Knife Jeweling!

[bartblade]

Anyone heard of knife jeweling? While gathering info at the local library I found a section in a book on how to do it yourself. I have since done it several times and its quite simple really and adds some bling to the knife.

items
#1. drill press
#2. wooden dowel rod any size under 1/4" the smaller the dowel the smaller circules.
#3. valve lapping compound found from the local auto part store fine and coarse do the same here.
#4. sand paper rough grit.
#5. scrap steel for practice.


Take the dowel and cut a 3 to 4 inch peace. Chuck it in the drill and use the sand paper on the tool table of the press and level the end of the dowel to get a true flatness. Then smear the lapping compound where you want the jeweling to be and turn on and go to work.

ps. only works on the flat parts of the knife not in the hallow of the blade.

 

[Shakudo]

get some cratex rods and you don't need to play with the mess the compounds make.the rods will also work on any shape surface.

 

[ddavelarsen]

I've used the Cratex before too but I wonder whether there's a difference in the texture of the two processes? I say this because the Cratex surface was not all that durable. I've also used just a rubber eraser on the end of a pencil; that sorta works too, if you're cheap and looking for instant gratification.

The caveat to any of these is that making a uniform pattern can be tricky, and the look is not for every knife. I like it inside the liners of folders quite a lot, less so on the surface of a blade. My taste only.

Thanks for the quick tutorial bartblade!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Use a coarser Cratex rod,for a deeper jewel finish.Using a maple dowel and grit paste works good,the problem is you can't see the jeweling very clearly with the grinding paste smeared on the metal.and you must be careful not to scratch the mirror finish when wiping off the remaining grit.Make a jig to hold your blade and move it in straight lines and equal steps (the jig is sort of like one you would use to drill equally spaced holes in a straight line).An X-Y vise will work OK.Figure out how much you have to turn the handle to move to the next jeweling.do the same amount each time (1/2 turn,1 turn ,etc.).Once you get the hang of jeweling it can be done quite fast.The only thing that is absolute is that the jeweling rod must be exactly perpendicular to the blade surface (cratex helps a bit here by having a little give).Usually jeweling is only done on the ricasso and a couple inches of the spine area.

 

[Don Robinson]

I've used the Cratex before too but I wonder whether there's a difference in the texture of the two processes? I say this because the Cratex surface was not all that durable. I've also used just a rubber eraser on the end of a pencil; that sorta works too, if you're cheap and looking for instant gratification.

The caveat to any of these is that making a uniform pattern can be tricky, and the look is not for every knife. I like it inside the liners of folders quite a lot, less so on the surface of a blade. My taste only.

Thanks for the quick tutorial bartblade!

I'm with you here, Dave. I've tried all 3 methods, and finally wound up just breaking the end off a new pencil and putting it in the mill chuck. I've never found a way to keep the circles the same, since whatever you use wears down and changes during the process.

I use the pencil eraser on the insides only of Ti liners.

I hadn't thought of jeweling the ricasso or the spine. I think I'll try that. A small area would be easier to make uniform. Thanks for that, bladsmth.

There is another way not mentioned. You can use a small jeweler's stiff bristle brush to jewel metal, or order one from Brownell's gun supplies.