Making a Knife with almost nothing!!!!

Sure, you can make an absolutely functional knife with very simple, common tools. But without a belt grinder, it always looks like a shiny turd at the end.
 
Shiny means garbage knife? I haven't ever heard that particular grievance before.

Better not tell the people that spent $1k - $1.7k on a Rockstead...
 
What I meant is, polishing a knife that already looks like ass, won't make it look any better. Rocksteads look beautiful but the polish only adds to an already good looking design and execution.

This is a knife that I made with files last year. Threw it in the garbage bin and bought myself a belt grinder.
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ocnLogan said:
Shiny means garbage knife? I haven't ever heard that particular grievance before.

Better not tell the people that spent $1k - $1.7k on a Rockstead...
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Or quite likely a lot of folks over 30. My Dad was in the service during the Korean war, and someway he spent some time in Germany. He brought back beautifully made, mostly by hand, hunting knives for himself, one of his friends and his own father. My first traditional knives starting around 1960 were polished to the point where you could easily see yourself. When I got my first hunting knives, they were all polished to a high mirror finish. These knives included Schrades, Queens, Cases, Westerns and specialty Kabar big game skinner. My first knife with a satin finish was my first Buck, the 110.

I would see the local knife makers around here and they all sneered at satin finish as they felt like someone didn't want to take the time to finish the knife properly. So they stopped at one of the last passes of sandpaper. These guys showed me (and in subsequent projects of my own in making custom hardware) that the polished surfaces that are brought to a good mirror finish have to be without defect to begin with, before any polishing starts. Polishing doesn't hide defects. Satin finishes, stone wash, acid wash, or fine belt finishes certainly do.

What am I missing here that a well finished knife surface looks bad?

EDIT: Someone needs to tell those of us that still appreciate well made traditionals how far off base we are.

Robert
 
First off, I didn't do this in my previous post, but props to the guy in the video for making the knife. That is way more than I've ever done. In fact, same to G Gvard , I know you say you tossed that knife, but to me, it looks like you did a nice job, better than I think I'd do at this point. Well done sir.

That said, some knives with polish do look cheaper to me (like the cheapo swords that you see on ebay, etc). Now that I think about it though, a lot of that feeling I get is the fact that the blade is shiney, and not finished well (so the imperfections are showed off even more), as well as the rest of the grinds/FF/materials.

So I understand the reaction. I just wasn't aware that it was a "thing" to dislike the shine just because is shiney.

And, in the non-traditional space, I have polished one of my Beckers, to help prevent corrosion, and so far it seems to fare better than the others, so I do believe that it is helping in that regard.
 
ocnLogan said:
First off, I didn't do this in my previous post, but props to the guy in the video for making the knife. That is way more than I've ever done. In fact, same to G Gvard , I know you say you tossed that knife, but to me, it looks like you did a nice job, better than I think I'd do at this point. Well done sir.

That said, some knives with polish do look cheaper to me (like the cheapo swords that you see on ebay, etc). Now that I think about it though, a lot of that feeling I get is the fact that the blade is shiney, and not finished well (so the imperfections are showed off even more), as well as the rest of the grinds/FF/materials.

So I understand the reaction. I just wasn't aware that it was a "thing" to dislike the shine just because is shiney.

And, in the non-traditional space, I have polished one of my Beckers, to help prevent corrosion, and so far it seems to fare better than the others, so I do believe that it is helping in that regard.
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I don't think he meant he dislikes it because its shiny. I think he meant that you can polish up a poorly made knife, and all you will have is a shiny turd.
 
danbot said:
I don't think he meant he dislikes it because its shiny. I think he meant that you can polish up a poorly made knife, and all you will have is a shiny turd.
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I took it that way too. You can mirror polish whatever, but if the lines and grinds and ergos and overall aesthetics are odd or downright bad, it's just a shiny bad knife. I would think time while learning would be better spent on something other than a mirror polish.
 
Gvard said:
What I meant is, polishing a knife that already looks like ass, won't make it look any better. Rocksteads look beautiful but the polish only adds to an already good looking design and execution.

This is a knife that I made with files last year. Threw it in the garbage bin and bought myself a belt grinder.
2ez2w0p.jpg
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I like the look of that blade. Nice and simple.
 
danbot said:
I don't think he meant he dislikes it because its shiny. I think he meant that you can polish up a poorly made knife, and all you will have is a shiny turd.
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That's clearly what he meant, but he's wrong I the fact that you need a belt grinder to make a good looking knife.
 
danbot said:
True. A skilled craftsman can do amazing things!
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Absolutely.
I'm not one but even I can make a knife that looks acceptable without a belt sander.
I'm not saying it'll be a masterpiece, but It won't look like an out right turn.
 
Design is what matters. There have been great makers over the years that have used files, hammer and tongs, stone wheel grinders, and belt grinders. The big difference is design, some just have an eye for it.
 
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