Forging scales left on knives

[T.K.C.]

Some people like that, and that is some makers' style. It isn't something that I care for.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Any finish less than a mirror i can shave with is lazy

 

[MattinPA]

Hello Forum knife makers and members,
This question has been bugging me for quiet a while. Why do knife makers leave scale on their blades, or beat up stainless with a hammer and why would anyone purchase one? I have been collecting for over 30 years(I'm a 67 year old wrecked NAM VET). I bough my last :Loveless for $150. I have Moran's , Lile's , D.E. Henry's, Gilbreath's, Beauchamp's, Jack Cranes and many other makers. This is not to brag about my collection. This is for my own education and understanding. Why would a knife maker make or a purchaser buy a knife that looks like the maker says it's good enough,someone will buy it. As a serious collector I would never purchase such a blade and probobally would not let someone give me one. Those knives look incomplete , ragged and to me quiet ugly. Please remember this is for my own seeking of informatiom and kowledge and not to rundown or bad-mouth makers or buyers.
Thanks,
Hondo

Hey Hondo, late to the party but would still like to answer because it's a good question. Generally my guess is a lot of the bladesmiths out there are paying attention to the traditional finishes you find on the increasingly popular Japanese kitchen knives, liking them, and giving it a try. There are names for the different ones, and it's generally considered a nice traditional "rustic" look, as one poster upthread said. As others said more or less, it helps give you a sense the knife was forged and shaped by people, not machines. I've certainly seen a few by Lon Humphrey with the scale partly left on. For some reason I don't really care for it on Western knives but it can look right to my eye on Japanese ones. But even in Japan tastes differ and a lot of the really high-end knives have a polished or cloudy finish. Just a question of tradition and taste in the end, I suppose, and to me that's part of the fun.

 

[afishhunter]

Like 6th and greater great grandfather or grandmother would have had from the local blacksmith or their own forge, if they were farmers?
Personally, I like the as forged/heat treated finish. Most modern knives are needlessly over polished to a mirror.
View attachment 1677218View attachment 1677219

 

[Alberta Ed]

My Roselli's (Carpenter & erapuukko) have a bit of scale, along with the coarse grind marks. They're all function, no frill, doesn't detract from their cutting efficiency.

 

[Mossyhorn]

Scale left on to hide deep hammer marks is not appealing at all.