New life for a discontinued Kershaw...

[sh00ter01]

So years back my girlfriend at the time gave me a Kershaw Sapphire. I carried it a while, cut my finger to the bone with it (the reason why I don't ever carry tip down anymore), and then retired it only after about a month because I was scratching the shit out of the anodizing on the Ti scales with my keys going in and out of the same pocket.

Anyways, I was recently going through my collection and decided to do something with it rather then leave it in its scratched up state.

Here's a stock photo from online (don't have any before pics with the scratched anodizing)

So I buffed the scales and tried my hand at flaming the Ti. Took a few tries, learned a bit along the way, and I'm fairly happy with how it turned out

Looks a hell of a lot better then it did and it was fun learning how Ti reacts to heat:thumbup:

-sh00ter

 

[Steel130]

Very cool man. I actually did a light bit of modding myself tonight. Gonna upload a video and take a few pictures to show them too. That looks great!

 

[wolf5391]

you did a hell of a job buffing that knife

 

[oregonknifenerd]

Looks really nice! For a first time playing with it you did an amazing job! :thumbup:

 

[whetrock]

That looks very nifty. I've always been partial to burnt Ti. I hadn't even heard of a Saphire until I opened this thread but Kershaw has made and discontinued a ton of lesser known and popular models.

 

[Flashpoint]

I had one for a while and passed it on to my dad. He loves it. I'll have to show this to him, I know he'll want to try it. Any pointers?

 

[KershawLynda]

That looks awesome! Nice work.

 

[C Ben Susrool]

Beautiful work.

 

[Leek_Freak]

That look sweet. I agree that the ti scratches up easily especially with keys in the same pocket.

 

[scottabrandeberry]

Wow, that's wonderful! I have a Sapphire that I carried for a quite a while way back when (lol!), and I really liked it, but was less than happy with how much it scratched (makes me wish I would have gotten another one to keep unmolested as soon as I reallized how much I liked it). I'd like to see details about how you buffed it too.

 

[wolf5391]

Wow, that's wonderful! I have a Sapphire that I carried for a quite a while way back when (lol!), and I really liked it, but was less than happy with how much it scratched (makes me wish I would have gotten another one to keep unmolested as soon as I reallized how much I liked it). I'd like to see details about how you buffed it too.

Buffing wheel with green compound, and alot of elbow grease Make sure the scale is completely degreased (usually by spraying with windex) and doesnt have compound left from buffing before heating the titanium.

the titanium will turn a straw color first and quickly after (if heat is still applied) the darker purples and blues will show up. That is where youll want to stop for these effects.

If you over heat the ti the colors will still be there but they will look dull and have a greyer hue instead of the vibrant colors the op got.

Quick tip: if the colors are not met the first time, this whole process can be repeated over and over until the colors you want are met.

 

[sh00ter01]

That looks awesome! Nice work.

Why thank you

That look sweet. I agree that the ti scratches up easily especially with keys in the same pocket.

Yeah, it was the main reason I stopped carrying it back in the day.

... Any pointers?

... I'd like to see details about how you buffed it too.

Some good info here:

Buffing wheel with green compound, and alot of elbow grease Make sure the scale is completely degreased (usually by spraying with windex) and doesnt have compound left from buffing before heating the titanium.

the titanium will turn a straw color first and quickly after (if heat is still applied) the darker purples and blues will show up. That is where youll want to stop for these effects.

If you over heat the ti the colors will still be there but they will look dull and have a greyer hue instead of the vibrant colors the op got.

Quick tip: if the colors are not met the first time, this whole process can be repeated over and over until the colors you want are met.

I used 000 or extra fine steel wool to remove the anodizing with a little effort. Washed with soap and water. Hung them for flaming using a cut metal coat hanger (it doesn't conduct heat very well, so it wont mess with coloring). Then de-greased them using Windex while they were suspended (I wore latex glove throughout the process to keep the oils from my hand off the scales). You'll want to make sure to wipe off all the Windex if you do use it or it'll cause what looks like smears in the flaming.

Make sure you have a good hot torch and work back and forth over the areas you want to be the darker colors. You'll see when the color starts to take, be ready to remove the heat quick, as it will continue to change color even with the heat removed (be careful as it's easy to over do it and then you're left with a dull greyish color). The darker blueish/purpleish strips are were I worked the torch, and the lighter straw color is where I let the heat run between each heated portion to complete the pattern.

...the titanium will turn a straw color first and quickly after (if heat is still applied) the darker purples and blues will show up. That is where youll want to stop for these effects...

You're going to want to stop heating as soon as you start to get the dark blues/purples (you'll see it in the edges of the Ti scale first since they heat up quicker), not once you've got them there or you'll end up overheating the Ti and need to do it again.


Like wolf said you can repeat the process but the flaming is harder to remove then the anodizing, a buffing wheel will save you a lot of time if you have to make multiple tries.

Thanks for the kind words fellas and ma'am (Lynda):thumbup:

-sh00ter

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

Very nice looking knife. I have just picked up a Boa, and am waiting on Black Turbulence and Avalanche. I'm not goin to bite off any big projects with my discontinued knives yet though.