Are there any knife makers left that do a high polish?

LARRYZ10

LARRYZ10

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Feb 6, 2010
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Are there any knife makers out there who still do high polish on some of their blades? When I make a hunting knife I like to do a deep hollow grind and a high polish on some good stainless like CPM 154. It seems to me that I don't see many knives like that on this forum. Water beads up on the finish like it was waxed and they clean up quickly after field dress and skinning and I think they look professional when done right. Maybe I am a fossil. Larry
 
Steve johnson and of course the lovless shop.

Seems people love contrast and some do not want the chrome look or cost of it
 
That high polish finish looks beautiful until you put the first scratch in it. Save it for the safe queens. Besides, I quit doing it even if someone was willing to pay for it the first time the buffer grabbed the blade and tried to gut me.
Tim
 
I do it.
I think all makers should have to do a few high polish blades before they can call themselves a knifemaker.
Today, most makers CAN'T do a high polish-and they'll give you every excuse in the world why they don't do the polish.
Fine cutlery should be polished, especially if the customer wants it.
 
To me the mirror polished blade has the same appeal of one with a filework on it.
It looks good if everything else is perfect and it could easily look like a pig on high heels with lipstick if anything is less than...perfect.
About the "first scratch" issue, i don't think it is much different from the first scratch you can put on a top notch hand sanded blade.
 
somtimes I take a the flats of a blade to 2500 and the bevel to 1500
I like that look on a smaller knife
It is shiny, don't know if it counts as mirror.
 
I'm agree with Bill. all knifemakers should make mirror-polished blades to be called such. I read on many forums even knifemakers who denigrate mirror blades without ever having made one, you can not denigrate if before you have not tried to realize it, proves to know how to do it, live the difficulties that there are and then you can talk about it!
I make many mirror polished blades made of CPM154 steel or RWL34 steel. Instead with other steels I realize only hand satin finish blades or even satin with cork belt and compound. For my taste, the elegance of a well-polished mirror blade is unsurpassed.
 
I used to do mirror polished blades. They sure do look nice straight off the buffer, but after you use it a few times that beautiful mirror polish shows hard use so quickly. The women loved the looks of the mirror polished kitchen knife, but after using the first one, they wanted a good sanded finish after that.
 
My comments come from the perspective of a relatively new maker who hasn't "lived it" they way many of you have. My personal opinion is that a high polish is evidence of skill and a beautiful finishing touch. But it is a matter of taste. There was a time when almost every blade you saw was polished and that got old for me. And like anything else, it depends upon the level of skill with which it was done. Just to put a shiny finish on while leaving tiny scratches behind or washing out contour lines and corners doesn't do anything for me. When done properly though, a mirror finish with crisp details is a beautiful thing indeed. But it is a bit like soldered guards. Those who can do it and are in the habit of doing it will argue that it is the best way to go and that if you can't do it you are not a real knifemaker. Well, I don't see how that kind of opinion helps anyone. Soldered guards and mirror polishes might be seen as a vestige of a time when craftsmen went the extra mile. It's kind of like the older pinned and recessed Smith & Wessons. But If you think about it, no less work goes into a well done hand satin finish or epoxied guard. You can fill a not so perfect guard joint with solder. You can take a blade finish to 400X or 600X and start buffing. A well epoxied guard can't hide flaws. The fit of the seam must be perfect or it will show. A good hand finish requires a lot of time sanding through the grits and scrutinizing the surface under magnification, using tools and techniques that keep contour lines straight and crisp. That is also a sign of craftsmanship. So I wouldn't consider that inferior.

To answer the OP's question, I think TK Steingass does high polish finishes.
 
i like them and make them. its a challenge to get a blade with no scratches viewed from any angle. mine are not always perfect. i admire makers like john young and steve johnson, and i am still trying to replicate their results. some makers (not all of you) who do not like them remind me of the aesop's fable, the fox and the sour grapes :p they tried and failed, then act like they never wanted it in the first place.
 
This is something I'll never understand. If you're able to do something few others are willing or able to do, and there is demand for it, why would you try to convince everyone else to do it too?

It's really simple for me. I hate doing it, and while I can appreciate the labor and skill that went into a well done mirror polish, I can't find any personal satisfaction in doing it because the result was never worth the cost to me. I make knives more for personal satisfaction than profit, and I don't think there is a huge under supplied customer base screaming for polished knives throwing money around anyway. So if someone comes to me begging for a high polish knife, I'll just send him to you guys, and we'll all be happy.
 
kuraki said:
This is something I'll never understand. If you're able to do something few others are willing or able to do, and there is demand for it, why would you try to convince everyone else to do it too?
It's really simple for me. I hate doing it, and while I can appreciate the labor and skill that went into a well done mirror polish, I can't find any personal satisfaction in doing it because the result was never worth the cost to me. I make knives more for personal satisfaction than profit, and I don't think there is a huge under supplied customer base screaming for polished knives throwing money around anyway. So if someone comes to me begging for a high polish knife, I'll just send him to you guys, and we'll all be happy.
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Bingo.
 
I mirror finish almost everything I make, even fillet knives and chefs knives.
There are definitely lots of tricks to it, and it takes a lot time to do a good job. But I just find anything that isn't mirror finished (San mai and Damascus obviously excluded) to look unfinished to my eye.
 
I love a perfect mirror polished blade and have some, but they sit in their cases never to be used.

Over the years polls have been done as to the finish people currently want on their knives. Currently mirror finished knives are not the most wanted and satin finish is far more desirable especially for people who plan to use the knife.

Getting a mirror finish is not a trade secret and progressing through the grits to the point of going to the buffer to get that finish was common at one time, hundreds of makers have made thousands of mirrored blades over the years.

Nowadays most buyer seem lean toward contrast in grinds and finishes pass on mirror finish, except maybe for a collectible.

Back in the day when many blades were mirror finished D.E. Henry was the first to use 440c stainless steel with a hand sanded finish and the knife world changed forever.

Then Phill Hartsfield made blades that looked like they had been drug behind a truck and that really opened up people to even less of a refined finish.

Stuff changes
 
Rockstead does high polish, it is their thing. Production but very expensive.

Jay Fisher does high polish and claims (his claims not mine) that 440c is taxing to get a mirror finish on which is why so many makers were not doing it. (At one point 440c was ubiquitous in the industry)
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I do it.
I think all makers should have to do a few high polish blades before they can call themselves a knifemaker.
Today, most makers CAN'T do a high polish-and they'll give you every excuse in the world why they don't do the polish.
Fine cutlery should be polished, especially if the customer wants it.
Click to expand...
Thank you Bill. I was thinking it but you said it and I think that you are dead on right about this. Larry
 
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