"Antiqueing" of a BM Mini Skirmish

link2derek

link2derek

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
8,340
If you visit the CRK sub-forum, then you may know that I tried this first on one of my small Seb 21's.
I was so pleased with the results, that I performed the same process on one of my BM Mini Skirmishes.

With the knife disassembled, I hand rubbed each scale with fine steel wool, then 400-grit, 800-grit, and finally 1000-grit WetorDry sandpaper.
I spent about 15 minutes per grit per scale (2 hours total time). Here is the result (my other Mini Skirmish shown for comparison):

IMG_7337ac.jpg

IMG_7357ac.jpg

IMG_7344ac.jpg

IMG_7359ac.jpg

IMG_7348ac.jpg


I would appreciate your comments - good or bad - about doing such a thing, and whether you would ever considered doing such a thing.

Thanks for viewing!
 
When I read the thread title, I thought "Oh, the horror!" but seeing the pictures I am impressed. That looks very cool. I like antiquing things myself and sometimes use some brown leather dye on the bone scales of some of my slipjoints to yellow them a bit. Your results almost (almost !) make me want to try that to my Sebbie. But I'm going to leave my full-sized Skirmish untouched as I don't have the luxury of owning two!
 
Thanks for your comments. I had to work up the nerve (couple of Heinekens, that is) to try this the first time. But since I only tried this with knives that I have two of, I figured I still had the original if I screwed it up! Here's the Sebbie:

IMG_7325ac.jpg

IMG_7328ac.jpg

IMG_7314ac.jpg

IMG_7319ac.jpg

IMG_7321ac.jpg


I think it turned out well.
 
I like it much better on the Skirmish because the relief on the scales makes the effect more noticeable and dramatic.
 
On the Skirmish the machining looks much more deep on the one you worked on. Did you do something to do that or did it come that different? Just curious since I wouldn't think steel wool and some fine grit sandpaper would do that.

Looks good.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
On the Skirmish the machining looks much more deep on the one you worked on. Did you do something to do that or did it come that different? Just curious since I wouldn't think steel wool and some fine grit sandpaper would do that.

Looks good.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's how it came. I think the pre-finishing process is not as fine as with the Sebbie. I did the exact same thing to both the BM and the CRK, and you can really see the difference in the "fine-ness" of the titanium between the two.
 
:thumbup: Last night after seeing that Mini Skirmish picture in the "Post your framelocks" thread, I ordered some steel wool to try it on a Startac small Sebenza 21. That Mini Skirmish looks great.
 
four_shore said:
awesome job!
Click to expand...

Thanks, bud!

kreole said:
:thumbup: Last night after seeing that Mini Skirmish picture in the "Post your framelocks" thread, I ordered some steel wool to try it on a Startac small Sebenza 21. That Mini Skirmish looks great.
Click to expand...

The steel wool was just to "prep" the scales by taking the top gritty finish off the titanium. It's the WetorDry sandpaper that really does the job. If you give it a go, just remember one thing - patience! 15 minutes of hand rubbing feels like an hour.
 
I really like the look:thumbup:

Something about that smoooth finish that just feels great in the hand.

I haven't sanded one, but my worn sebenza from the 90's doesn't have much coating left and feels better than any I have.
 
Ken44 said:
I really like the look:thumbup:

Something about that smoooth finish that just feels great in the hand.

I haven't sanded one, but my worn sebenza from the 90's doesn't have much coating left and feels better than any I have.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% - the smooth feel is very pleasing to the touch.

I would love to see pix of yours if you have some. . . .
 
It looks better than I thought it would.

Next, you need to get the blades stonewashed to match.
 
link2derek said:
Thanks, bud!



The steel wool was just to "prep" the scales by taking the top gritty finish off the titanium. It's the WetorDry sandpaper that really does the job. If you give it a go, just remember one thing - patience! 15 minutes of hand rubbing feels like an hour.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help! I figured the steel wool made that pattern. (Fortunately I already have the sandpaper so won't have to wait on that.)

Did you use a light touch with the sandpaper or just go at it with a good amount of pressure?
 
kozak6 said:
It looks better than I thought it would.

Next, you need to get the blades stonewashed to match.
Click to expand...

Turned out better than I expected too. I think the blade on the CRK is stonewashed, but the BM is not. And I think I'll quit while I'm ahead!
 
kreole said:
Thanks for the help! I figured the steel wool made that pattern. (Fortunately I already have the sandpaper so won't have to wait on that.)

Did you use a light touch with the sandpaper or just go at it with a good amount of pressure?
Click to expand...

No problem. I used heavy pressure with the steel wool, and a moderate amount of pressure with all three grits of sandpaper.
 
Love it! I definitely like it better on the BM because it really stands out. Wish I had the coin to drop on it! Great work!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top