can i blue bead blasted steel? (must blacek the steel)

Knifemaker87

Knifemaker87

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
1,073
okay.. here is the thing.. i dont want to go through the whole powercoating process... however... i do need to blacken a blade. i am making a tactical knife for a paratrooper, and he needs the blade black. so can i bead blast the blade and then use gun blueing? with that make for a more resilient black finish? will that work? is it better than a satin finished being blued?
thanks
~Chris
 
the cold blue probably wouldnt last him long. a friend of mine is setting up some hot blue tanks. i'm not sure when he will be up and running but i can ask him about bluing your blade if you like. if you want to see what a satin finish cold blue would look like, i can do one up today. i have my test knife back and it needs cleaned up and i was thinking of checking this out anyway.
 
Chris,

A gunsmith can hot blue your knife for a nominal fee. Locally the guy charges $15 for up to 3 blades.

Gene
 
hmmm
where can i find a gunsmith?
so hotblueing would last longer?
it sounds like this would almost take as long as powerder coating...
i just like to do everything myself, not to be greedy or anything but i like to know it was done the best it could be.

thanks for the info...
~Chris
 
I like the parkerizing suggestion, you can buy a parkerizing kit from Brownell's and do it with your oven. You could also use gun-kote or dura-kote.

Something you could try also, would be to blast your blade, etch it in FC or vinegar and then buff it. This should give you a nice dark gray. The buffing idea was given to me by Tracy Dotson when I complained about blasted blades rusting so fast. I've only tried this once, with green rouge and a stiff wheel, I'd suggest a less aggressive rouge and wheel, like white or maybe even red rouge on a soft buff. The green rouge with a stiff buff was far too aggressive and took the gray right out.
 
I'd take IG up on his offer.

If you want to DIY, here's what I use. When I was a machinist we used to use this stuff on our indexable carbide cutters we made. Works pretty good and lasts ok. Kydex can scuff it some. I've redone a few knives too. Just need to reblast them, then into the solution. Good as new.
Good Luck,
Scott

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/black.htm

Edited to add: My chemicals are over two years old and still going strong. I have the top kit on the order form.
 
IG..
how resilient is the finish of the blueing? and how black is it? i would assume that the GI wants it a matte black.. can you do that?

thanks so much!
~Chris
 
Chris if you want tough as nails that looks good buy some Brownells baking lacquer. I've done some old beater shotguns with black that were not worth the time to hot blue. Hot blueing isn't nearly as durable as a baked on lacquer. One old double barrel has over 10 years of use and it still looks like the day it was applied.
 
I've notice that Chris Reeve uses KG Gun-Kote on some of his knives. I would assume that it is pretty good stuff if he is using it. You can get Gun-Kote from Brownells for about $30. Seems like a pretty good deal if it's enough to do 4 or 5 blades. Does anyone have any experience with this? How well does it hold up?
 
Knifemaker87 said:
IG..
how resilient is the finish of the blueing? and how black is it? i would assume that the GI wants it a matte black.. can you do that?

thanks so much!
~Chris
Click to expand...

It's just like the blue you see on guns. I use Tool Black, this is just like Cold Bluing. You can get it from MSC, McMaster-Carr and etc.
When I apply it, I heat the blade up first with a heatgun.
If you want I could bead blast the blades and Tool Black them for you.;)
I have pic's on my site with it applied to the blades. It's the Corian white handle knives.:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top