Decarb???

Casey Brown

Casey Brown

Well-Known Member
So, I am finishing a blade out of 1084. Kind of interesting. Unfortunately, my grind was a little uneven leading up to heat treat. After heat treat, I ground one side more than the other to even out the grind. After finishing, and starting to hand sand, I've noticed on the side that I ground less on, that there's some "cloudiness" toward the spine of the knife. Kind of reminds of some wisps you see in some hamon's. The other side is clean, but I ground more off of it. I'm assuming that it is decarb that I did not get ground off completely. More interesting than anything else. I actually etched it after 220 grit hand sanding to see if I could see a difference. I could see it, but it was barely noticeable.

This one may end up being a satin finish to avoid this being an issue. Not really wanting to loose thickness at the spine at this point, as I've finish ground to edge thickness.

Opinions or thoughts? I haven't taken a picture because I haven't hand sanded up to the point that it would stand out yet on a photo.
 
How much would the blade change if you ground each side equally to remove the decarb? prolly have to lower the area behind the plunge line to match. Might not match your style but would it still be a nice blade? Just a thought...
 
Yeah, I might have to do that. Don't want to! It looks good now, but like I said, you can see that wispy spot. I'm going to see if it will come out with a little more hand sanding to start with. Decarb can only go so deep.
 
I have been known to buff wispy decarb vigorously to get shiny uneven steel... it looks like there are clouds etched into the surface
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top