Project Satin Commander

Brigadier,

Even though John says the knife received it's new finish only recently, sometimes he has trouble remembering. I took the black T off around Oct or Nov of last year. I have only noticed surface rust on it twice, once in Feb and again yesterday. Hit it with a penny then swiped it with the Tuff cloth and voila! No more rust. I'd say the teflon is no longer offering any protection, but the thing is made out of stainless, no? Just as long as I keep in mind that stainless is not rustless, it should be fine.

I am quite fond of this particular Commander, but I'm not good to it. I only wipe it with the Tuff Cloth ummm....rarely. Yep, rarely is the word I wanted. So unless my butt sweats a lot in the summer, I think wiping it every couple of months will be OK. Like I told 2Sharp, even though I'm not good to the knife, it has always been good to me.

-sarah

 
I think it was Don that cut the Deer up with it.
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He was also the one that dinked his newer Commander's blade picken the screw out of the tire.

John

(Down boys!
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)
 
Reminds me of an all guy bar, and then a woman walks in.
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LOL Welcome, Sarah! Glad to see a female Suspect here. Like the finish on the Commander, too! I may just have to do that to mine, as well as my Tanto... whenever it shows up.
 
Welcome to the Emerson Forum, Sarah. You should join us for one of our Tac-chats some night. You certainly wouldn't be the only female there; my wife usually helps keep the place somewhat well mannered.
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Eric - Usual Suspect
"The best toys are the ones that you can put an eye out with."
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Hey guys, I spent about an hour and a half sanding the blade on my Mini CQC7A BT with first 220 then 320 Grit wet/dry sandpaper. I can't get all the black T off. My Dremel with polishing paste won't touch it! Man, this stuff is tougher than I thought. It's like it's absorbed right into the grain of the blade. Any suggestions? I'd like to finish it up this week. Leo G.
 
Now this is a thread that I haven't seen for a while.

I was just thinking of looking this thread up because I was thinking of removing the bead blast finish on my commander in favor of a satin finish. Does anyone know if this is possible?
 
Mac the problem your going to run into on bead blast is the deepness of the pitting caused by the blast. Each knife is going to differ as to the deepness of the pitts. I have 2 99 7A's that are bead blast, looking at them with a 10x loupe, one I could do without a problem, the other has several spots where the pitts are deep.

So its going to differ from knife to knife. I would say it will turn out well, but you are going to end up with some low spots, so make shure that you use a hard block of wood for backing so that you will stay level. I would remove all that I could with the block backed sandpaper and then come around and hit the small spots, that will be the hard part trying to make the low spots look good.

Before you do it I would spend some quality time with your magnifier, and see how deep your going to have to go.

I want to see pictures when your done!!
 
Mac:

Eich1911 is certainly correct. I have satinized three of my HC Emersons(2000 Commander, 2001 PSARK, 2001 Mini CQC-7A) using Eric's method. Although I am very pleased at the final outcome, each knife was different in the level of difficulty it took to remove the HC finish. The mini CQC was the hardest of the three and does show some pitting when you look closely.

As Mick suggested in the other place, unfortunately, the edge lines on the mini were somewhat rounded because I did not take my time.

To give you an idea of my sandpaper progression, I started with 180, 220,600 and 1500. Definitely use a block on the flats. Once you've removed the majority of the finish (and you'll know when you're done), use a Dremel tool polishing kit with some jeweler's rouge to bring out the shine. If you do it properly, your EKI logo will appear 'ghost-like'.The only problem I have with the final look, is the grind lines that will show on the primary edge, but its not a major downfall.

I think you'll be a lot more happy with your 98 if you clean-up the blade. Take your time and do it properly. After satinizing the blade, you may want to consider doing the pivot pin and screws. The PSARK is my EDC and I am much happier with it now that I've done some personal work to it.

Good luck...:)
 
Okay this job sounds like there are too many variables which could cause the removal of the BB to go bad. I am pretty good with my hands but you guys are really starting to scare me. Regarding sandpaper grit, should I start off with a very fine grit such as 400 or should I start with something more course? I guess it may be easier to just email David Brunner (sp?) and see if he could do it. Anyways, any more info would be greatly appreciated.

Mac
 
Mac:

Don't sell yourself short on this one, I'm sure you can do it.

If you've already started with the 400 and if its been difficult, I suggest you go grab some 220. Remember to always sand in the same direction, to avoid scratch swirls. The easiest thing to do, IMHO is to lay the sandpaper on something flat (kitchen counter, glass) to do the flats. Don't push too hard because the BT finish is much easier to work with than the HC. Just to clarify from my previous post, the mini was originally a BT finish. Once you've got all the BT off, gradually move up in paper weight until you've graduated to an ultra-fine grit like 1500. Use a lubricant like WD-40 on you paper when finishing the blade, it helps the final appearance. Then move to the Dremel polishing kit to tidy things up.

If all else fails, you can always send it to David Brunner to professionally 'satinize' the blade. But I'm sure if you take your time, you will do a wonderful job.
 
Mac Before you give it to the pro, try it yourself. I think anyperson that is good with their hands and willing to put down a beer long enough while watching TV could do the job in about 3-4 hours.
Just keep your block level so that you dont "round" the grind lines and upper edge. If you dont you can allways say that you were going for that cool melted look thats so popular on 1911's. :)

400 is too high to start with as Raye recomended start at 220 or so. In sanding start low go high. If your going to finish off with a Dremel I think I would stop around 600 or so. Hard to tell for certin how the bead blast blade will look at that grit. If its not to your satisfaction then go higher. I like Raye's tip about the WD40 going to have to try that one.

Give it a try man, if nothing else you can allways send it off.
Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or problems you run into.
 
Okay I finally worked up the nerve to give this a whirl. I decided to follow your guys plans and will start with a sanding block with 220 grit and move up gradually to 1500. I will let you know how things work out when I finish. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Mac
 
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