Need blade makers help

Lawrence

Lawrence

Joined
Nov 6, 2001
Messages
44
I received a very nice Kris bolo from 'Kris Cutlery' today. The bubble packing left blemishes on the blade. I wiped the polished blade with "3 in 1" oil...my polished Kris now looks like a Damascus blade, (swirls, waves and spots.) I got the Kris on a cold afternoon, the blade was cold..etc,etc. I did note that on the surface the oil did not stick to the surface....seperated away in certain spots.
Can my Polished blade be restored?

Any help will be appreciated.:confused:
 
It sounds like they had put a coat of grease-wax-or heavey oil on the blade to kep it from rusting during shipment from overseas.The bubble wrap should not have affected the blade like that unless the blade was exposed to some moisture.
If there isn't any pitting just use any of the metal polishing creams on the market and it should be fine.If the blade has a thick coat of wax on it you might try cleaning it off with some acetone first then polish off and oil it up again..
Maybe this helps.
Bruce
 
If the blade is already stained up bad enough that flitz or similar metal polish won't restore it then why not just go with the flow and do an acid etch on the blade? There is lots of hidden beauty revealed in a knife blade after a mild acid etch. It will also tell some of the blades history as far as heat treating and such goes. I acid etch each and every blade I forge now. Even if I'm going to put a high polish on it for a final finish. It's just one of the steps in my knifemaking process now and a very valuable one at that.

It can be a little tricky on a finished knife getting an even etch but it can be done. Wax, tape and pine pitch can be used to keep the handle from getting exposed and losing any finish but it may not be worth it if it's a high end piece. Can you post a pic of the blade so we can get a better look at it?
 
I agree with Max, and etch many/most of my blades now, even stainless. You can mask the parts you don't want to etch with fingernail polish. I use Ferric Chloride (from Radio Shack, circuit board etchant). It can be dipped or even flowed on using a cheap disposable bristle brush, keeping the point down so the excess runs off. Just keep applying it until the blade is black, then rinse in running water. I use fine scotchbrite to brush the finish after that. You can generally take off as much of the gray color as you want. I like it.

BTW, a side benefit of doing this is that it makes the blade a bit more rust resistant. It leaches out some of the more rust prone components from the surface and leaves behind protective oxides.
 
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