Making a mirror finish on a villager ?

tried it once in los isley, the villager kept objecting and squirming around, had to let him go tho, i got this distinct overpowering mental message that he is not the one we were looking for.
 
Astro, a couple of things. I might try to brighten up a villager handle by refinishing or whatever, but the satin metal finish is what makes a villager IMO. It would be one hell of a lot of work to get a standard polished finish out of the thing, and in the process you would probably polish away the great villager edge that is usually so much sharper than the standard knives.

Also, I have found that any knife with a satin finish will tend to hold a bit more oil on it's surface, and will resist rusting much better than a polished blade. That is why really traditional guys like Sgt. Karka will do a quick full polish just in front of the handle over the cho, but then will leave the rest of the blade a nice satin. His blades are also consistently sharper than the full polished khuks because of this. Bura has also done a few this way.

I personally think you're better off just leaving it as is. If you want a full polish model, I'll bet you could sell that Villager in a second as is on the Exchange forum, and then use the proceeds to get a full polish standard model from Yangdu. Would sure be a lot less work for you.

Good luck,

Norm
 
I've seen it done. All it takes a bit of time on the buffer.

One possible reason why someone would want to do this is because it represents the ultimate value: if you polish up a villager well, you've essentially gotten a $150 khukuri (which is a bargain in the first place) for $60-$70. That's enough to make anyone smile.

I don't do it, personally. In fact, my standard models generally resemble villagers after a few months of use. :)
 
jamesraykenney said:
Do I need a polished blade before etching with Radio Shack etching solution?
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Beats me! I would guess not, as the satin will hold the solution, but I don't know how well the blade details will show through.
 
It's been my experience that a polished blade etches much better. You'll get results with a satin finish but the details can be hard to see sometimes.
 
jamesraykenney said:
Do I need a polished blade before etching with Radio Shack etching solution?
Click to expand...

Actually you want a surface which is not fully polished, as a full polish tends to not etch evenly. What you want is a fine grit hand rubbed surface, for example 600 grit or 1200 grit. So if you're starting with a villager you'll need to user finer grits, if you're starting with a polished kuk you'll have to dull the surface first.

There have been numerous threads on etching in the past, just do a search in the forum using the keywords you're looking for.
 
olpappy said:
Actually you want a surface which is not fully polished, as a full polish tends to not etch evenly. What you want is a fine grit hand rubbed surface, for example 600 grit or 1200 grit. So if you're starting with a villager you'll need to user finer grits, if you're starting with a polished kuk you'll have to dull the surface first.

There have been numerous threads on etching in the past, just do a search in the forum using the keywords you're looking for.
Click to expand...


Good info! So the next time I etch I'll hit the full polished surface with some 1200 grit stuff first and see if that helps. I found that the one time I did it that the full polish did not etch evenly as you say, but after the second and third pass with the hot vinegar I used it did even out pretty nicely.

Thanks,

Norm
 
A good source for very fine grit paper is the painting department of the auto supply store. They often cary up to 2,500 grit - which is a mirror finish IMO. I've taken a few that far, but 600 is enough for me. I do the mirror thing on the back sides of plane blades and wood chisels though. The trick I was taught is that if you can see the color of your eyes in the reflection, you're done. :)
 
mirror polish on a villager - it can be done. But you will need abrasive wheels and polishing buffs.

Best finish for a villager (IMHO) is to get a scotchbrite wheel/pad/belt and hit it with that. You get a very even satin finish that can be very easily etched (if desired).

Second to that (if the right tools are not available) would be just grabbing some 220 grit paper and going at it. Then 400, 600 and 800-1200. That's plenty high enough.

TIP = plan this project on a lazy saturday afternoon/evening. Put in a low-key movie and sand the blade by hand until your arm falls off, or the movie ends (whichever happens last...:D). Seriously, sanding by hand gets very frustrating, aggravating, patience-testing, etc.....so do something to take the "time" factor off your mind.
 
What Dan said. Not to mention dangerous :eek: Anything you do with a sharp blade is potentially hazardous. My advice would be to start with a small blade like a karda or an old pocket knife to get the feel of the process.
 
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