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Fit & Finish Fit and Finish = the difference in "good art" and "fine art." Join in, as we discuss the fine art of finish and embellishment.

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  #1  
Old 12-16-2013, 10:02 PM
benmk1984 benmk1984 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 5
How do you "finish" knife blades?

First let me say I'm new to knife making and blacksmithing. That being said I know in blacksmithing there are many different ways to put a finish or patina on your pieces. For instance I just made some candle stick holders for my mother and mother-in-law for Christmas. I put a patina on these by heating them with a torch, wiping them in oil and then baking them in the kitchen oven for awhile. This is good because it protects the mild steel from rust and gives it, in my opinion, a nice look.

What I'm not sure about is what is done to "finish" knife blades. I'm sure there are probably many different things people do, but it seems to me that mostly people just grind the blade down to a certain fineness or maybe even to a mirror finish. Is there anything done after this usually to protect the blade or is it all about selection of steel for corrosion resistance? How do you folks like to "finish" your blades?
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Old 12-16-2013, 10:35 PM
benmk1984 benmk1984 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 5
On it. I've got some books that I'm in the process of reading. Two specifically about knife making. One is The Complete Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas and the other is Step-by-Step Knifemaking by David Boye. Hopefully I can add to the collection come Christmas

Since we are on the topic of books though, if anyone has any suggestions on good books too that would be great as well!
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  #3  
Old 12-16-2013, 10:38 PM
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miketheknife miketheknife is offline
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Location: High Point, NC
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Let me first say I mostly use 1084 for my blades, either forged or stock removal. I finish down to 320 grit by hand (some might say thats a bit much before heat treat). I then heat them up in the forge to non-magnetic and quench in warm oil until I can hold them in my hand. I wipe them as much of the oil off as I can. I then wire wheel them to get as much of the carbon from the oil off and then temper them. Once tempered I will hand sand to a nice finish, usually 400 grit. I then take them to the buffing wheel and hit them with white rouge and then call it a done. You will probably find there are many different ways to finish a blade as there are people on here. Good luck and I hope this helped. ( I would post some pics but until I get a new computer at home and have to use my desk top at work, which wont let me post pics, I can't).
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Old 12-20-2013, 09:15 AM
Brad Johnson Brad Johnson is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Ponchatoula, LA
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For my CPM 154 and D-2 blades I go to a 15 micron finish and then I put on a 1000 grit cork belt for a fine even finish. I quit providing a high polish or "mirror" finish years ago as the only folks that valued it were collectors, hence the above procedure.
For my 1084/1095 blades they are clay coated, heat treated, and polished to the 15 micro finish. I then use Birchwood Casey's Super Blue "Liquid Gun Blue" to put a very nice blued patina on the blades. This offers a measure of protection and I like the look as it reacts differently on the hard and soft portions of the blade. Many old timers tell me they would use lemon juice in much the same way to protect their carbon bladed pocketknives. My 2 cents!


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Old 12-24-2013, 08:16 AM
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jank jank is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Texas
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benmk1984 I primarily make and sell hunting knives mostly high carbon 1084, 1095, 0-1, and some 52100, 5160 ball bearing steel and Damascus.

Here are five I finished up yesterday and they all have a different finish, hunters like the price and workability of high carbon however they will rust so I add a little something to help avoiding rust as much as possible.
The first one is a simple satin finish to 400 grit, the second one is what I call a distressed finish; I etched it with ferric acid, then sanded off the patina leaving some pitting, and then I make a concoction of vinegar and mustard wrapping it in a paper towel to pick up the various lines in the paper towel giving it an uneven patina, giving it a used look (easy to care for). The third one is finished to 400 grit and then ran through my 2x72 scotch brite belt. the forth one is another satin finish to 400 grit and the last one is edge quenched so (hard to see the quench line in that picture) so I soaked it over night in vinegar (clean off all the black when taken out of the vinegar, with soap and water and a paper towen)then added some mustard the next day for an hour.
I put Brazilian Carnauba wax on all my knives before shipping and instruct the buyers to use that or light oil after using and putting the knife away.
I hope this helped.
I do mirror finishes only upon request. Which is probably the best way to protect a high carbon knife because it closes up the pours tighter, but most hunters don't want a knife they have to worry about getting finger prints on! I didn't mention that I cold blue a lot of my blades I used Birchwood Super Blue works like a champ.


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acid, acid etching, art, blacksmithing, blade, blades, chris, christmas, damascus, etch, etching, forge, forged, heat treat, knife, knife making, knifemaking, made, making, mirror, post, sand, steel, stock removal, temper


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