bead/sand blast?

[terence]

im making a blade for a guy who wants a bead blasted finish. i have acces to a sandblaster, would this work? whats the difference?

[Ray Rogers]

Sand blasting uses sand and usually creates a dark grey finish consisting of very small pits and will hold any moisture available next to the blade. To get an even looking finish the blade needs to be sanded to about 400 grit and be free of any scratches coarser than that.

Bead blasting is the same process but uses glass beads instead of sand and normally uses less air pressure. The blade needs to be prepared even better than for sand blasting - the best results would be on a mirror polished blade. Glass beads are so soft that they won't make much of an impression if the blade isn't polished. On top of a good mirror polish, beads will create a cloudy/smokey light grey finish. It will be less able to hold moisture than the sand blasted finish but it will scratch fairly easily just like any mirror finish will....

[Crex]

Yep, what Ray said. Even more fun if you do some creative masking with tape and get some contrasting designs going.

[terence]

ok thanks guys. still not sure what im gonna do, not sure where ill find someone whith a bead blaster. i know they use a media/walnut hull to strip paint off of automotive parts. ill have to do some searching.

[Ray Rogers]

You don't need a different machine, you just need a box of glass beads to replace the sand in your sand blaster. My box of beads came from Harbor Freight but any industrial tool supply place should have them ...

[R. Yates]

Big difference in the two types one mars the metal the other is more like an etching ability . it depends on the depth you are trying to achieve he simply wants the blade to "Non-reflective" ( much like a fender on a car ) that has been blasted with a soda blast smooth yet the metal is dull not polished .

Sam

[troglodyte]

Steel Addict Im new to knife making, but if you want a nice frosted finish, go to harbor freight. They sell a tool called an air eraser. Looks like an air brush and handles the same way. uses a ultra fine carbide grit. very precise and easy to use.. troglodyte

[smithy]

www.riogrande.com is a jewelry supply company that carries different types of abrasives for use in "sand blasting" applications, depending on the surface treatment wanted. I haven't tried "blasting" on any steel yet, but I will as soon as I get shop set up.

[cbsmith111]

I've found you also get significantly different finish depending on the steel. I would imagine hardness is the main factor in this. For the little I know I wouldn't be crazy about blasting carbon steel with anything that penetrates very much. Probably wouldn't be a big deal if it's a pretty corrosion resistant steel. I've also blasted some metals and then ran a soft wire wheel over it. It gives it kind of a bright but hazy finish if that makes sense. It may or may not look good on your blade, but it's something you can experiment with. Don't take my word as a knifemaker by any means, but these are some of the results I've notices with blasting steel in general.