Question on blade finsihing

calharkins

calharkins

Well-Known Member
Question on blade finishing

I am making a knife for the current military build. I want to finish the blade so that it is not reflective. I tried a brush finish with a woven 3m belt, but I wasn't satisfied. I don't have access to a bead blaster. I was wondering about etching the blade. You guys got any ideas?

Thanks!
 
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If you live close to a machine shop or welding shop , the guys there would probably hit it in the bead blaster for you . It might only cost you a little time talking steel and knives with them . At least you might see if you like a blasted finish , for your current needs .
 
If you are dealing with a carbon steel you might do something like stick a potato on it overnight or soak it in vinegar to put a dull grayish patina on it. You could also do a browning treatment on it but I think the potato or the vinegar will give a more durable patina.

Doug Lester
 
Powder-coating is worth looking into as well. I was dead-set against it until I had a couple blades done at a customer's request and saw how nice they came out. It looks awesome, can be done in almost any color you can think of, and is extremely durable. The powder is cured at around 375 degrees, so the process is safe for any knife steel I can think of (won't harm the temper.) The blade doesn't have to be finished super-fine because they'll bead-blast it before coating anyway. I found a local guy by calling motorcycle and auto-body shops and asking who they used.

Forced patinas can be done with almost anything that has acid in it, like mustards, vinegar, lemon juice, taters... you get the idea. Experiment and see what works best on the steel you've got. If you don't like it, it's easy to polish off and start over. The downside is... it's easy to polish off. Meaning it will also scratch and wear pretty quickly in use.
 
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