Blued and tatooed -- Pix.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
Hi, Uncle Bill:

Here are the pics of the Gelbu Special by Kesar, which I have lightly
etched, then blued the etched area. Please share with the forumites and
kamis, I think they will enjoy.
<<102-0226_IMG.JPG>> <<103-0304_IMG.JPG>> <<103-0303_IMG.JPG>>
<<102-0300_IMG.JPG>> <<103-0307_IMG.JPG>> <<103-0308_IMG.JPG>>
<<103-0309_IMG.JPG>>
102-226_IMG.jpg is a 'before' pic. the rest are obviously 'after' pics.

I call the pattern "Three Suns". It only made sense to work in the recessed
areas of a blade that will not see the kind of wear you see on the edges and
flats of the Khuk.

By the way, I might consider doing work to other folk's blades as well, now
that I know how HI khuks steel performs under my chemicals and processes.
Very nice steel, indeed!

The etching was done with Ferric Chloride, available at most Radio Shacks in
the U.S. FC can also be used on copper, bronze, and brass. The Blueing
compound I used is Perma Blue, a cold-blueing compound. Available at most
outfitters and gunshops.

Hope you like it as much as I do. Thanks again for the Great AK and GS
Khuks!

Keith
 

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Cool:cool: Kinda reminds me of polynesian tatooing in a way. Looks good with that GS (which by the way is the first GS in a LONG time that looks anything like mine did):)
 
Wow! That's really beautiful work...it adds a lot to the look of the khuk, without turning it into an "art knife" where form supercedes function.
 
Wow those look real nice, I have some gun blue readily available but I ain't creative enough to think of a way to cover it up to get designs like that. Very nice work.:)
 
That's beautiful. For those of us who haven't blued steel, what's the technique you used to get the pattern? A stencil? A wax or chemical mask of some kind?
 
Keith,

(does he know we talkin' about him behind his back?) :D:D

What can you tell us about your technique? It looks stunning!

There may be work in your near future. :D

Dan
 
WWWWWWWWOoooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

<picking myself up off the floor>
That is amazing! Details, please! Can it be removed if I screw up?

(now I gotta choose between working on this versus figuring out a kydex khukuri scabbard)
 
Here's another sample and contact information:
====================================
Thanks for posting pics, Uncle. Hope you like it!

Forumites may contact me at keith.sauers@peregrine.com if they wish to discuss the "how's" or "will you do that to mine."

I'm a technical writer by trade, but I have been making scabbards and fittings for knives and finishing knives for about a decade now. Only now am I confident enough in my skills to offer them up to others. Hard to put a price on love or art, though, and I love the art!

I'd join in the forum, but I guess my aversion to lists and forums keeps me outside the group. Maybe some day soon...

Here's a bonus pic of knife that I gave the full treatment to. the style of knife is called a "seax" (Beoram, pay heed), the 8th century Anglo-Saxon answer to the Bowie knife. I carved the handle, made and inserted the copper pins, etched and gilded the blade in copper and gold. 8-10 inches overall.

Keith,
Indianapolis
 

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Keith was gracious enough to share his procedure and said that I could share it with the forum. He also sent some pictures of an Arms & Armor viking sword that he had done in runes and little triangles :eek:

To do the 21" GS posted by Bill Martino, I first made many, many sketches (the artistic and design work I was referring to) until I drew a design that was aesthetically pleasing, and lent itself well to the curves and theme of the blade.

Now the mechanics -
I drew the final design.
Got some brown boxing tape to use as a mask.
Smoothed the tape onto the prepared (cleaned with isopropyl alcohol) blade surface
Drew the design onto the tape mask
Used an X-acto knife to cut along the drawn design
Weeded out the part of the mask where I wanted to etch/blue
Then a quick dunk in the Ferric Chloride, (for a light etch), rinse.
Used a q-tip to apply the Perma Blue compound to dry blade, rinse.
Removed the mask
Applied silicon as a lubricant,
Let the blue cure for 24 hours.
A bit of touch up with steel wool brings out the finish in the blueing.

That's the outline of the work, without lengthy explanations on why I do each step. I've been messing with this whole process for about 5 years, and this is what works for me.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to Uncle Bill for posting this stuff when I was not a forumite yet!

To answer the questions in this thread could take some time. I thot I'd revive this thread a bit, since I've been seeing folks suggesting blueing and other blade treatments. It is relatively easy to do with a bit of talent. Also, I am still willing to etch/blue other folks khuks. I will take trades for work, cuz what's money, anyway!

Really, though, Contact me if you want to personalize your khuk. How will you tell your 18" GS from another? By the etching/blueing, of course.

Currently, I am working on a tricky blueing pattern for an 18" AK. The pattern will be matched by the carving I will do to the horn handles. I'll be sure to share around the pics when I get it finished.

I have numerous digital pics of my etching, blueing and inlay work, if any want to see the 'portfolio'.

Keith
 
Like I said, ship me a blade, tell me what you want on it, and I'll do it and ship it back. You will not be disappointed.
Hel, just tell me what U think you want on it, and I'll go from there.

I'll email you a few pics tomorrow of some of the other etch/bluing stuff.

Keith
 
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