Hey, why is your clay hardened blade so much $$$?

First of all, thanks for answering my earlier question. I love the bitchin' threads that you do. But, I would like to ask you another question, if you don't care. Would a lapping paste work as well as the powder with the lubricant added as shown?
 
That's a good question, but I don't have a good answer for you! ;) :)

I have messed around with all sorts of abrasives... but no lapping compounds. Are you specifically thinking of stuff like the Clover brand? It's usually only about $10 for a jar of the coarse stuff, but up around 1200X they're asking more like $60. If I had some laying around I would definitely try it....
 
Wonderful, Nick. I was meaning to ask you for some tips on how you bring out your hamon lines and this did the trick. Thank you very much.
 
I have a question about this method if you don't mind, Nick. Why don't you just soak/submerge the whole blade in vinegar instead of rubbing it with a paper towel on for ten minutes at a time? I was tinkering around with this today, and all the rubbing sure was monotonous, not to mention inhaling the lovely vinegar odor the whole time. Thanks!
 
Spot on Nick.
Great info for everyone who consider these polishing job a lot easier... it isn't that difficult but for sure it's time consuming.
Proudly time consuming, becasue once you see a blade in that way everyone can remain breathless!
Congrats man keep up the good work
 
You can do that way Paul, it just doesn't seem to work very well for me. It oxidizes the entire blade, and I'm most interested in etching the area around the hamon. Creating oxides on the ricasso and spine is extra work to polish off... but mostly, you cannot focus your etching more on one area than another.

I imagine there are lots of guys that do it that way with great results, I just am not one of them. ;) :)
 
Ahh, I see...I thought you were etching the entire blade this way. So are you focusing the etch on the hardened (and/or transition) area only then?

Thanks Nick!
 
yes sir, now i understand why i need so much $$$ for a clay hardened blade :D

super nice work! thanks for sharing.
 
I am currently working on a hamon, and this thread is amazing. I know it is old, but i wanted to thank Nick for doing yet another wonderful WIP. It has helped me a ton!

Mike
 
Reminds me of the Aurora Borealis! That's really a lot of polishing. I slow rust gun parts on occasion and the labor/process involved is somewhat similar. Polish-swab-rust-boil-card, again and again and again. Thanks I really appreciate the lesson. I enjoy watching the 'next" level after each event, I think that's what makes it so hard to stop. It sure shows up in your work. Beautiful!
 
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