Condor Hudson Bay - initial impressions

A.L. said:
Sorry for the slight necro, but here's photo of the stripped condor with patina added in case you are curious:

condor.jpg

I like it this way better. Makes it appear more "natural".

southern.jpg

Also used the knife for littlebit of prop before the uncoating. :D
Click to expand...

I know this thread is a little old but A.L. would you mind sharing how you stripped the blade? It looks awesome. I am going to go order one right now to do just that to the blade. Good job and thanks for the pics!!!
 
Liveitloud said:
I know this thread is a little old but A.L. would you mind sharing how you stripped the blade? It looks awesome. I am going to go order one right now to do just that to the blade. Good job and thanks for the pics!!!
Click to expand...

No problem!
Here's what I did:

Uncoating
Took very coarse (propably around 200 grit) sandpaper and sanded the coating off by hand. Took some time and effort, but you should be fine without machinery. I didn't take any time polishing the blade since the patina pretty much hides the rough job.. and I think that it works better this way anyway.

Patina
For this job, I used my favorite agent: lime. There's some tricks that you have to do though. First off, squeeze good amount of juice on the blade and spread it with the lime. Let it "suck" the acids for a while. The difficulty is that the acid is so strong that in kind of way, it unpatinates the blade. :eek:
Remove the juice after while, and repeat. Then clean the bade again and start rubbing the blade with lime juice soaked rug or toiletpaper (whatnot you have). First off you will be having patina that wont look that good. As you just repeat and repeat, it will become more spreaded and stable. Experiment with dryer rug at times, without using too much juice (as it wipes dirt off).

Added note: not sure if it's the temperature / moist level but my handles have shrunk a bit. It MIGHT be the lime, but I can't swear. Be alert.

Don't be afraid to ask more or details if you can't get it right..
And also, post pics later!
 
Wow, didn't expect a response so quickly. Thanks for posting the information so quickly. After I saw this I went over to KW and was able to get one for around 32 bucks. Pretty good price. I will get the limes and the sandpaper together and await the arrival. I may have more questions. :) Thanks again for posting so quick. I like the looks of that blade!!!
 
Also, I am assuming that the handle is probably raw. Wondering if it might be a good idea to oil it up with some mineral oil a few times then maybe seal it with some tung oil or something.
 
Im sure that wouldn't hurt!
For 32 bucks you got one helluva deal there! :thumbup:
 
Okay I gotta say that Knife Works is awesome. I ordered the knife yesterday morning just after 5:00 am and had a package on my porch just now. That is what I call fast. Hell, I didn't even have time to go get the sandpaper. :) :thumbup:
 
Figured I would snap some quick ones for the before. In case I mess it up too bad you can see that it wasn't a bad looking knife before I started haha.

HB3.jpg



HB2.jpg


HB1.jpg


HB4.jpg
 
Sweet thread! Just ordered one myself, and plan on doing the strip and patina as well. I'll post pics when I'm done, on this thread (if it's OK with the OP), if anyone wants to see them.
 
Ofcourse it's ok, more like demanded! :)
There's some patina craze going on here :D
 
I'm glad that, for a change, I've been subverted by a thread on a $32 knife, instead of a $200 knife that I can't really afford right now (looking at you, Mr TOPS Power Eagle:grumpy:)...
 
Interesting thread as I have been looking at them also. This is buffalo country here and many,many,many of those beasts have gone to their reward and were butchered with original H.B.Co. knives out here. There are a few originals in the local museum. Condors design is reasonably close for the most part, but the handles look a bit short. Dunno, ok I guess, considering how inexpensive they are. The originals that I saw in the museum are big, chunky, mothers of a knife. A big butcher knife for big animals.
 
The handle is 4 3/4 long on mine and about 3/4 of an inch thick if that gives you an idea. My hands are kinda small and the handle is a bit big for my grip
 
So I finally got time to do the strip. I still need to clean up a few dark spots by the tang. I did mine with vinegar and it turned out a bit spotty. Still trying to decide if I want to hit it with Flitz and patina again. Here are a couple of shots. Not through with it yest but wanted to update. It really doesn't look as bad as the photo's make it look. Just hard to photograph accurately...

HBstrip3.jpg


HBstrip.jpg


HBstrip1.jpg


HBstrip2.jpg
 
You could get more stable patina by rubbing, unless that's what you tried.
Unfortunately I can't use mine yet, and too much snow anyway for my lazy bones. :p
I have to test mine when the enviroment gets a bit more friendly.. with photos ofcourse!
 
I did a little researching on removing powder coating, and the general consensus on the internet is that Permatex Gasket Remover Spray works like a charm.
Spray it on,wait 10-15 minutes, and the powder coat bubbles up and comes right off with a wipe. May have to repeat the process on some stubborn spots.
Doesn't hurt the metal, according to the reports, which makes sense since it is made to remove gaskets and adhesives from iron and aluminum engine parts..
You can get it at Auto Zone.

I haven't tried it yet, myself.
I'd recommend doing a good masking of the handles, because I don't know what effects it will have on handle materials.
 
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another possibility is methyline chloride-- made to remove epoxies & varnishes from wood & stone. [brick/ saltillo, & manmade nonpoly tiles. i have tried this on oak floors & it's wild, the polyurethanes & varnish wipe off but the wood looks as if nothing has been put on it at all. this is potent stuff & will dissolve vinyl tile in 5 minutes. i only have one coated blade & want to sell that ferhman as mint as possible.
dennis
 
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