Pitted CF

C

_cl

Joined
Aug 16, 2022
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I bought a unopened NIB Kitefin 2001A Marble Carbon Fiber from a well-known dealer. The Kitefin's CF scale has a few small pits. Most you have to really look for, but one is easily noticeable when in the light. You can feel it when you run your finger over it.

This is my first CF knife. I thought I'd ask here if this is common with CF or do I have a subpar sample?

In the photo, the pit is the dark crescent shap below the right side of the flipper.

we.jpg
 
I see this a lot with marble carbon fiber. If you look very closely, you'll probably be able to find several tiny voids elsewhere along the surface.

I'd be tempted to try working this up to a polish with progressively finer grains of sand paper. I've never tried that before with carbon fiber but this piece looks like it has a lot of potential.
 
I’ve heard/read this about WE’s countoured/rounded marble CF scales. I’ve also heard they have kind of a sheen to them. Your picture seems to verify both.
 
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ShadyMethods said:
Depends on the type of carbon fiber. I'd say send it back if it was normal CF but marble CF is known to have some voids.
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Thanks, ShadyMethods. I am new to EDC knives other than the Leatherman S4 Squirt I’ve carried for 15-20 years.

I’ve a lot to learn and now I know about marbled CF.
 
Chronovore said:
I see this a lot with marble carbon fiber. If you look very closely, you'll probably be able to find several tiny voids elsewhere along the surface.

I'd be tempted to try working this up to a polish with progressively finer grains of sand paper. I've never tried that before with carbon fiber but this piece looks like it has a lot of potential.
Click to expand...

Chronovore, when I pulled the knife out of the box, I was a bit underwhelmed with the polish. The knife didn't pop in normal light. And once I saw the horizontal lines in the photo above, I began thinking about polishing the scale. I am going to look into it.

Otherwise, I really like the knife's appearance. It is my first "looker" where I put utility second after looks. For me, the blade shape goes really well being named after a shark.
 
KVT said:
I’ve heard/read this about WE’s countoured/rounded marble CF scales. I’ve also heard they have kind of a sheen to them. Your picture seems to verify both.
Click to expand...
KVF, it's too matte for my tastes. I will probably try to buff it up some.
 
_cl said:
Chronovore, when I pulled the knife out of the box, I was a bit underwhelmed with the polish. The knife didn't pop in normal light. And once I saw the horizontal lines in the photo above, I began thinking about polishing the scale. I am going to look into it.

Otherwise, I really like the knife's appearance. It is my first "looker" where I put utility second after looks. For me, the blade shape goes really well being named after a shark.
Click to expand...

You can get rid of those with your coarsest grit. I'm just not sure where to start with carbon fiber. I've done some ergonomic softening with CF scale edges, where the coarse/fine sides of one of my wife's emery boards were just the ticket. It was quick and easy. It was also matte to start so I didn't think about it.

If you do this, I'd love to read about your experiences with grit progression and how it responds.
 
_cl said:
Chronovore, when I pulled the knife out of the box, I was a bit underwhelmed with the polish. The knife didn't pop in normal light. And once I saw the horizontal lines in the photo above, I began thinking about polishing the scale. I am going to look into it.

Otherwise, I really like the knife's appearance. It is my first "looker" where I put utility second after looks. For me, the blade shape goes really well being named after a shark.
Click to expand...

Utility second, but it's a Kitefin, one of WE's standout user blades in recent memory! Good choice, the lil void is not super common but with marbled it can happen a little more often than other carbon fiber types, especially the standard twill weave style. Just think of it as character unique to your own Kitefin! I really wish I had grabbed one of those flecked CF and M390 or 20CV limited ones when it first released, they looked amazing
 
Chronovore said:
You can get rid of those with your coarsest grit. I'm just not sure where to start with carbon fiber. I've done some ergonomic softening with CF scale edges, where the coarse/fine sides of one of my wife's emery boards were just the ticket. It was quick and easy. It was also matte to start so I didn't think about it.

If you do this, I'd love to read about your experiences with grit progression and how it responds.
Click to expand...
The voids don't bother me now that I know why they are there. I would just like to get the horizontal lines out and add a bit more shine to it (if it didn't make it soo slippery). If I do anything, I'll let you know.
 
NG VI said:
Utility second, but it's a Kitefin, one of WE's standout user blades in recent memory! Good choice, the lil void is not super common but with marbled it can happen a little more often than other carbon fiber types, especially the standard twill weave style. Just think of it as character unique to your own Kitefin! I really wish I had grabbed one of those flecked CF and M390 or 20CV limited ones when it first released, they looked amazing
Click to expand...
Utility, even in 2nd place when picking this knife, is still very important! I had read about the blade and that was a big part of why I picked this nice looking knife over others. It will be my gentleman's knife.
 
_cl said:
Utility, even in 2nd place when picking this knife, is still very important! I had read about the blade and that was a big part of why I picked this nice looking knife over others. It will be my gentleman's knife.
Click to expand...

The thin blade is great for slicing. I wish WE would do more knives at this thickness. Their default seems to be 0.13". That's not terrible. It's just that even with the default 0.12" on some of the Civivi knives, I can feel the difference moving through material.

I really don't see any benefit from thicker stock in an EDC folder. The situations where a thicker wedge would serve me better are extremely rare. Some of them are activities that would have already dictated a particular carry choice in the first place.
 
As a dealer, I've had the discussion about carbon fiber voids with both WE Knife and Reate. Unfortunately when it's polished it seems to be a common occurrence that voids do appear, and there's not a lot they can do. If a batch is bad enough they will reject it.

We Knife stopped making the CIVIVI Elementum Button Lock in red and blue marble CF (grey is still available) because of faults in the CF.

When I asked our Reate rep about the void issue she sent me several photos of scales where the voids were deep enough to go all the way through the scales and they had to discard those batches.

So it's something you might get from time to time. My rule of thumb is - if I can see a fault like CF voids with my eyes then it's a fault. If I have to magnify it to see it, then it's not a fault.
 
CA glue to fill the void, sand it smooth and polish. This is how i have fixed voids in the past on the automotive side.
 
You could utilize epoxy resin used for CF fab but for such a small void CA would accomplish the same thing.

I think you can buy black CA glue now also.
 
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