Recommendation? Need help hiding a differential heat treatment, what finish to use?

S

scott_hunts

Joined
Nov 17, 2020
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Hey all; first time poster, more than occasional lurker. I am still a bit of an amateur and as such tend to use pre-heat treated Nicholson files as my blades. As i’ve gotten better at knife making i’m starting to remove more and more of the little issues that have been present in previous knives. My current problem is that while I’m not ready for my own heat treating yet (I figure after I make 5ish more I’ll take a couple tries at it) I would still like to remove the rather blatant discolored splotch caused by the differential heat treatment files get for stamping.

I hoped that a little more aggressive temper and a polish this time would hide it but alas it did not. I have experience with making patinas, etching, bluing, acid washing, and would like to try stone washing at some point; I don’t really have any experience with, or knowledge of other finishes.

Currently I have a 400 grit finish and an unsightly splotch near my tang that I’d like to hide. Normally I’d just stick it in some etchant for 20 minutes and call it a day; but I want this to be a reasonably historically accurate to a Viking seax. Is there a finish that would be both accurate and would hide the coloration difference?
I know that aside from satin, a patina should be accurate for this knife after a bit of use but I don’t know how well that would hide it.

Thanks in advance!
 
scott_hunts said:
That looks good to me and would probably work, I don’t know how accurate it would be historically though.
Click to expand...
An uneven finish would be more historically accurate for a Viking seax then a 400 grit finish on a file.
 
scott_hunts said:
I would still like to remove the rather blatant discolored splotch caused by the differential heat treatment files get for stamping.
Click to expand...
That tang is to short for that size blade,maybe you can do this ..............and no discolored splotch ?
5xlap9D.jpg
 
Natlek said:
That tang is to short for that size blade,maybe you can do this ..............and no discolored splotch ?
5xlap9D.jpg
Click to expand...
Picture was taken at an angle to better show the color difference, the other picture is a bit more straight on. I've thought about doing a cut like that but the guy who is buying it wanted at least a 9" blade, I could do a cut like that but that would only remove like half of the splotch to keep above the 9" limit and that isn't really a fix. Future blades prior to heat treating will incorperate this fix, but this one is pretty limited at this time as far as options go; hence why I'm focusing on finishes.

Would a patina work maybe?
 
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