Forged hunter- All blacked out

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
8,244
Hand forged from 1095 steel
8 1/2" overall, 3 7/8" blade, .170" at the ricasso w/ full distal taper
"Twisted Steel" filework
Rounded Ricasso edge
Damascus guard and spacer of 1084/15n20 mix
Rounded guard edges
Coined and blued spacers
African Blackwood handle
Checkered and blued finial nut

All comments and discussion welcome.









 
I only hope to become this good! That is one sexy looking knife IMO!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
I love your attention to details. The Damascus is amazing, perfect size, great work
 
That IS a nice knife, John. If it's not a trade secret, how did you blacken the blade? It has a nice, even look to it.
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

David Stifle said:
That IS a nice knife, John. If it's not a trade secret, how did you blacken the blade? It has a nice, even look to it.
Click to expand...

Hi David. Nope not a secret at all. :) The first key to getting it even is a nice hand sanded finish. This one was finished to 1000 grit. After that, it's just ferric chloride etched. Multiple times with polishing in between. The final etch was about 45 seconds long, which leaves the blade quite black. Sprayed with windex to neutralize, scrubbed with baking soda to get rid of some of the black 'crud' then polished very quickly and very lightly with flitz just to even out the 'gritty' look that etching leaves but not enough to really brighten it up.

Thanks for the comment.
 
redthered79 said:
Does the ferric chloride provide any rust prevention or is it solely for aesthetics?
Click to expand...

It does seem to help inhibit rust. I've noticed etched blades don't develop the little rust spots near as fast as bright steel blades when exposed to water or even left in a wet sheath.
 
And thanks for the sharing of information ! I like the all blacked out look.
 
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