and do not want to hassle with it.
I have seen people seek out used Becker's that have already been stripped for that reason.


The other thing is the new Laser Etched logos. I am a big fan of these since it does not stress the steel and you can remove completely if wanted.
But I am also a fan of the old roll stamped logos just because they were so deep and that's what I was used too.
By Etching the laser logos deeper, you can get a nice looking stamp that is deep and visible even when the knife is stripped. And you can even do partial logo like I have done to a few knives. Most of the time if you do strip a blade with the laser logo, you can hardly see it. Especially if you sand out some of the grind marks, the logo may disappear completely. Which is very cool too in some instances.

So I know from experience that the PCB Etchant is a real pain to do. Especially if you want a deep etch. And that stuff is not great to get on your skin or breathe.

In my opinion, and after lots of trial and error with both methods, I believe the electro-etch to be far superior. And instead of taking days or even up to a week, The Electro-etching can be done in minutes. But some people don't like to mess around with electricity and modding plugs or don't want to buy a unit for just one or two knives.



Question is How many of you would actually pay to have this done to a brand new Becker so you wouldn't have to worry about it?

Or if you wouldn't get it done personally, do you think there are other people out there who would like to have this service offered?

Would you send in your existing knife to get this done?



Thanks in advance for any and all comments or ideas.

 

[Darksidedenny]

Honestly dex,i rather do it myself,that s all the fun of it.excitement to buy a new one,anxious to receive it,etch it ,strip it,get new scales and hardware,use for awhile,sell and repeat....but that s just me.

 

[Murphnuge]

I personally would and could do it myself. There are a group of folks out there that don't have the time or area to strip a blade or just can't be bothered to do it themselves. I'm not sure you'll get a lot of takers, but the occasional customer would appreciate the option.

 

[granitestateofmind]

I'd do it myself, obviously, but that doesn't mean there aren't others out there who might appreciate such services. Maybe the BK&T enthusiast forum is not the place to find the answer to your question.....if you've already got what it takes to do it, just figure out a price and offer the service; if anyone requests it, you'll know there's a need, and if no one does - no harm, no foul. My 2¢, FWIW (I know, it's worth.....2¢)

 

[Cryptyc]

I personally would and could do it myself. There are a group of folks out there that don't have the time or area to strip a blade or just can't be bothered to do it themselves. I'm not sure you'll get a lot of takers, but the occasional customer would appreciate the option.

I agree. I think the occasional customer will appreciate that option. I think your best bet to market the service and maximize takers, you should make it a drop down option with orders. Like strip blade +$15, etch $10, etc.

 

[tueller]

I don't think it would be worth it for you. Most like doing that stuff themselves and it would be a lot of work for something that people may not want to spend that much more on. Also you may run into issues calling the knife new after that stuff. IMO a knife is new when it is how the manufacturer packaged it. The second it is modded it becomes used to me. But that may just be my thing. Good luck either way just sharing my .02. You have a great site.

 

[TBL]

I think it would be a cool service to offer to those that are not comfortable doing the mods themselves. Maybe even go a step further and offer full customizations like your 16's. You just need to make sure that it is worth your time and its understood that it is a final sale. :thumbup:

 

[Dexwithers]

Thanks for the input so far guys!

I do know that most would do it themselves and the market if any for the guys who would pay to have it done is probably small. I just want to see how small and if anyone would be happy for someone like myself to do it for them and save them the time and trouble.

I do know that sometimes stripping a knife can be an easy task and the coating comes right off in one shot, but I have also had knives take 3 or 4 applications of stripper then lots of scraping to get the rest off. I know that some people would not want to deal with the last situation. haha


And trying to decide what would be a fair price to charge is the other problem?


Yes, I do think the knife would not be considered new after being modded like that. I guess the customer would have to agree but also know that it is a 100% brand new knife right out of the box and as soon as I strip or etch, it would now belong to them. haha

And I think the full customizations would be very costly. However, I do have some preowned knives that I would like to mod and pimp out and then sell.

But hey, I guess if someone is willing to pay me to do something to a blade, I will go for it.

I do hope to eventually make handle scales too but that may be a while.

Thanks again guys!

 

[zzyzzogeton]

I voted "great idea" but I would still prefer to do it myself.

However, there are folks out there that

- can't do activities like that (say, no place to SAFELy do it in an apartment complex)
- are the people KNOW they are klutz when it comes to doing anything "technical"
- have more money than sense and are willing to pay other folks to do things like this that they "don't have time to do".

I don't think it would be a big money maker, but it could be a nice option to offer folks that would pay for it.

You'd want to have a couple of stripped blades to show folks so that they knew up front that there would be grind marks exposed when the coating was removed. But that could lead to the occasional "I'd like a stripped blade, but could you polish out the grind marks too" jobs. Bigger bucks for a polish job than just a stripper.

 

[Dexwithers]

I voted "great idea" but I would still prefer to do it myself.

However, there are folks out there that

- can't do activities like that (say, no place to SAFELy do it in an apartment complex)
- are the people KNOW they are klutz when it comes to doing anything "technical"
- have more money than sense and are willing to pay other folks to do things like this that they "don't have time to do".

I don't think it would be a big money maker, but it could be a nice option to offer folks that would pay for it.

You'd want to have a couple of stripped blades to show folks so that they knew up front that there would be grind marks exposed when the coating was removed. But that could lead to the occasional "I'd like a stripped blade, but could you polish out the grind marks too" jobs. Bigger bucks for a polish job than just a stripper.

You are correct I think.

And yes, haha, the grind marks from Ka-bar can be horrible sometimes and yes I'd have to charge a lot more to get rid of them. Which would be a good thing if people are willing to pay.

Maybe even offer to do a patina too or something.

Thanks for the input man.

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

I agree completely with zzyzz. They're definitely cool options which -maybe most importantly- make your business unique. You offering stainless for the Beckers is already a great extra you're able to offer. Especially for overseas guys like me that have different standards of bolts/screws in local DIY stores. Therefore, I think there's definitely a market for the services you've listed. Though they might not provide for a massive cash inflow, but could pretty well deliver a nice extra at the end of the month.
I'd say go for it, give it some time, get some word of mouth/mouse and evaluate in six months, in a year, a year and a half and see from there on out.

 

[inthepinez]

Sorry for super, super late response lol. But still. I figured worth putting out there.

A fair price for modding a BK-2 or ESSE would be roughly double the price of the knife to do a good amount of mods to those knives at their price points imo, if the level of craftsmanship of the mods is at the same level as the knife in question.

For instance, logos etched, blade stripped, choil added if appropriate, jumping added/enhanced, decorative tooling to spine, handle scales lightly modded (carved/sanded/reshaped/patterned), and maybe patina’d.

 

[knoefz]

It's a way to make my blades "mine".
I'm for diy

 

[inthepinez]

It's a way to make my blades "mine".
I'm for diy

I’m with you there. After the work i put into mine to make them mine, and the time and patience required in this labor of love, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do it as a commercial endeavor, personally. Cheers.

 

[Plainsman]

I don’t like these blades stripped at all. I like the coating they come with and have had my hands on one that was stripped, it, a BK16, has since been passed along to my son who loves it! I bought another BK16 with factory coating for myself!