To strip or not to strip??? (BK2)

[Mrs. Survivormind]

Ok so lets be real I use this knife for everything. We are talking one minute I'm cutting up limes for my beer on a fishing trip with my awesome husband, the next cutting carpet to install in our newest project, and then of course my kids need their burritos cut in half cause who really wants to hear kids fight? So question is do I leave the finish on or should I strip it off? This knife has a wide range of purpose if you have seen from my resent other posts from batoning fire wood, cutting down a tree, gutting a goose, and of course the things I mentioned above. Dilemmas...

 

[Hunter Sharp]

When I first seen the title of this thread I was like wow! This is a family forum lol but all joking aside its personal preference really, I strip all my blades and use them for all the same tasks you mentioned above and I have no problems at all. Actually my BK9 is named Magic Mike! Because he strips so darn good!

 

[Moosez45]

Coatings are for sucka's. And if it gets used, its gonna come off anyways, and I have a strong aversion to epoxy powder coat in my kids burritos.

And, for the helluva it.....

Moose

 

[stifa]

Yes .

 

[Survivormind]

Has anyone had any issues with corrosion on a stripped blade? I didn't think this would be much of an issue but these knives are going to be on hip all day, every day and will be ridden hard and put away wet. I'm not saying that maintenance is not going to happen but I'd rather not get up in the morning, realize one of our knives got wet in the sheath, and now we've got to spend time sanding it off.

I have worn my BK11 daily for a long time but it hardly ever gets wet. It has on occasion and was fine but that normally happens in spring and summer and it's dry here anyways. Also, most of the coating is still on it.

 

[Dylan07]

a light oiling after drying it should keep corrosion at bay. Im not saying after each time you use it. But maybe just once at the end of the day? quick dry and wipe with an oil impregnated rag?

 

[daizee]

I'd say strip the bevels only, if you can.
You'll have to wipe the bare steel down to keep it from rusting... it depends on your environment.
I like to wax my knives regularly and that reduces the chance of rust, but I wipe them off before sheathing anyway, even stainless.

 

[Mrs. Survivormind]

I always "wipe" my knives off before putting them in the sheath, but its more of a brush off on the thigh of my jean Haha. The climate here is really dry, but we are going to a place where it a little wetter so rust could be an issue. There is also the shine factor, never know when you might need to be incognito

 

[daizee]

I always "wipe" my knives off before putting them in the sheath, but its more of a brush off on the thigh of my jean Haha.

That works pretty well, actually. The trick is to keep moisture out of the sheath.

 

[TheWambo]

You could strip it and have it media blasted, it reduces the reflectiveness of the blade to a minimum.

 

[wrknives]

Ok, my bk2 has its coating on still, but is wearing away quickly with use, and I recently used the bk2 by itself to build a three person shelter, cut food, scrape, make a fire, pry, everything this was all in the snow, and was dark when she was finally put aeay. The next day it had slight rust on the edge, and the tip with no coating. I wipe it a few times with steel wool, oiled it, and strolled it, and it was as good as new I suggest you keep either wax or oil around, and a piece of steel wool. It has a number of uses anyway! Don't worry about it too much, as long as you take a minute to clean her up later.

 

[Survivormind]

I'd say strip the bevels only, if you can.
You'll have to wipe the bare steel down to keep it from rusting... it depends on your environment.
I like to wax my knives regularly and that reduces the chance of rust, but I wipe them off before sheathing anyway, even stainless.

The bevel stripping looks like that would probably be the best bet here. In the past, I've just wiped most of the grease from the blade after using it on animal products but I don;t clean it with soap. That has seemed to work well. Like I've said in other threads though, our environment and daily use for these knives is going to change a lot in about 4 months.

 

[Survivormind]

Ok, my bk2 has its coating on still, but is wearing away quickly with use, and I recently used the bk2 by itself to build a three person shelter, cut food, scrape, make a fire, pry, everything this was all in the snow, and was dark when she was finally put aeay. The next day it had slight rust on the edge, and the tip with no coating. I wipe it a few times with steel wool, oiled it, and strolled it, and it was as good as new I suggest you keep either wax or oil around, and a piece of steel wool. It has a number of uses anyway! Don't worry about it too much, as long as you take a minute to clean her up later.

Nice. +1

 

[cbwoods67]

You could strip it and have it media blasted, it reduces the restrictiveness of the blade to a minimum.

I do not suggest this.
Media blasting opens up the pores of the steel and allows more surface area for rust to establish.

If you use the knife for food prep on a regular basis, I would definitely strip it.

When I stripped my Machax, I sanded it up to I believe 600 grit.
I have beat the piss out the this thing and never had a problem with major rusting. Don't think I have ever oiled it, either.

As for reducing glare, after a while your blade will build a good layer of patina. Eventually, this will dull the shine on your blade and make it much less obvious.

 

[TheWambo]

I do not suggest this.
Media blasting opens up the pores of the steel and allows more surface area for rust to establish.

Hmm I haven't seen a problem with it, but to each his own, its actually acquiring a nice gradual patina. Logically speaking I would agree with you but I just haven't seen it happen yet, maybe the surface holds oil better or something?

 

[DerekH]

Someone once said you can't trust a knife with a coating on the blade. No telling what kind of secrets it is hiding under there.

However, myself, my BK2 still has it's coating, or at least the bits that haven't worn off. I do not use it for everything the way I use my BK16 though, and the BK16 was stripped very early on.

 

[cbwoods67]

Hmm I haven't seen a problem with it, but to each his own, its actually acquiring a nice gradual patina. Logically speaking I would agree with you but I just haven't seen it happen yet, maybe the surface holds oil better or something?

My own logic has defeated me!
That makes a lot of sense too. I guess it depends on the media used.
If it works for you, then I can't really argue that.

 

[The Warrior]

I stripped the coating off mine.

 

[TheWambo]

My own logic has defeated me!
That makes a lot of sense too. I guess it depends on the media used.
If it works for you, then I can't really argue that.

I usually only oil it after I sharpen it or strop it (maybe twice a week on my 16 if I'm using it heavily) and it seems to work fine for me.