pitted/moon crater looking finish... what is it & how is it done?

H

hammerface

Joined
Mar 28, 2004
Messages
297
Hey guys - I saw a finish on some bolsters of a knife in a Blade mag a few months ago and I can't remember the maker's name or find that issue. The bolsters on the knife had a bunch of little pits or divots in it that were all sort of sanded smooth. Looked very cool. I have since been trying to find a pic of another knife that has this type of finish on it but no luck so far.

Does anybody know what this type of finish is called and how it is done? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I will continue to look for a picture to post...
 
most likely a round burr was used to make the craters.then depending on how sharp the edges are it was sanded or bristle brushed with white diamond or another compound.
 
It wasn't actually white - this was titanium I think that was anodized. Looked very cool. Looks like he drilled a bunch of little divots varying in size and then it was sanded and buffed to give it a smoothed out appearance. Just wasn't sure if there was a proper term for it or not. Thanks for the input! :thumbup:
 
I just finished a Gents pocket dagger kit (ill post pics soon).
The bolsters were done up in that way , I used a small punch and hammer to create my "moon surface", for larger pits I hit harder and smaller pits I hit softer , once this was complete I polished with 600-1500 paper and flitz , then the buffer , it turned out prety sharp IMO.
 
I don't know if it is the appearance your looking for but my old mate Lloyd Harding made a set of punches from mild steel rod. He drilled a hole in the center varing sizes. He would put the back end of broken drill bits in the rod with the back end domed and polished. He then set about punching every mm of the area without gaps. It used to be called hammer tone and may be different to the finish your looking for.

Keep in mind that you can make all sizes but he used to work from about 3/16 to 1/4 may be even 5/16. Heavy hammer toning may distort the blade if too heavey on a thin blade. I am pretty sure he did the ricaso area and the back of the blade before grinding. That gave a nicer appearance as you clipped the edge of the hammer tone with the grind shoulder. Don't hammer tone a long way over the intended grind line as faint marks will show up due to the compression, just enough so you take out the edge of the divots on the grind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top