01 and GunKote VS. MDF (pictorial)

Burchtree

Burchtree

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I've been testing my gun-kote technique for some upcoming projects and I figured I'd share my latest. The blade is 17 inches overall out of 1/4-inch thick 01. The culprits include a green, treated 4x4 and a scrap piece of 3/4-inch MDF.

The blade --fresly coated and baked:

gunkotetest1.jpg


chopped in, but without hitting a pre-existing split. Starting batoning it with another 4x4:

gunkotetest2.jpg



Couple hits later -- here is the blade; scuffed, but unharmed. No cleanup done:

gunkotetest3.jpg


Now for the MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). I lightly wack it a couple of times, then I decide it would be nice to baton through it. I started out with a 4x4, but that was a touch cumbersome. I then settled on using a nice piece of walnut. :D

gunkotetest4.jpg
 
A top shot of the process:

gunkotetest5.jpg


And the result -- two feet of MDF batoned through. The blade isn't cleaned or touched up:

gunkotetest6.jpg


Close-up of the blade. It still shaved hair, but not "hair-popping" by any means. There is a spot that looks like a chip -- it's not; it is some blood. :D

gunkotetest7.jpg


The blade with some Rem-oil on it:

gunkotetest8.jpg





Well, that's it. I think the gun-kote performed rather well. Thanks for looking.
 
Yes it did perfrom rather well. Thanks for the step by step pics , always love those :)
 
Michael, what did you do to improve your gun-kote process with this blade? In your other thread I know you were having a few problems. I am curious to learn what you did to rectify them. :)
 
First, I realized that I was indeed using glass beads instead of AO. I got some 120 AO and that pretty much fixed everything up. :)
 
That's a cool looking knife! What are you using for heat treating these days? Must be a pretty good sized burner and forge if it's gas. Let me know. I'm limited to about 5" blades, still, so I need to bump that up sometime soon. A friend just obtained a heavy steel 50 gallon drum, but that may be a little on the big side! ;)
 
The pics appear to show good durability by the GunKote. I presume the original idea of the GunKote is to prevent or reduce staining or pitting. Have you tested it against a lemon, a few days in the rain or a mild corrosive? Nice sequence of pictures. The knife impresses more than the coating. :thumbup:

Rob!
 
Steve, not sure what the inside diameter is on my forge, 18 inches maybe? Either way, I had to take the plug out of the back of the forge for this one. ;)

Rob - good idea on the corrosion stuff. To the Ferric Chloride!! :D
 
Michael what heat did you use to cure the Gun Coat
mine says to go about 150 deg's, I think :confused: I'll have to look now :rolleyes: :)
 
I went 350. They recommend 300, but say you can go higher.
 
Burchtree said:
I went 350. They recommend 300, but say you can go higher.
Click to expand...

where did you get yours Mike ?
maybe I'm thinking of the pre heat? now I got to go look :rolleyes: :)
 
Yup, preheat to 150-200. I got mine straight from KalGard.
 
Burchtree said:
Yup, preheat to 150-200. I got mine straight from KalGard.
Click to expand...

I just looked at mine it's 120 on the pre heat but I use 150 because my oven
won't go lower.
and the high is 320 but higher will make it harder, but can change the color some. it sounds about the same,, Thanks :)
 
Thanks, Michael. Glad to hear it's working out for you. Have you done multiple colors yet, i.e. camo?
 
Not yet, but I sure as hell wanna try. Just gotta pick up some more colors. I'll tell you what though, when they say it is flat grey, it is flat! Seems to suck light away. :D
 
great pics - like the gun-kote a lot...!


what finish do you have to have on the blade before blasting with the 120 AO?
 
As far as the scuffing goes, have you tried a quick wipe with some isopropanol or similar? I wonder if it might be residue from the wood & MDF on the surface. Reason I ask is that in trying to scratch out some dust on the first test blade I did, I found the coating looked like it was scuffing - but it turned out I was actually filing my fingernail on the GunKote... :rolleyes:

Peter
 
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