Coin Wash Finish

[hondahirny]

I've been wanting more of a stonewashed finish on my large Insingo. I don't have a tumbler, but did have a whole bunch of change

I removed the blade and wedged some cardboard inside the handles. This kept the coins from the inside and also protected the lock bar face.

Here's my "tumbler"


Part way there:


The finished product:



Prior to reassembly, I washed everything well with soapy water. I also polished all the hardware. I really like the look.

One word of warning. Shaking coins around will be quite loud. My two year old thought it was great and it made him run around and dance Other family members were less impressed by the noise. Took about an hour to "coin wash" the handles. I used quarters, nickels, and dimes only. Was concerned about the copper rubbing off onto the Sebbie.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Funny, I inherited my grandfather's old barlow pocket knife. I fixed the blade wobble by squeezing the bolsters in my vice (padded), then repeened the pivot, and sanded the marks away. When done, the bolsters were shiny where I sanded them back down. To fix that, and match the original scuffed finish on the knife, I rubbed the bolsters with a coin for a while. Now, you can't tell the original pocket worn areas from the fixed area!

Coins are not just good for carwashes!

 

[nyefmaker]

Very Cool, I like the look of it, looks like a well used sebenza....!!!

 

[Haze]

I have a few "pocket tumbled" items now, they took me about a year or so to do so an hour isn't bad at all. :thumbup:

 

[ncanert]

I think it looks great. So you used no WD 40 or anything right? I'm no pro at stone washing, or coin washing in this case, but I remember reading somewhere about people adding a little bit of some kind of lubricant in the mix when shaking/tumbling. Plus I'm not as brave as you are so I might give it a go with my Sage 2 first before doing my Sebbie, but it looks very cool!

 

[hondahirny]

I heard about using oil for stonewash. I decided against it as I didn't want to clean and dry all that change

For a machine stonewash, I'd imagine the rapid vibration could cause heat build up without oil. It wasn't an issue for my approach.

 

[SaddleSC]

DANG...that looks great! I am impressed how uniform the finish is. So, you left the screws in the handle during the tumbling process and then just polished them back up when you finished? Did you just shake the tumbler? Did it put dings or dents into the sharp corners/edges of the handles? This looks so good, I may break out the Small Insingo and give it a whirl.

 

[hondahirny]

So, you left the screws in the handle during the tumbling process and then just polished them back up when you finished? Did you just shake the tumbler? Did it put dings or dents into the sharp corners/edges of the handles?

The coin washing did produce some tiny digs and scratches on the screws. That largely polished out with a Dremel and some compound. For tumbling, just vigorous shaking. I did use a lid, but could have just cupped my hand to form a lid. Either way works. The handle edges are OK after tumbling.

My suggestion is to go in 1 to 2 minute bursts and check your work. You're done when either your arms get tired, your spouse threatens divorce, or you achieve the desired surface finish

 

[High-Gear]

I wonder if it would work if the scales were masked well, and then tumbled without the screws? Also I thought about duct taping the tube and throwing it in the dryer while leaving for a walk might be a better plan for your ears!

 

[hoodep]

Looks great! :thumbup:

 

[hondahirny]

I wonder if it would work if the scales were masked well, and then tumbled without the screws? Also I thought about duct taping the tube and throwing it in the dryer while leaving for a walk might be a better plan for your ears!

The only thing I'd worry about damaging on a loose scale is the lockbar face. Other than that, I don't see a downside to tumbling the insides of the scales.

The dryer thing has been done. I thought I saw a post by someone who wrapped a plastic bottle inside a sleeping bag. He then used a dryer to tumble the knife. I don't think he used coins as the tumbling media. I guess I like throwing money at a problem

 

[icybluesmile]

I did this same treatment on a small Insingo once. I didn't bother removing the blade though. I just put some painter's tape on the blade to protect it and threw the knife in a bag full of change. The lockbar face was protected by just leaving the blade in. I really liked how it turned out. Sadly, I don't have any pics since I don't have that knife any more.

 

[UrFrndlyNebrhoodS]

Cool Finish! Love how uniform it is. :thumbup:

 

[red mag]

Very interesting.
I wonder how a clip would look like it it was "thumble-finished" with 1-cent coins only.
red mag.

 

[TTTis]

Very interesting.
I wonder how a clip would look like it it was "thumble-finished" with 1-cent coins only.
red mag.

Both Titanium, both sand blasted... probably look identical.

 

[Mike Gesualdo]

That looks awesome. My Sebbie's finish is in pretty good condition, but I may have to keep this in mind for when it's worn more. I actually almost prefer that finish on Titanium to the original, though... hmmm...

 

[atony]

That turned out very nice, excellent job.

 

[The-Stig]

Looks great man! I think the WD-40 is recommended in a tumbler to keep everything moving. If you have tumbling media sitting in one area it will create an uneven finish. One piece could get stuck next to the handle and create a deeper scratch.