Modding the Becker Necker (BK11)

[SGTCap]

I was at Ranger Joes the other day looking for things I couldn't live without when I happend across the Becker Necker in the Knife display case. I've been wanting a small fixed blade for a while now and have almost bought a Rat 3 on a few occasions. The Becker was marked $34.95 and for the price I figured I would give it a shot. I really like the blade shape and it immediately looked like a fun and inexpensive knife to modify.

Here it is as it came from the packaging:

And here it is after I convexed the edge by hand and tried paracord wrapping for the first time.

I've been carrying it on my belt (I never liked the neck knife concept) for about two weeks now and really like it. Today I was at Ranger Joes again and they had another Necker in stock. My best friend is in Basic Training right now and I will see hime for Christmas. Seemed like the perfect gift for a new soldier (I'll mail it to him after basic) so I picked it up. I want to mod this one for him as well. So I tried a couple more things with mine.

Here it is after I did a little grinding around the hilt (I guess thats what you call it). I kept the blade cool while grinding by wrapping it in a wet cloth and mounting it up in the vice. Then I attacked it with a dremel. I dont know if you'll be able to see the difference but heres a side by side shot. This allows be to get my hand up a little higher and closer to the edge, hopefully for more control.

I then rewrapped my fandle using two colors of cord. This was practice for my buddies knife. I want to use two ACU colors for the handle and probably paint the entire knife prior to wrapping as well.

Here is mine as it sits now. I run the sheath horizontally in the small of my back. I also carry a pistol most the time so it rides well between the mag carrier and my holster.

So Now I need some feedback, so I can proceed with my buddies Christmas present. I think if I run the cords differently on the sheath I can set it up to run vertically or horizontally on the belt. I dont think I am going to go as extreeme with the convexing on his either. I eased the edges on his and chamfered the holes with the hope that the paracord will last a little longer. I dont know if it will help but it is worth a shot.

Anyone have any other ideas? I want to pick up a few more of these to play with as I have some other ideas as well.

Please excuse the crappy photos, they were all taken and uploaded on via my Droid, it's my only camera at the moment. I sweat the edge looks better on mine in person and is very sharp. Looks butter knife dull in the photos.

 

[Blue Sky]

This is what I did to mine. First, I stripped off the black coating, I really don't like them very much. Second, I extended the drop radius a little along the spine to smooth out the transition to the point. It was a little too abrupt for me. Third, I enlarged the front finger groove and removed the "bump". The original handle just didn't feel right in my hand, my fingers felt a little cramped. Last, I added a convex edge.

I've been thinking about surface grinding the sides to thin it out some. A knife this size doesn't need to be so thick IMO. It would cut and slice better too. I'd also like to add some thin scales to make it a little easier on the hands in a tight grip. It could probably use a better polish as well. What do you think?

(BTW, this is an older Camillus version)

 

[BryFry]

Both are pretty sweet, I'd say a bit more polishing sure wouldn't hurt.

 

[rwiggins]

I think it looks great. When you are done, are you going to get a Parkerizing kit or similar and refinish it? That would look really cool, I think.