Knife Finishes

[etp777]

OK, looking at various finishes you can do on knives(working on one handrubbed one now, and have one painted with black exhaust/header paint). Trying to get supplies and gear for various finishes to try out. I expect to mainly make tactical knives, but also some nice hunters/bowies that'll need a pretty finish. It seems that at least for tactical knives, that your choice in finishes are about the same as those for guns. Anyways, wanna list off some finishes, and if I'm missing any, please chime in. Have already learned the joy of using scrap pieces of metal I cut off to make profile to test finishes and treatments and stuff.

Tactical:
Paint(Exhaust/header paint, hi impact enamels, etc)
Parkerization(Zinc-phosphate or Manganese-phosphate)
Bluing(Cold, hot and rust, which I think is also techincially hot)
Teflon(such as the teflon gun coating from Brownells)
Powder coating

Show knives:
Hand rubbed
Mirror polish


OK, I know there are some various brands of finishes, and happy to here those(Gunkote, etc), but mainly looking for more generic names for types of finishes. So if you have a particular brand of something you want to check, please give me some idea of what kind of finish it is, and what might be involved in applying it.

Oh yeah, I'm a fan of high carbon, non stainless steels for most applications, which is why finishes are a concern to me.

 

[DC KNIVES]

If your a fan of high carbon non-stainless steels you forgot etched finishes.I take some of mine to 400 grit then etch in a ferric chloride solution, then hand sand to 600 grit.Gives a nice patina.Dave

 

[simmonsk]

Bodycote.
I have a David Dempsey knife that does not show a scratch. It is a Boron finish that is tougher than the knife.
It costs about $2.00 per inch of knife, is for all intents rustproof, and will not scratch or show wear from kydex. I clean it with a ball of steel wool. Great stuff, and Bodycote works with custom knifemakers.
Enjoy...Ken

 

[etp777]

Ferric chloride, if memory serves, is just copper etchant such as you pick up at Radio Shack, correct? (amazes me all the crap I pick up )

Do you etch any particular pattern in, or just give it a bath in this stuff and see what patterns develop from natural grain of steel/remnants of grinding it? Also how long do you etch it for, in what solution, etc? I know that this will vary by the alloy and what look you're going for, but a rough idea, or example would be great. Also, does the etching make it more prone to corrosion? or still just the same regular tips about keeping it oiled?

 

[mooser1111]

here are some examples of etched blades, top 2 have been "pattern" etched, using sharpie pen for retarding the etch, bottom one is full etch which will show off the temper line....I use muriatic (swimming pool) acid, full strength, which works slower than the ferric chloride but is easier to get where I live. Time will vary from 10 to 30 minutes, just keep checking till you gey the look you're after, rinse well with cold water & neutralize with either a baking soda solution or ammonia windex, my preference. Very light buffing with fine steel wool while rinsing will remove all loose oxides, leaving the rest firmly embedded in the blade. Oil as usual with any high carbon steel to prevent rusting.

 

[etp777]

Beautiful, and thanks. that's exactly what I was wondering, and etching is clearly something I'm gonna have to try out, love how those look. Guess I'll try both, can get either here, but think I can dig up muriatic acid easier, esp. since exroommate is lab assistant here.

I really like the pattern etches.

 

[mooser1111]

the muriatic is readily available at any place selling pool supplies, I buy it locally at an Ace hardware store, it is available at larger drug stores like Long's & large supermarket chains, also at most home supply places like Lowe's or Home Depot, etc.

 

[etp777]

yeah, seen it all of those places. But if I can snag some for free that'd be even better.