Becker BK7 - Coating Strip and Forced Patina

As I gain experience with fixed blades, and through the recommendation of fellow KZbin personalities, such as Chris Tanner of Preparedmind 101, I experiment with stripping a Becker BK7. After stripping, adding a forced patina with a mustard and bubblewrap technique, proved to customize this blade to my satisfaction.
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[@jasonallenwise]

The blue color you see does indicate that part of the blade was tempered to around 45 or so Rockwell; far too soft for a knife edge. However, the golden straw color on the grind indicates at least a 55 Rockwell. The spine was correctly left softer and more flexible (i.e. much, much tougher) and the edge was correctly made harder.

[@random_eskimo_in_the_rockies]

I've found a good patina can be achieved with a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar and Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. Also, think about getting the micarta handle scales. Best BK7 addition ever - Even better than a Kydex sheath.

[@outerlimitless]

The only thing that makes me nervous about the perma blue is that it's poisonous. I find that I generally use my blades on food, so I try to be careful of that. I'm sure it's a small enough amount that it wouldn't hurt me, but I guess you never know. I do have micarta handle scales for the BK7. I love the way they feel. You're right..it's a solid upgrade. Luckily they also fit the kydex, so I got the best of both upgrades! Thanks for watching!!

[@user-cp7jw2en1v]

You can use ferret chloride acid, which is used to make Damascus to force some patina as well

[@tranmic4016]

you can also use yarn soaked in white vinegar and then a second time soaked in apple cider to get different tones. Wrap the yarn around the blade to get stripes

[@outerlimitless]

Ooooh! Good idea...I LOVE that idea! I might do a video on that...if I do, I'll drop you a line! Great thought!

[@kookie888]

Mate, that was a brilliant instructional video.

[@outerlimitless]

thanks! glad you liked it...thanks for watching!

[@Airik1111bibles]

Ive learned that chopped onions and apple cider vinegar works really good on my Mora mods. The onion patterns look really cool and they leave a really dark mark. I've also experimented with random hotsauces and crap. like mad scientist in our wives kitchens ....😂I always manage to use something I wasn't supposed to in her kitchen LOL

[@outerlimitless]

Ohh...good idea with the onions! I like the vinegar...nice and dark. But the onions I have never tried...I'll have to try that soon!

[@buddhamack1491]

Mixing vinegar into the mustard works better than water. Makes for faster patina too. Have you tried removing the knurling lines that help the coating stick? I've just striped a blade and they're so hard to remove with the steel it's made out of (SR77) Also if you boil it in a pot after the patina is done it chemically changes the rust so it actually protects the blade, it also makes it darker.

[@outerlimitless]

Hmmm...never thought of the boiling idea, but that's the point of the boiled distilled vinegar I guess...that's a neat trick...I'll check it out!

[@buddhamack1491]

No you actually boil the knife blade in the hot water for 10 minutes. It changes the rust chemically and gives it a protective dark magnetite patina. I learned this from Walter Sorrells video on carbon steel knife care. You can take extremely old rusty knives strip off excess rust then boil for 10 min and they have an amazing patina. Over time this develops naturally as magnetite is a form of rust but it is a stable form unlike hematite (red rust) which is not stable and eats the steel. I'm trying to find out if boiling a knife blade for 10 minutes wrecks the heat treatment before I do this on any expensive hunting knives. But Walter seems to know his stuff.

[@tomhoffart9899]

not botched they put a different heat treatment on the top of the blade so the spine would be flexable and not brittle that is a good thing

[@outerlimitless]

ahhh, true? that's interesting if so, but I never realized that about the Beckers.

[@tomhoffart9899]

just means that is was hand done so good quality

[@mikedale1260]

I use to love becker knifes but ever since they did the cut outs on the handle I just dont want one I seen a few beckers broke at the handle right after the first scale hole

[@Ronie792]

It’s from the etching process if you look the etch is extremely deep and that color is directly under the etch

[@makerofmanythings8447]

Your wife walks in while you're talking about stripers and starts to freak out..🤣🤣

[@outerlimitless]

Haha, it happens more often than you'd think!

[@Apepisaniceguy]

hella late but the blueing could be from the logo etch if a laser was used

[@valthalin7613]

Try rusting the blade and then boiling it fully submerged for 10-20 minutes in water to alter the chemical structure to a natural patina?

[@paulie4x1]

Say Heah, I didn't strip my Rodent 7, But I had it modified. I has it thinned down to less than a 1/4", and I had the top guard taken off and now it look's like a Ratmandu on steroids, It's one of my Fav. 6" blades, But I also luv my A-1. ,, .

[@rolandjones3992]

They over heat the handle to make working it easier. It also absorbs shock force energy better saving the blade from breaking off at the guard. Yellow golden is the temp you want for the blade and was probably takin off before coating

[@outerlimitless]

Hmmm..interesting, I wonder if it is intentional...I suppose that could certainly be true!

