A gentleman's tanto. Stone-washing my small 21 - Updated

Looks great.
.When I stonewashed, I use ceramic stones from Harbor Freight in a Folgers 1 lb coffee can, just 5-10 min does it.
 
This might be a stupid request but can you provide more details on the stones you used? Pics? That might sound dumb but are you using something you picked up out of the driveway or some special stone you obtained elsewhere?

Also, in theory couldn't one purchase shorter screws to use during the process from a hardware store so you don't have to worry about your CRK hardware getting dinged up and having to de-burr it?

Not sure I'm bold enough to try one of my CRKs but I have a couple of Sage2 and might try my user one.
 
Thanks again for the encouragement fellas!

Volgrad:

Here is a picture of the stones and bottle used. They were all collected at a local beach and are well rounded. A few different "grits" of granite you might say ;). I think they key is the stones need to be heavy enough to leave a mark, but without any super sharp points to deeply gouge the slab-corners etc.

The CRK hardware was not super screwed-up or anything, only the stonewash had just hit the tip-top of the button-head of the screws, so it looked a bit off-balance. "De-burring" might have been too harsh a word. My main reason for stropping the screws was to tone-down the stone wash on the peaks of the screw buttons. If I had the right screws on hand, using shorter screws would be the way to go. The finish on the screws is not really that noticeable anyway, so you might as well leave the CRK screws out of the process if you have that option. The ideal replacement screw would sit flat inside the screw dimple on the slab so the stones can "wash" right up to the edge.

The other advice is time in the dryer. My first intention was to do it by hand like Gull Wing has done, but the result was not anything noticeable. Maybe because I'm using real stones and not the ceramic stones mentioned by Gull Wing, which likely cut the titanium easier. During the dryer process, I checked after 1/2 hour and the finish was not quite there. 1 hours seemed perfect. You need to make sure the bottle is well wrapped in the towel, so each of the tumbles has a soft landing. I imagine if you just threw the bottle in the dryer, without any padding, it would have a far more abrasive effect (YIKES.....where did my knife go? :eek:).

DSCF9221_zpspb14lmmo.jpg
 
Excellent job, Cody! Enjoying your pics. Now I understand were Mr. Hinderer got his inspiration for his "Working Stonewash" finish from ... :p

Stefan
 
Looks professional,
I wonder how it would look if the screws were blasted to a matte finish???
Well done Cody
 
Not sure how I missed this one ?....that does look good, I'm a big fan of a tumbled finish as there is just no hurting it. :):thumbup:
 
That looks great Cody! I've never been a huge fan of Tantos. Thanks to your thread I have one inbound!
 
Thanks to all for the feedback.

WTLJ, I hope you like it. The CRK Tanto blade is a very beautiful thing. The blade is almost like a sculpture. Also it has that crazy robust tip like any tanto. Whether or not it's a useful or annoying blade shape could be argued back and forth for hours, but if you are going to go Tanto, CRKs tantos are certainly some of the most graceful looking. They got the shape right in the 'looks department'.

It's an interesting knife to have in ones pocket, and the blade gets lots of comments as its shape is eye-catching. And I find more and more uses for the tip, so if you commit to EDC-ing for a while, you get used to its quirks. It's not the most practical knife, but an interesting knife if that makes sense.
 
Good job. It has been perfect.
If I had no problems to send the knife to the spa, try to do.
Congratulations.
 
Thanks for the pic and additional details. I am still thinking of trying it with a Sage2.
 
cool project! i want to try this on my sebenza 21 with micarta inlays. do you think it will hurt the inlays?

also... does it "feel" like it has dents and scratches all over it?
 
MonkeyWithAGun said:
cool project! i want to try this on my sebenza 21 with micarta inlays. do you think it will hurt the inlays?

also... does it "feel" like it has dents and scratches all over it?
Click to expand...

You do not feel dents. The marks are just areas where the bed blast has been scuffed away. No major damage or denting of the slab, and nothing detectable with fingers, other than the knife feels smoother than a new bead-blast finish (which is pretty grippy).

I would hold off on doing a Micarta inlay with this technique, unless you are planning to experiment. I don't think the stones will make contact in the areas beside the inlays, unless the stones are very small, which may not produce the desired stonewash. The stones I used would leave the area around the inlays untouched, which might look weird. I am not sure what it would do to the inlays themselves.

Maybe someone else can comment who may have tried this?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top