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Official BFK Owner's Club: post yours here!

55K views 283 replies 115 participants last post by  Hardscrabbler 
#1 ·
Yes, it's been around for a while, but I get the feeling there's still love for the mighty BFK out there, otherwise known as the 'Big Friendly Kinetic' (or whichever F-word you prefer). Seiko, in their boring way, call it the SKA371.



Like most of us, I can't pass a mall jewellery store without casting a quick eye over the watches, though there's rarely anything of interest there (A whole wall of Michael Kors? Really?). Even in the Seiko section, it's rare to see a non-quartz watch, and, well, quartz watches, ho-hum.

However, over a few weeks, I noticed that one watch stood out for me, and every store I went past, it was in the window, and every store I stopped and pressed my nose against the glass like a schoolboy to look at it. It's a striking watch, partly because it's just bigger than anything else in the window.

Well, I like big watches, and I cannot lie. Eventually I popped in to try one on, just for the fun of it. The weight of the thing is palpable. It's like strapping a polished steel brick to your wrist, and the hefty rotor spins loudly like a roulette ball ("No more bets!").



The bezel action is extremely smooth and positive, with a discreet but efficient click like an expensive socket set. The tank-like case with its gently curved lugs and alternating brushed and polished surfaces recalls the Sumo, while the aggressively cut bezel edge and 3 o'clock crown have a little of the Shogun about them.



Wrist test completed, I handed it back to the majestically uninterested assistant and left the store. But if you've ever had a watch sneak up on you, you'll know what happened next. First you look around at a few new prices on the web, then you start browsing eBay ads for used models. "I'll just put this on my watch list so I can see what it sells for," you tell yourself. "I'm just keeping an eye on the market."

Before you know it, the watch is turning up at your door, and you're giving your wife a pleading look as if to say, "It followed me home, can I keep it?"



The lume is excellent, as you'd expect from a Seiko diver, though the skeleton hands are hard to read at night. I find the best thing is just to look at the big blob of the hour hand and see where it is; the minute hand gets mixed up with the hour indices. I'm not surprised that a popular mod for this watch is to either change the hands, or fill them with lume. However, it does have a certain unique, quirky charm, and that's why I love Seikos.



Overall, it's a solid and high-quality watch, which of course keeps impeccable time thanks to the little flake of silicon inside. It's an attractive, if slightly brutal diver, with plenty of character. Not just a pretty face, either, as forum torturers will attest. They sell in the UK for about two hundred pounds, and with the possible exception of the new Monsters I don't know many better watches for the price.





I've shown you mine, now show me yours! Bonus points for lived-in BFKs, especially if it looks like you use it to hit rocks on a regular basis.
 
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#122 ·
Hi guys, How are you keeping your BFK charged? I recently bought a Braun Model 4728 as I've seen a few people saying they've had success with pole style chargers, I've already tried a few positions, 6-7 o clock tilted towards the back of the charger, watch placed flat right on the charger centered with the dial up, 9 o clock tilted towards the back of the charger, dial down, even with the charger upside down so the bottom of the watch is touching the bottom of the charger, I've left them in these different positions over night but I still haven't noticed it gaining any power at all, the watch doesn't get warm like other users stated also.

any suggestions? and yes I'll post some pics of my BFK. Any help will be greatly appreciated, since I just tried on a SUN019 recently and I want to try it out but only if I can keep it charged properly.
 
#129 ·
#127 ·
This is mainly a repost but I hope it will help out some BFK guys in the same boat as me

SO after almost a week of messing around to my CHRISTMAS SURPRISE the Braun charger worked, I've tried so many different positions watch flat, on charger 6 o'clock towards the back of the charger, 9 o'clock towards the back, tilting, dial down towards charger pole like the Seiko OEM charger set up, even upside down, base of the charger to the base of the watch, I got nothing. I've even used a Palm pre touch stone QI charger and didn't get any results. HOWEVER and this is a big HOWEVER, there is no way that I can confirm if the previous methods actually gave the watch some charge or not since my watch has 20 sec power reserve when I tested all this it just never went to 30 sec till my final position that I can confirm works since it took it to fully charged. On all previous methods I've left the watch at least 8-12 hours in each position as I usually leave it over night but I just didn't see any gain in power. MAYBE the watch was being charged the whole time, I don't know, I don't know if its cuz the charge system is so inefficient. BUT on my final position that I got actual results out of, I left the watch 24 hours in this position and this morning I got full charge. notice the position of the crown and battery pusher button what ever its called. The watch is slightly offset so the "power pole" is closer to 7 o'clock than 5 o'clock.



