Hamon before and after...3 hours hand sanding...its done!

David Schott

David Schott

Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
3,041
Well....here it was before...looked nice....vibrant....but just didnt have the detail I wanted.
hamon2.jpg


After some great discusson in a thread earlier this week, I decided I just wasnt ready to put this baby to bed.

I took it back down all the way to 600, the did 800, 1200, 1800, 2000, 3200, 4000 and did a single (not kidding) 1 second etch in FC and instantly pulled it and dunked in ammonia followed by ultra light oooo steel wool and paper towel polishing.....

End result was so good that I peened the bolsters right away and wrapped it up!

I wanted to thank everyone who was so helpful during the process!

Without further ado...kept higher res for detail:
hamon3.jpg
 
Very nice hamon. I'm impressed!
How much did the 1 sec FC etch improve the look if at all?
 
The FC etch did an insane amount in that one second to that high a finish.....I tried vinegar but didnt like it....i wish it had done less, but it seems unavoidable to have a somewhat mater surface because even at a full 4000, I coldnt see any detail whatsoever above that main transition line.

Live and learn, I guess!
 
Thanks, everyone! No more pics till this baby is done! Even though i etched, I am going to mirror polish the spine...maybe some minor filework along the central handle...pics are hard to gauge size, this thing is pretty long and mean...a full 3" longer than any blade I had done prior.
 
Awsome! I remember an article on Michel Bell, the american swordsmith and he hand polished all the way to 8000 grit? with water stones. The last ones he used the article said were slightly acid and helped bring out the hammon. You may have to experiment, but I bet you could achieve a sutler etch with a very dilute mix of ferric and water, 10-1 or less.

Now get it finished, we want to see pics!:D
 
Haha!

After this one I was going to try to learn guards better.....i have mainly avoided guards due to my lack of a milling machine and my percieved non-ability to cut a slot perfectly....its just a mental block, but I suppose that is next!
 
Well...I have finished cyring my last set of tears since last night. I got this knife 99.999% together and after final sanding, buffing, etc, I found that the finish from when I put it on just was not very durable. The upper details wee so fragile that almost anythign would marr it. By the time I was done, the handle and bolsters looks spectacular, and the blade looked...eh....the opposite effect as I wanted! Although the learning experience was great and the effect was stunning at the time, I am going to put a more durable and pleasing finish on this knife. The main transition line will still be clearly visible, But I have simichromed the entire blade so the edge is mirror and the upper is matte. At angles, you can still see the details, but I think with mirrored bolsters and spine and full tang, it fits the knife better than the detailed blade. I'll have pics up tonight of the finished knife in the gallery section. As much as it killed me to do it, I feel there are some cases where something that you once thought was perfect just doesnt fit in the end...
 
Yeah....it HURT to do what I had to do, and unfortunately, it had to happen after final fit and finish. I keep having to tell myself....its only 1095....you have 9 feet of it leaning against the wall....

Then handle and bolsters, however, are just what I wanted, so I can't complain! Maybe whoever owns this will actually use it! The previous finish would have deteriorated very quickly with any regular usage.
 
Tik, that's some fine work, for sure. It's too bad the finish you pictured won't work, but it's still gonna look darn good with the durable finish you end up with. If it was to be a display only piece, I would say to leave as is. You are like a lot us us, you would rather see most of your work being used.
 
Yeah....If I had somehow had the forsight, id have done it differently now, but since the bolsters and handles are on and finished, I cant do very much modification to the blade finish without the ricasso area looking like hell. My choices were to leave a finish I wasn't 100% happy with and that a customer may eventually come to hate if they used the knife alot, or put a finish on that i could 100% accept and I know will last and be easilly be maintainable.
 
Alright I apologize in advance for my ignorance, but I don't understand the term "hamon." What is that? How was the finish on that knife not durable. It was beautiful, but you can tell how little I know here.
 
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