Nail polish for embellishment

C

CheezyGreeny

Joined
Dec 18, 2015
Messages
2
Hi all, new here.
So I've started collecting materials to start knife making, but getting to the handle, I was wondering if it's possible to incorporate nail polish somehow with a bright marbling effect done by dipping an object in water with drops of nail polish in it. I don't know if it's been done before, or if anyone has any pointers on what to materials to use or how to seal it so it won't chip off. All I have at the moment is some sort of plain wood, marbled with nail polish in water, then sealed with polyurethane. But that's about as far as I got. Not sure if even feasible.

Cheers
 
For a colorful "marble" looking handle I'd go with Kirinite. It comes in a variety of color combinations and you never have to worry about the color rubbing or chipping off.
 
Well I can't say how successful the nail polish floating on water technique would be for marbleizing a knife handle, but I do have a little experience with nail polish on a knife handle

A few years ago a co-worker was going on an extended camping trip and asked me for some advice about knives. Among the folding knives we discussed was the Griptilian, and I mentioned that she could order a custom one with a pink handle direct from Benchmade, or get the black handled one considerably cheaper almost anywhere. She said "It's silly to spend all that extra money, I'd just buy a black one and "girly' it up by painting the handle with nail polish"

That got me thinking, I'd been wanting a blue handled Griptilian, but I didn't want to spend the extra money either, and besides I had a couple perfectly fine Griptilians with black handles... I spent $3 on a bottle of cheap blue nail polish at the dollar store, removed the handle scales from one of the knives, and put 3 coats on as evenly as I could. I figured if it didn't work or hold up, nail polish is pretty easy to strip with acetone and nylon is pretty chemical resistant. That blue handled Griptilian was my EDC in a belt sheath for about 6 months, and in that time the nail polish wore off the tips of the pyramid texture and the corners of the handle, but it held up better than I thought it would.

I suppose you could use a clear nail polish top coat to protect your marbleized knife handle, but I would not expect that to make the handle coating last all that much longer. As a fun effect for your own knife handle or on a cheap knife (like the marbleized handle Opinels that were sold some years ago)... But I would not put this on a knife and expect it to look good for a year unless the knife is never handled.

Automotive paint might be a bit more durable, and might work with this technique, but it's still just paint and will eventually wear off the handle
 
Ah kirinite certainly looks interesting. I will look into that. Thanks killgar.
And Mahoney, thanks for your insight! It's surprising how long it lasted considering it was your EDC. My plan was a kitchen knife since the recipient is an avid cook and nail artist so I thought if I could pull it off, it would be fantastic. Will look for alternatives similar kirinite then, or perhaps something else altogether.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top