Polishing damascus?

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Dec 9, 2003
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I got a kershaw nakamura and it wasnt quite what i expected.
Here is a picture
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Turns out the wood has a very natural look to it. I wasnt expecting if to be glossy but to have a little more of a sheen. This i can take care of with some wood stuff.
Then i was looking at the bolster. It was interesting but doesnt stick out as much as i would like. I was wondering, if i take a buffing wheel and polished the bolster would that make the damascus effect more prominent or less prominent?
 
Less. Polishing will make the pattern much less discernable.
 
The only reason damascus looks like it does, is because after acid treating and heat treating there is black residue covering it the acid eats more of one steel than the other, so when it's lightly sanded and polished the ridges shine but the canyons are black.
 
I ruined 4 custom made damascus blades trying to polish them.
I used Maas "A polishing creme for ALL METALS" is what it says on the tube.
It ERASED the damascus from 4 one of a kind hand made blades!
I would say to you ... live with it and be happy with what it is.
Want more? Buy a art knife with blued damascus and popping blued bolsters. Spend at least $400.00 and get some eye candy. But for heavens sake NEVER try to polish damascus.

Peace.
 
the bolsters are mokume-gane, not damascus.

polish away.


Exactly. White metal alloy and copper, sometimes silver wire too, Japanese in origin which I guess is why it is called a kershaw nakamura, and of course Kershaw's parent company is Kai, in Japan.
 
It's not damascus it's steel with inlays from what it sounds like, so polishing should bring it out unless you polish away the inlays.
 
What part of "no" don't you understand?
Whether it's mokume gane or damascus the pattern will be less apparent if you polish it.
 
That's not neccesarily true on mokume, mokume isn't usually etched. Once the mokume starts to oxidize I'd just polish it with a bit of maas.
 
Polishing will definately make the pattern stand out less. It WILL be shinier though, but the copper part will become much lighter in color and this will kill the contrast.
 
Hi eye. Here's another suggestion - just sell or trade the knife away! You bought a knife sight unseen ( I do to) and when you received it you didn't like the handle, the blade or the bolster. Why not just get rid of it (assuming you haven't already begun modifying it) and get something else more to your liking? The Nakamura is a nice knife and you should have no trouble selling/trading it if its in pristine condition. Just a thought.
 
YODA, very true, I remember now, when i polished the rbass bolsters on the knife i made they became almost silvery in color.

RONSEC
I actualyl do like the knife. Im sure i would be able to find another gentlemen's knife i would like better but i like it. I like the wood, I just want a little coat of something that really catches the light and reflects the woods beauty. This is easy to do aas ive done this type of woodwork before.
The pattern on the bolster is nice, i jsut wanted to make the effect even more apparent.

But thanks ronsec, I hadnt considered that before. Ill play with it for a little while and if i see something better then heck ill trade or sell it and get the other one.
 
you could try blueing the knife then hit it with some very super fine sandpaper to bring out the highlights.
 
I'm pretty sure resurfacing damascus requires chemical treatment and is best left to professionals like JKS. Is it worth spending 50 some odd dollars to resurface? It definitely would be on a $5000 custom Kramer. Not sure about folders.
 
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