Watch Analog watch Material property Font Fashion accessory


It was a HUGE HASSLE I was so close to buying the Philips LED lights for the charger but I'm so glad this FINALLY WORKED, (just extremely slow, like you have to leave it in the same position for days to get any results so maybe my tests weren't effective because I was impatient.) So now maybe I will buy a SUN019, but then SEIKO QC is extremely bad lately. All 3 of my new Seikos that I bought all has dial, bezel, chapter ring alignment issues. =(

So I might give Kinetics another try, I've really felt for me it is a flawed technology, as I have a stable of watches that I rotate through and the BFK only gets worn maybe once a month. SO basically I never get full charge, and I was out Christmas shopping and I saw kinetics that weren't running in stores that made me cringe. I hate to say it buy I really hoped the new "kinetics" were solar, or eco drive, it's just much less maintenance. I just leave it out in my desk and I gets enough natural light and I never have to worry about it getting charged.
 
#135 · (Edited)
An update, since I have owned the BFK for a few weeks now. Amazing build and quality for the price.

Before receiving the BFK I was keen on modding the hands. That is no longer case.
The hands (the reason I procrastinated) actually suit the dial. The hands remind me of the Omega Seamaster(Bond).

If you like the look of the BFK and have only seen pictures, wait until you see it on your wrist, I have no doubt you will be impressed.

I used to think the monster/007 were the best bang for buck. My opinion has since swayed.
 
#144 · (Edited)
Here's my BFK. Bit of a lume shot i took in the back of the truck at work one morning. (sorry for poor phone quality pic, also seems to have been rotated?)
Have to say I'm absolutely over the moon with this watch. I like the size, weight, accuracy and above all the looks.
After looking at the others in this thread, i may have to get a Pepsi bezel model on a stainless bracelet for formal times. Also that orange version lincruste threw up a photo of looks mint!

Watch Fashion accessory Analog watch Turquoise Wrist
 
#150 ·
I own the yellow one on steal band since a few years but it doesn't get much wrist time anymore (I have too many watches).

But I just checked and you can get them new with intl. shipping for like US$ 190,- with the rubber strap! Maybe I will get myself one more to revive the desire to wear them. I honestly think for that kind of money the best Seiko you can get currently. Even the Monster models are more expensive and with Kinetic ideal as daily rockers!

What do you guys think, should I get myself a black one and maybe a Pepsi one too?
 
#154 ·
I never could find an orange face!
I found my SBCZ015 on december 2014 on Yahoo Auction with FromJapan.com, it cost about 171€ by then (auction with "Buy Now" option at 25000¥).
(Did it sounded like some commercial spam ? Sorry about that)
It was still available a month ago on krosdeal.com too, but far too expensive (460US$ - new)
There are still japanese shops which have it on stock, but they are very expensive too:
Prospex(¥×¥í¥¹¥Ú¥Ã¥¯¥¹) »þ·×Ź SBCZ015 ¥»¥¤¥³¡¼ ¥×¥í¥¹¥Ú¥Ã¥¯¥¹ ¥À¥¤¥Ð¡¼ ¥¹¥­¥å¡¼¥Ð ¥­¥Í¥Æ¥£¥Ã¥¯ SBCZ015 men's ÏÓ»þ·× (¹ØÆþ) (they don't seem to ship worldwide, but once again FromJapan.co.jp is a trustable service in my experience)
I did not find it on Ebay when I was looking for it, but I'm not allowed to see all the auctions, some of them are "locked by country"(I don't know how to say it in English).
I sometimes "google" its reference to find pictures or forums posts, if I see one for sale at a decent price I'll post the link if you want.
Good luck finding yours (if you still want one).
 
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