Need An Opinion On Satin Finish

[Jeff Sorensen]

My dad recently brought home a hand held sandblaster that plugs into the air compressor. My curiosity got to me, so I blasted a blade. I really like the look of the finish, and I am sure it is very prone to corrosion. My question is, as fellow knifemakers, would you frown upon creating a finish like this? Would you consider the maker lazy? I don't know why I worry about it, but I am.
Jeff

[SKIVIE]

If you like the way it looks and you feel its a good product for your customers then have at it. Its each to his own.

I have a beadblast cabinet and do a lot of bead blast finishes. I actually havent tried it on handles but not against it. Thats what this knifemaking business is all about. Experiment, find new ways of doing things and most of all finding things that is going to be appealing to a buyers eye.

I say try it and see how people like it. Good luck.

Shane

[fitzo]

A lot of tactical knives have a sand or bead blasted finish. A lot depends on the size and material of the grit you choose. Sandblasting followed by glassbead blasting cuts then smoothes. Ceramic beads have become very popular but are usually reserved for a recycling cabinet because of the cost.

Acceptability will mostly depend on the style of knife.

[Jason Cutter]

There is also a difference between sand blasting, which is cutting or abrasive, and bead blasting, which is surface micro-peining. The sand blasting is the one that increases the surface area 20-30x and will result in the steel rusting in front of your eyes, even the stainless steels. The dulled finish on most tactical knives is a bead-blasted or so-called shot-peined finish. Another simialr finish is stone-washed finish which is gentler.

I'm not sure if the bead blasted finish will rust more quickly than a plain hand sanded finish. I don't think so.

Some "tactical" knifemakers use a sand blast finish, then varnish the blade with something... They say that the sandblast finish is highly desirable and it allows the blade to "trap oil and other lubricants more easily too.

Jason.

[Jeff Sorensen]

Thank you for all of the replies. I will probably just do it and see what the reaction is. I like it, so if all else fails, I will have another knife. I haven't had a chance to make a knife in a while because of college, bu tnow that finals are over I have a month off to have some fun. Hope I can make some knives, but now I am too busy trying to kill more deer.

Jeff

[Ray Rogers]

The other answers have brought out some very good pointsabout sand and bead blasted finishes. But, your question was would we think you were lazy for using these finishes? The answer would be no, not if you do it right because it isn't really any easier. If you don't get a very good finish on the blade before sand blasting you'll still be able to see any scratches or imperfections, you won't clean a clean finish. Bead blasting is even more demanding about the finish since it hides absolutely nothing. In fact, many people myself included won't even bother to bead blast a blade that hasn't been mirror polished first because the glass beads are so soft they will scarcely mark the steel on a really hard blade. Of course, we all know that anything will scratch up a mirrored finish and the glass beads do a nice even job on such a finish.

So, there are other considerations when using blasted finishes as others have pointed out but being thought lazy won't be one of them if you do it right....

[titaniumdoctor]

Maybe instead of blasting the whole blade, blast just your grind lines. You will actually have to blast the whole blade, then polish off the areas you don't want satin. I just built a knife from D-2 and was going to try it but haven't yet. I was gonna blast the blade with fine glass, then repolish the grind line, false edge, and filework leaving the flat part satin. I make titanium rings, polish to a mirror, then tape off flames. I blast with very fine glass. When finished, I have polished flames. I get a lot of comments on those rings. A little food for thought I guess.