This 'll be the final picture of my BK11..

Galeocerdoshark

Galeocerdoshark

Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
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...while it looks like this!



The scales arrived today. They do improve the grip a lot, I'm glad I finally got them. The scales arriving marked the moment I was waiting for to start changing it up a little with this 11.
First of all, the scales were somewhat light. I read about them changing colour over time, but I didn't feel like waiting. I still had some paint left over that I also used on this opinel:

IMG_2246.jpg

That's the paint I chose to darken the scales a bit and make 'em more brown. They're drying at the moment. They appear a bit dark now, but I'm sure they'll lighten up a bit when the paint dries. (More pics to be added later on).

Furthermore, I got a great DIY-idea from this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1198638-Jimping-the-Spine-with-SCIENCE
I found a leftover charger from an old discman (what's a discman anyway? :D) and used the method described in the thread above to etch the logo in the blade somewhat deeper. Worked great, I suppose. I guess I'll have to see later on. I don't think it etched as deep as with a chemical etchant, but I wouldn't know where to get one in a brick and mortar store over here anyway, so I'm happy with the stuff I've got at hand.

Last but not least, I really liked the coating... but it had to go. It was time for it to be gone with. That's what I'm waiting for at the moment. Stripper is applied, now the waiting game begins. I'll probably have to reapply the stripper 2 or 3 times for the paint to be gone as good as possible (but not beneath the scales, as a way of rust prevention).

So that's what the knife is going through at the moment. Future plans for it entail some kind of patina to give it an older look to accomodate the brown painted scales. I'd like to find some brass screws for it as well. I think that'd look nice. Maybe some new pants as well?

I'll update the thread with pics as I advance through the process, so this one's to be continued.

Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and will enjoy the follow-up. Cheers!

Jerry
 
Continued...

The etching worked REALLY well. After stripping, you can feel it very well at the surface of the knife. It's pretty deep. Almost like it was stamped (but not that much). Definitely a lot deeper than the standard shallow laser etch like there's still present on my first BK16 (which I had stripped without etching).

Post strip:
Naked and afraid! Left the coating on where the scale should be, give or take. Not beautiful, but I'll slap the scales on anyway, and it's rust protected underneath:thumbup:7




You also have that when you open a glass jar of mustard, and there's some fluid on top of the mustard from condensation? Well, it sips easily out of the glass, onto a paper towel. If you dip this acidic fluid on your carbon blade, you're in for a nice spotted patina. No messing around with mustard on the blade, just the colourless fluid from condensation. And again, we wait...

 
Thanks! The scales have dried. They need a little lick of varnish imo, te give it a deeper colour 'cause plain micarta is a bit dull imo. Patina is still a work in progress. I'd like the letters of the logo to be a bit darker.

Pics coming soon...
 


After the dye, before the light coat of varnish. I'm happy with the darker colour, but I hope the varnish will deepen it and make it more 'alive'. We'll see.

I had to do some sanding on the inner side of the scales though. When I put them on the 11, there was a gap between the handle and the scales because the inserts were too thick on both sides. Had to sand them down to create a tight fit.
 
Thanks Aiki!

The varnish has dried in the meanwhile. I've put it all together and made some pics. I like it. Darker, more vivid scales (imo), patina'd blade... I was going for somewhat of a more vintage look and I think I pulled that off pretty well. Again, the purpose wasn't to start grinding and change the shape of the 11, just wanted to make this one my own and more to my liking.
I won't be changing the patina anymore by forcing one. This is OK for now, and I'll let nature/use handle the rest. That'll give it more character, I suppose.

Without further ado, here are the pics of the finished product:









And finally, a before-and-after-pic

I hope you guys can enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed the process. Loved fiddling around with this one to make it my own.

Cheers fellas.
 
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Thanks fellas, I'm pretty happy with it as well. Now I'm looking at some worn zippo's online to match this thing. Gearnerdy, I know
 
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