Mysterious blade with a slightly damaged finish, can this be fixed? (See pics)

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NervousTicMotion

Joined
Mar 27, 2013
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23
You can see in the pictures, some of the finish was buffed off of this mystery no-name blade of mine. I'm wondering if I can just take a torch to it and touch up the finish or what?

My dad picked this up for me at a flea market. It's a no-name knife as far as I can tell (just says "Platinum Collection" on the blade), but it's actually pretty well built! Sure, it has some cheap plastic on the handle and an annoyingly high-rise pocket clip, but it's also a zippy assisted opener with zero blade play and a strong liner lockup. Plus, it has a cool heat-treated mirror finish on the scales, pocket clip and blade itself. Anywho, if this knife looks familiar to any of you, go ahead and tell me about it. But like I said, I'm pretty sure it's just a well-built budget no-name knife. I mostly just want to fix the damaged finish.

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If you value the knife at all, do not use a torch on the blade. As for the finish, I am afraid that you must live with it.
 
Accidentally lose that knife and spend the 38.00$ on a Kershaw Leek and use the crap out of it. You can't fix what isn't broke and you can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear.
Tc
 
clearytja said:
Accidentally lose that knife and spend the 38.00$ on a Kershaw Leek and use the crap out of it. You can't fix what isn't broke and you can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear.
Tc
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Now, this might be a little crazy, but if hes just going to replace it he could take a torch to the thing and go crazy just to see what happens. Its being replaced, after all. Its redundancy makes it a test candidate! Or something.
 
A torch to the blade will only let you know that it destroys the hardness from the heat treatment and no longer hold a edge. If the finish bothers you you might just want to sand it off. Finish with a scotch brite pad. I would guess new, the knife was under $15.
 
I think that's a titanium-nitrite finish, so a chemical based coating not heat. Kershaw has a few in the same coloration might take a look at theirs.
 
Haha you guys I don't hate this thing that much, I was honestly just wondering about the finish. I know this thing isn't nice but like I said its surprisingly solid, just cheap materials. But yeah it does look kind of Leek-ish.

So anyway, a blowtorch would weaken the blade? I believe I've heard of people subjecting knife steel to extremely cold temperatures in the forging process. Is that right?
 
The liner lock appears to have traveled all the way to the right, I'd be careful with it.

...I'm still trying to digest how anyone would think it is a good idea to take a torch to a knife blade...
 
NervousTicMotion said:
So anyway, a blowtorch would weaken the blade? I believe I've heard of people subjecting knife steel to extremely cold temperatures in the forging process. Is that right?
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Yes, they do. But exposure to heat and exposure to cold are two entirely different things. There is no reason to belive that they do the same things to metal. Exposure to extreme heat will make metal melt. Exposure to extreme cold will not.
 
Not to sound like a "knife snob" but I wouldn't waste any time on a knife marked "STAINLESS CHINA".

I don't have anything against stainless steel, and I don't have anything against knives made in China, but that particular type of marking is the sign of a VERY cheap knife (cheap as in junk). It's exactly the type of knife one might expect to find at a flea market, or on the counter in a gas station. Though I haven't handled it or inspected it, I'm willing to wager a lot that it isn't a quality knife (lock reliability, blade steel, heat-treat).

There are a lot of inexpensive knives of good quality from reputable manufacturers that are easy to come by, I don't see that there is anything to gain from using or experimenting with THAT particular knife. I believe that ones time is always better spent with a quality knife.
 
Just make up some story about how you skinned out a buffalo with this knife, and live with the finish wear.:D.:D.
 
Truly I've got nothing invested in this knife except for curiosity. This is indeed a cheap and generic as hell. I have other blades that are actually nice: benchmade, spyderco, boker, etc. But like i said its also oddly well put together. There is no blade play, the liner locks up at about 45%, and the assisted open deploys quickly. And just so were all on the same page here, I do also understand that on a molecular level heat always excites and cold constricts. I like the idea about making up the story about skinning a buffalo :p
 
NervousTicMotion said:
Truly I've got nothing invested in this knife except for curiosity. This is indeed a cheap and generic as hell. I have other blades that are actually nice: benchmade, spyderco, boker, etc. But like i said its also oddly well put together. There is no blade play, the liner locks up at about 45%, and the assisted open deploys quickly. And just so were all on the same page here, I do also understand that on a molecular level heat always excites and cold constricts. I like the idea about making up the story about skinning a buffalo :p
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Oil quench.

Get a coffee can.
Get some motor oil.
Put the oil in the coffee can.
Get a brazing torch.
Put gloves and goggles on.
Disassemble that knife and put a wire through it so it can hang.
Torch the blade so it's nice and hot (but not to the point were it's red)
Dip the blade in oil.
Repeat until desired color is achieved.

Come back and post pictures of the result. Worst case is you ruin the blade and get another knife
 
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Yeah, put a blow torch to it. After that throw it in the trash since it's a piece of junk that will just end up getting someone hurt when the thing breaks.
NervousTicMotion said:
Haha you guys I don't hate this thing that much, I was honestly just wondering about the finish. I know this thing isn't nice but like I said its surprisingly solid, just cheap materials. But yeah it does look kind of Leek-ish.

So anyway, a blowtorch would weaken the blade? I believe I've heard of people subjecting knife steel to extremely cold temperatures in the forging process. Is that right?
Click to expand...
 
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