Project A2 Mean Street

Solstice

Solstice

Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
4,616
I recently purchased a SH Mean Street for my Busse A2 collection. After receiving it I made the decision that it wasn’t up for the part as a collector, so I figured that I would make a user out of it and at the same time this would give me the chance to try a project that I’ve been considering for an A2 Busse.

The MS is a fatty that had the usual flaking and chipping of the smooth black finish. So the first thing that had to happen was that finish had to come off. After removing the finish, I got a real good eyeful of the big difference between INFI and A2! Having had finishes off of INFI, I could easily see the difference in stain resistance that INFI has over A2. Amazing what goes on under the coating of an A2 blade. INFI looks nothing like this under its finish. For a brief second I thought that I may have bitten off more than I wanted to take on during my Friday off of work!

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Second part of this “little” project was to hand sand the MS down to a rough satin. Turned out that getting the stains and rust off wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Most of it was just surface damage. I also sanded the micarta, it was pretty smooth before but once I hit it with 600 & 1500 grit sandpaper it came out like glass. Once it was off, I actually thought about stopping and leaving it as is but I’ve read enough on this forum and else where that A2 doesn’t do real well ( like not at all) when it comes to being rust resistant. So even though it looked pretty good, stopping now wasn’t an option. Just a side note… you can really see how the grinding job was done by hand when you get the finish off and start sanding the knife down. It’s pretty cool. Jerry did things a little different back then. It may sound a little strange but I think this gives the knives a little more personality then the CNC machines being used today. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the flawless grinds on my HOFSH but there’s something to say about the old stuff and how it was done back in Jerry’s “good old days”.

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Third part of what was now taking me into the evening was something I have absolutely no experience in. I don’t own any firearms and don’t even have a lot of experience with them. Been around them most of my life but haven’t ever really gotten into them, like so many of my friends and family. So bluing something was going to be a first for me, but what the hell I can read instructions just as easily as the next guy….right? My Hog brothers when I put this stuff on my first thought was, “what the %@!$ did I just do to my Busse”!!! Luckily it was about then that I decided to finish reading the instructions, lol. Ahhhh…steel wool, yeah I got some of that! Ended up putting about 3 coats of Super Blue on it ( using the steel wool between each application! ) and for it being the first time I’ve used this stuff… well it didn’t turn out too bad, IMHO.

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Finally ( thank god ), I re-profiled the edge, courtesy of my Edge Pro, and oiled it up for a good night sleep. Which by the way is where I’m going right now… 1:50am!!! Man, I think it may be time to get into some Busse addiction counseling! Thanks for looking hope you get a kick out of it… I sure did, right in my A$$!

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I have never done any blueing before either, so when I saw the first blue pic I thought it looked like crap. Then I saw the pics of the steel wool job on the blue.

I have to admit that I like it after you polished up that blued finish. Very good job.
 
Great job! I've re-blued shotguns a few times and remember having the same initial reaction on the first couple. What the [ :confused: :eek: :( :mad: ] have I done?! :D

Anyway, that ought to be a good finish for a user. :cool:
 
Good job, you'll probably be more proud of that one having put some of your soul into it. Looks great, thanks for the photos and story.
 
Great set of pics to go with an awesome post. Real nice work and a sweet looking knife at the end. Nice lead in with the first blueing pic. After all that work, that knife has quite a bit of you in it. It'll be a real nice user.:thumbup: :thumbup:
 
Great job! Looks like it will be a great user and now you know you can always clean it up to look good when you want.

:D
 
WOW:eek:

Great work. Looks super.

That is one I'd proudly carry.:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
Wow, nice job! :eek: :cool: I like how the MS feels in the hand - a comfortable grip and handy size.

Was the bluing solution heated or applied at room temperature? How did the bluing affect the micarta (I'm assuming the bluing got in contact with the micarta at least along the edges) - did you have to sand the micarta after the bluing was applied? :confused:

Thank you for the photos and descriptions of the process!

Gene
 
That looks fantastic!! Great work bro! :D:D
 
Deep blue steel is waaay cool, thanks for the inspiring thread.
I'd also like to know it the acid affected the micarta at all?
Brilliant work!
 
Wow, another great refinish job. Pretty soon we'll all be asking you if we can send you our knives to get the Solstice treatment! This one is great and I still think the bead blast on the Leaner Meaner Street was primo.

Dan
 
gk4ever said:
Wow, nice job! :eek: :cool: I like how the MS feels in the hand - a comfortable grip and handy size.

Was the bluing solution heated or applied at room temperature? How did the bluing affect the micarta (I'm assuming the bluing got in contact with the micarta at least along the edges) - did you have to sand the micarta after the bluing was applied? :confused:

Thank you for the photos and descriptions of the process!

Gene
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Thanks everyone! :D Glad you all liked the pics, story and the outcome.

Near as I can see the bluing had no effect on the micarta. I haven't had to do anymore sanding...yet!
 
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