[@mikebatty9632]

I wonder if they laser etched the logo, and the laser overheated the blade? Just a thought. BTW, I love your patina ideas! Too cool.

[@outerlimitless]

I think you're probably right...it's right up by the logos...makes sense. Thanks, this patina is my favorite...holds well, is forgiving with stains and actually improves over time! 1095 is the perfect steel for this finish...some other tool steels don't take to it as well, and neither does 5160, but the 1095 loves it!! Thanks for watching!

[@rustwahll192]

We're all sitting here watching Rick Sanchez modify a bk7

[@outerlimitless]

Not familiar with Rick Sanchez...

[@rustwahll192]

You sound like Rick from Rick and Morty

[@outerlimitless]

Ah, gotcha...never seen it, but I'll check it out...

[@michaelfabian2401]

Crazy video man, I'm gonna try this every exact step with my BK7. Thanks buddy!

[@outerlimitless]

nice! you'll like it...easy to do and looks great. get yourself some "froglube" to protect your blade. it's food grade grease

[@tcptcp20072007]

Coconut oil works up to about 75*F as a nice food safe blade protectant. I guess in old days they used bear grease or bacon grease. I would rather stab coconut than a bear to get some blade oil though.

[@ricev7071]

There is absolutely no way I would ever take the coating off my BK7. I could take my BK7 anywhere from the desert to the rainforest and not worry about the blade because that thick beautiful coating is ON THE BLADE!!!!!!! The ONLY mod I would make, is getting a kydex sheath with a ferro rod attachment, that's it. I see too many guys whine and complain because they're too busy and now their knife is all rusted up because THEY TOOK THE COATING OFF!! It's on there for a reason! But hey, it's your knife, do what you want!

[@outerlimitless]

I'll get frustrated at removing my coating the next time I am in a rain forest. In the meantime, I took my coating off 4 years ago, and there is no worry or rust on my knive (very well used by the way), and I am definitely glad I did it. But hey, thanks for watching!

[@stevendaley7862]

Will a Becker knife strike a ferro rod with the factory coating still on it?

[@kennycampbelljr5896]

As long as the blue isn't on the cutting edge you're golden.....l0l

[@bobanderson6870]

When that stripper gets old it gets like jello like that and the chemicals might work on the paint a little bit but you need fresh stuff. You can get cheap little throw away paint brushes at most any hardware store for about $0.75 a piece and rubber gloves you could probably buy a packet of them at the dollar store just stuff worth having around even if you only do one of these projects once a year. Things like the stripper and the aerosol cans for spray paint and such you should really keep in your basement or someplace where it's not extreme temperature changes like out in the garage.

[@outerlimitless]

I definitely made the mistake of keeping my paint stripper in the garage...it did quite gel-like...

[@user-cp7jw2en1v]

If you saw Becker that was broken somebody misused the knife

[@ActionHero29]

Good video

[@buckrogers7498]

Nice, I'm going to take the black off the KBar I just bought and do the same treatment.

[@outerlimitless]

You'll like it! I love playing with the patina and it definitely helps with corrosion. Enjoy your project!

[@buckrogers7498]

@@outerlimitless Thanks, while the factory black coating looks nice, I'm going to go for a more aged look on the blade, patina the metal and age and deepen the leather of the handle as well as the sheath.

[@karaski24]

You think this would look good on a bk 11?

[@scottflanagan7927]

R u from the Boston area. I grow up there

[@JasonGutierrez]

So the branding is laser etched and remains solidly after stripping? In the first BK7 stripping video I found, the guy used some etching solution on the branding and let it sit for like 12 hours before stripping the finish but you didn’t do that and it looks like your branding remained intact?

[@Bearzerk330]

Yeah it's laser engraved. The older models are actually stamped into the blade.

[@BigTex1300]

I spray and 30mins it comes off no scraping. Wash off. Good to go

[@outerlimitless]

Yeah, some coatings are very soft after a soaking...others are still stubborn. I really like stripping off the coating though...I'd consider that an upgrade.

[@Jaybird-oo3ih]

the spray works better for this

[@outerlimitless]

I have never used the spray. I need a new purchase of Jasco...I will go with the spray next time.

[@michaelrutledge7048]

Discoloration is probably from the laser etching.

[@outerlimitless]

Yes, good point...likely true!

[@user-cp7jw2en1v]

I can assure you your edge hardness is between 54 to 58

[@yurijanssen2148]

Does paint stripper not dull the blade? as it seems like super aggressive stuff.. i ordered a KB7 and want to be able to use a firesteel as well so might have to strip the coating off of it. If it dulls the blade i might not tho..

