Guard Texture Finish

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
3,415
I grind my blades, not forging...yet.. I am making some knives out of my comfort zone to keep the fire in the belly burning and it seems to be working. I etched this blade with gun blue and bleach (Thanks Bruce Culberson). I have the guard ready and its nice and polished on the top side. I saw some guards from some of Aland's knives that were hammered/textured. I like the look. I am thinking of doing it for this knife. I don't want folks to think I am faking a forged knife. I just like the texturing of the guard and think it will look nice with the blade etch. And now my question. Do I need to heat up the guard to a certain temp before I take the ball peen to it, or can it be dinged up at room temp? Any tips will be appreciated.

This is the first hidden tang I am attempting. I will more than likely be keeping this one.


IMG_20120110_080945.jpg
 
Go to a place like HF and get a 4 piece set of ball peen hammers. You want them from 3/8" ball to 3/4" for making different size dimples. Sand the ball smooth, and polish the ball each time you do a texturing.

Star with a circular looping pattern, sort of like scribbling. Use light strokes, as you can always make the dings deeper, but you can't raise them back up.
Once the entire area has been "sribbled" over, reverse the direction and start filling in the voids.
Don't just work one spot or it will come out uneven for sure.
Slowly close up all gaps and when it looks done, give it a light peening all over.
A brushing with a brass wire wheel, or a brass hand brush will finish it up in many cases.
Avoid using a power buffer and charged cloth wheels, as they can erase the high points in a split second.
Another good finishing method is to use steel wool, or Scotch Brite pads.

Copper, brass, and bronze may look sort of strange right after final buffing, but wait a few days for the patina to start to show up.
Patina can be forced with many things, from commercial brass black compounds to Livers of Sulphur ( my favorite).
Livers of Sulphur can make copper look silvery-black, and 100 years old in five minutes.
 
Livers of Sulphur.... I have never heard of it... cool. I just get my daughter to pee on my copper.
 
Female urine works better at getting that green color. I bet you think I'm kidding, don't ya?
 
You are a warped man, Rick.
But that's why we love you.

Everyone - Please keep on topic, and don't de-rail threads.
 
I was talking seriously about patina, Stacy. I knew you guys would think I was kidding... I'm not. If you want that verde green colour, bring up a dark patina with cold bluing (selenium based) and use urine(probably uric acid or amonia?) or choride acid to turn it green. I am always afraid of mixing chemicals so when I read the urine recipe I tried it. It actually works.

I don't know if it is the look you are going for, but if you are texturing just the top or bottom faces, make sure to leave stock to finish the edges. One misplaced blow close to a corner can muck things up. I also have a punch with a ball tip that I use to place peening exactly where I need it. That is useful for filling gaps after the hammer work.

Post pics!!!

Rick
 
I had the top part buffed out so I did the same to the ball peen I had laying around and this is the result. I ain't gonna lie but when I was banging on the guard with a hammer I felt an urge to find me and anvil and a forge. I think I am heading down an expensive path...... My wife is gonna kill me if I follow through with it.

IMG_3574.jpg

IMG_3573.jpg
 
Last edited:
As you also have discovered, this is a good way to close up a bad fitting guard slot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top