42 has shed off it's old shell and put on a new.....

BalisongMan

BalisongMan

Joined
Mar 10, 2000
Messages
1,695
This evening I thermally oxidized my 42, I wasn't really going for a certain color (though red and/or black would have been cool if they were acheiveable) and it's not the greatest looking beast in the world but here it is:
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Let me know what you guys (and gals) think of it. I'll have more scans in my photopoint album later this week. Thanks

BTW, this is my 400th post!!
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Cameron
"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"
uriel.gif

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album

[This message has been edited by BalisongMan (edited 10-08-2000).]
 
Yup, a good ole' propane torch (Benz-O-Matic or something like that) it freaked me out when by bali started smoking, turned out to be the lube in my latch was just burning off (whew!) so I lubed it after I burned it. I'm going to try to get more colors this afternoon and if anything is just awesome I'll post pics, if not then I'll have some in my album (photopoint).

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Cameron
"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"
uriel.gif

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
Well, I got some more color into the handles, not necessarily different colors (you be the judge):

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Some of the stuff on the handles are just smudges on my scanner, especially the wierd color in the holes- it's just stuff on the glass. (just focus on the colors
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)

I won't be taking a torch to it for a while (especially since I turned the handles bright red hot several times and I don't know if some of the "marks" on the handles are bad or not, time will tell). I certainly won't be trying this on any of my other bali (not the 45 or 30s or FHM's or cheapies, the heat would definitely screw BEAR handles
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). So, does it look good (I think it looks decent but I would appreciate your input) thanks.

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Cameron
"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"
uriel.gif

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
It looks good. I had somewhat similar results myself.

The colors people seem to be getting with thermal oxidization aren't as bright as BM gets with the electrochemical anodization of the 42A.

I like the blues and the golds especially, myself.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Just get your 42 wet, wrap a wire around part of the handle and then have it stick off the side, and just "plug" the blade into the large slot of an electrical outlet and the wire into the small slot
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I just won't be the first person to try this out.
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Cameron
"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"
uriel.gif

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
actually, i do believe there is a kit somewhere for that. its pretty complex from what i remember.

it was either that or some sort of resin related thing.......
 
It's not difficult at all. But, you do need a suitable power supply. What you're looking for is a DC supply with a variable voltage between about 25 and 200V at a couple of amps. A regulated supply will give purer colors. Just a temperature determines color in thermal oxidization, voltage determines color in electrochemical anodization. A supply with current-limiting is also desirable because you can create interesting color textures by anodizing at constant current.

The chemicals involved are not exotic or hazardous at all. I'm told that Spic And Span floor cleaner makes an excellent solution for this purpose. What you do need to be anytime you mix fairly high electrical voltages and liquids is very careful. The supply in question is throughly capable of killing you.

If you want to color the entire handle, then the blade must be removed from the handles because the blade steel will screw up the chemistry. The biggest problem I haven't solved yet is how to make electrical contact with the piece to be anodized. What we're looking for here is an electrical aligator clip that's made of Ti.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
so whats the overall opinion on thermaly oxodizing BM42s? does it really look that much cooler than the standard color?
 
does it look cooler than reqular silver handles- yes, and does it look cooler than factory anodized handles yes especially becuase you did it yourself, and can costomize the colors to a certian extent.
 
Question...will the thermo-oxidized handles, after completion, wear off like the factory handles?

What is the life comparison?

Thanks in advance!

Sabo 29

"Catch you on the flip side"!
 
Very nice Cam... I think you need to torch them some more
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Its hard to tell from the pics but mine (as well as cams I believe) look a lot better in real life. The are much more brilliant and have a shine to them. There is a huge range of colors to be achieved throughout thermal oxidation and electrolytic oxidation (anodizing) I think there is roughly 45 colors that can be easily achieved during some forum of oxidation.
I have a lot of info on all of this that I am meaning to post. Email if you have any questions and I will try to help with coloring of Ti. Like Chuck said I am Edison [of colored 42s]
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Just in case you did not see mine its... http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum47/HTML/000721.html


On a general note thermal oxidation will last longer than electrolytic oxidation or the anodizing (done by benchmade). But on top of this you also have to take into the quality control that BM is having with there 42A (anodized) pieces ... This might shorten the life even more compared to thermal oxidation. We will have to see what BM produces (quality wise) in the future.

Thanks
mmtmatrix
 
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