[@outerlimitless]

Yuri Janssen the stripper itself doesn't really dull the blade, but the process of scraping the coating might a bit of you're not careful. adding the patina definitely dulls the edge because of the rust that accumulates on the edge. nothing a leather strop can't fix in a few swipes... you should have a leather strop for that knife anyway... get some white compound and an old leather belt. use the backside of the belt that's a bit rougher than the smooth side... will make it razor sharp after you strip it. also, that blade doesn't have a very sharp spine out of the box. you might need to get a metal file and work the spine into a sharper edge for a Ferro rod. good luck! it's a great blade

[@outerlimitless]

Yuri Janssen also, check out my frog lube video... that might help you if you strip the coating

[@yurijanssen2148]

Thanks! i received mine and went ahead and stripped the coating on it, i kinda hit the edge here and there so its not as sharp as it came out of the box. Nothing that can't be resharpened if need be tho, bet it still handles the usual wood cutting duties as i won't be cutting paper on a campsite i guess. Love the knife by the way, has good weight to it and i ordered a bit of a larger blade to allow for easier batonning mostly. Thanks again for your advice and vids :)

[@outerlimitless]

Great! You'll love it...such a solid blade...great blade and nimble. You might like my most recent vid...I matched the BK7 against a 5.11 blade in the same size class...BK7 performed very well...it's always interesting to see how different blades match up...

[@yurijanssen2148]

I actually got my sharpening kit (cheap lansky) today and decided to have a go at it right away since i felt guilty about dulling the blade haha, i resharpened it at an angle of 25 (factory is 20?) and is now very sharp again.. I'm still very much a novice when it comes to knives, maintenance and sharpening but it was suprisingly easy to pick up :) Also gave it a light coat of WD40 (for lack of better) under the scales and blade for storage. hoping it won't rust haha!

[@rockd8946]

Excellent

[@outerlimitless]

Thanks for watching!

[@leloup-garou443]

Becker BK7 💯‼️ ALL NIGHT LONG... 🌕🐺‼️

[@edsaban572]

That blade looks rusty and ugly. I don’t get this whole patina thing. I’m new to knives so I guess I’m still learning.

[@outerlimitless]

The point is that coatings catch debris and don't move through the wood easily like uncoated blades. But v uncoated blades rust easily. So adding a patina protects the steel with a non-aggressive light patina. Which technically is rust. But it does protect the steel from heavy pitting and rust.

[@edsaban572]

@@outerlimitless So the point is that the light patina “somewhat” protects the blade from rusting? In addition removing the coating makes easier to cut through with a naked blade. This part makes sense to me.

[@gunnerhusnian4375]

I'm stripping a schrade schf9 right now!

[@outerlimitless]

coolkid survival hope you're filming it!

[@gunnerhusnian4375]

outer limitless sadly I didn't think of that but will next time

[@B51608]

Forced Patina. Contradiction. USE IT. unless you do it for the looks alone ...

[@outerlimitless]

I disagree...if you strip the coating and don't force a patina, it will heavily corrode...the patina helps reduce heavy rust even in storage, but adds personalization, style, and a look that improves over time.

[@Danielson1818]

I've really been enjoying all the different options with forced patina to high carbon blades. I need someone to explain to me if those blades are food safe afterwards though. I don't tend to keep 10 different blades laying around, so if I were to take the time and effort to patina 1 or 2 edc knives would it be ok to gut fish or skin small game? Or should food always be cut with stainless?

[@outerlimitless]

I would suggest "food safe" would depend on what you use to patina. Things like Gun Blue aren't great to eat afterwords. But anything else like vinegar or mustard should not impact your safety. Very many chef's knives are traditionally carbon steel...but obvously need careful storage and handling. Carbon steel can leave a bit of an iron like taste sometimes...stainless, less likely. But I use all of my knives on food and mod them accordingly. I hope that helps.

[@Danielson1818]

@@outerlimitless It did. Thanks alot. Actually, I wasn't going as far as kitchen knives, I was just hoping it's still safe to gut a fish, or skin an animal with controlled rust. I've used stainless my entire life, but my inner artist wants to have fun with the DIY patina options.

[@Danielson1818]

@@outerlimitless Just wanted to update that I figured out what you mean. I just did a forced patina to 2 knives over the extended weekend. One was a stonewash pattern on mine, and a cheetah spot pattern for my girlfriend. I was surprised at how much I could smell that metallic/iron smell when I was wiping off the mustard or vinegar. It's very different, because I've used stainless blades my entire life. Seems like everything is safe though, but I have no clue if the oil I used was food safe. I've eaten worse.

[@kaaajeee]

keeping ricasso and tang black looks ugly to me.

[@outerlimitless]

I was back and forth...i've done it both ways...to each their own. I don't blame you for saying that though.

[@jonathanwienke512]

If you have access to a fiber laser, there is an easier way to remove the blade coating and optionally replace it with a blued finish: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZvbkJqaebGXask

[@Bob-tk3sf]

Fa schifo!

[@moiselazar9808]

perche??