Any experience with sandblasting blades

[JW Knives]

I play around in the sop making 1 or 2 blades every few months. Was thinking of trying sandblasting on the one I'm working on now.

Anybody have any experiences with this "technique" or better yet any pics they could post?

Thanks

 

[Drew Riley]

Might be better off with a "beadblast" medium than a sandblast. At any rate, if you do it on a high carbon blade, be prepared for it to rust more easily.

 

[Justin King]

The technique is common but usually done with another type of media besides sand. I do a fine blasted finish on most of my standard knives and I use fine glass bead mixed with a fine abrasive media. Straight sand will usually give a very coarse finish and is probably best as a surface prep for coating or Parkerizing, etc.
Blasted finishes allow rust to form very quickly on carbon steels, this tendency is even worse if the blade is not sanded to a relatively fine grit beforehand, and is also dependent on the coarseness of the blasting media.
One exception to the above is blasting the tang before epoxying the scales on, this will give better bond strength over a smooth finished tang and basically the coarser the finish the better for this one purpose.

 

[STR]

I've glass bead blasted D2 where I live and carried blades of that steel without issue or rust of any kind ever being a problem. I know guys in Florida carrying bead blasted D2 blades and I never hear a word about it complaint wise so I think its a matter of individual pref. and individual chemistry. Some guys seem to have problems with even steels that are not normally prone to spotting so you just kind of have to place the blame sometimes on the user and not the steel. Of course that doesn't change the fact that some steels are simply not going to fair well if you blast them. The theory is that it pits microscopically and even if wiped off the little pockets of moisture are still there holding enough H2O to spot the blade over time. Generally speaking if the steel has enough chromium in the mix bead blasting it for a finish will probably work.

Several manufacturers have offered blades that were bead blasted. The Kershaw Storm and Storm 2, Vapor, and a few others like some of the early Emerson models I own. I've had these for years living in several states and never had any problems from one end of the country to the other. Of course I could sell one to someone else that could have a problem in a week. As I said, some people are just going to be more prone to the problem than others and its probably in the general way they take care of their tools. They probably have the same issues with other tools they use.

STR

 

[shaving sharp]

I would use glass bead and not sand. Sand leaves a course finish. If you get the right glass you can put a real nice satin finish on your blade like on a Gerber BMF. Alot of people talk about knives rusting easier with a blasted finish. I have found that if you use fine glass bead on a knife that has been sanded to #320 or higher the rust is not really a problem. In fact the surface seems to hold oil or Sentry solution better than a polished surface and is easier to clean up if some rust does start because you can re-blast it.I think the main thng to remember it that you do not want to use such a course media that it open up the pores of the steel then you will have a rust problem. Carbon steel is tricky but stainless should be fine.