Question about Medford's "Vulcan" finish.

Mister X said:
It's like the blade equivalent of sushi.

"Hey let's open a restaurant where you don't have to cook the fish and can charge posers exorbitant prices for tiny bits of food".
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HAHA. Now I'm craving sushi. Though, I wish I could find a place that sold maguro for the same price as canned albacore.
 
Blues Bender said:
If you like the look, that's all that matters! I just think that people should know what they're buying...and makers should be informative about what they're selling.

As a construction manager, it irks me to see what is essentially an unfinished product. That's like telling my client "You wanted the walls painted?!?! You don't like our exclusive gypsum finish?":D

I mean, come on... Take a little pride in your work, eh?
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Somehow I see the Vulcan finish as more finished than something like a Benchmade that was finished at 100 grit. I'm totally with what you're talking about, but I'd rather look at heat marks than grind marks.

The flip side is that it would be hard to produce something that looks and works like Vulcan finish in a less haphazard way. It has the visual benefit of the "heat anodizing" the titanium guys do with a torch, without the downsides of uncontrolled heating or plating.


In the bicycle world, a bare titanium bicycle frame can come in multiple finishes, and the finishes are priced according to their difficulty. Maybe the Vulcan would sit better with you if it was slightly less expensive than the regular finish?
 
Blues Bender said:
If you like the look, that's all that matters! I just think that people should know what they're buying...and makers should be informative about what they're selling.

As a construction manager, it irks me to see what is essentially an unfinished product. That's like telling my client "You wanted the walls painted?!?! You don't like our exclusive gypsum finish?":D

I mean, come on... Take a little pride in your work, eh?
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That has kinda always been my beef with Medford knives If I have one. Its trying to pass off the ordinary as extraordinary. I understand the appeal of selling the least amount of effort for the maximum amount of profit as that is just how every business should try and operate but I believe in doing that through process refinement and finding ways to maximize efficiencies. There was a video that I am not even sure still exists where greg is making a "custom praetorian" and it was nothing more than taking slab titanium scales with basic beveled edges and him taking a flat end mill and making random depth circles cut out of a scale on a milling machine. And it wasn't the fact that he was doing this that bothered me but that he made it sound as if what he was doing was somehow a special skill or a unique way of doing things. I love stonewash, acid wash and toxic distressed finishes. Hell I do them all the time on my own knives. But its because I have done them that I can comment on just how unskilled you can be to accomplish them. I don't care he focuses on overbuilt products. But I think he charges a hefty premium for that. And really the only thing sacrificed is the extra material but materials aren't what is expensive. Its the effort and time put into working those materials that really matters to me. And so far I haven't seen that company produce anything that warrants the prices asked. That is just my opinion though and its not meant as a dig to anyone who likes their products. If that is what you like I cant fault anyone for that.
 
I'm a metal head (I like metal and find all the various stages through their process interesting to experience; at least short term). I think the vulcan finish is kind of unique because it isn't something the end user/customer gets to see often.

I am glad they offer it. I would buy a knife with it. For those who don't like it there are all the other "more refined" finishes. I feel that it is A FINISH. Maybe we can call it a "natural" finish but it is an intensional look that has been chosen and offered for sale.

I think if the knife came with blotches and rust on it and looked BAD aesthetically then they could be criticized for not finishing their work but if it is a consistent, clean, surface I think saying they are leaving their work uncompleted is a bit strong. It isn't like the edge is all pitted from rust or has areas of fire scale from negligence.
 
PURPLEDC said:
That has kinda always been my beef with Medford knives If I have one. Its trying to pass off the ordinary as extraordinary.
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I don't believe there, is a product, object, service, art piece, food item, insurance policy, medication, charity, political cause, religion, basically anything exchanged for currency, that isn't guilty of this offence.

The most ordinary and abundant substance on the planet can be marketed as extraordinary. Medford isn't the source of that problem. We all are.

Case in point:

http://www.amazon.com/Future-Essentials-Organic-Dehydrated-Water/dp/B00BQ1VD6W



P.S. I forgot Sea Salt. Uniodized, fishy tasting, sea salt. People eat that sh_tuff up like it's kosher!
 
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Take a batch of knives that had the Vulcan finish done and they will all look different. You can have two of the same models and they are not going to be identical. I like the individuality that a Vulcan finish has. Go buy a sebenza or a XM-18 and it will be identical to the 1000's that were made before it and all that will be made after you purchase. Vulcan is a nice choice available if you want it. Why run with the pack and be like everyone else?
 
Medford says straight up in one of his videos that it can rust and does require wiping down and oiling. The newer PVD coatings are surely more resistant.

Take it for what is worth...
 
PURPLEDC said:
That has kinda always been my beef with Medford knives If I have one. Its trying to pass off the ordinary as extraordinary. I understand the appeal of selling the least amount of effort for the maximum amount of profit as that is just how every business should try and operate but I believe in doing that through process refinement and finding ways to maximize efficiencies. There was a video that I am not even sure still exists where greg is making a "custom praetorian" and it was nothing more than taking slab titanium scales with basic beveled edges and him taking a flat end mill and making random depth circles cut out of a scale on a milling machine. And it wasn't the fact that he was doing this that bothered me but that he made it sound as if what he was doing was somehow a special skill or a unique way of doing things. I love stonewash, acid wash and toxic distressed finishes. Hell I do them all the time on my own knives. But its because I have done them that I can comment on just how unskilled you can be to accomplish them. I don't care he focuses on overbuilt products. But I think he charges a hefty premium for that. And really the only thing sacrificed is the extra material but materials aren't what is expensive. Its the effort and time put into working those materials that really matters to me. And so far I haven't seen that company produce anything that warrants the prices asked. That is just my opinion though and its not meant as a dig to anyone who likes their products. If that is what you like I cant fault anyone for that.
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You mean this video where he "customizes" a customers Fat-Daddy? Man, I think Lisa at CRK better take notes on his skill:rolleyes:

[video=youtube_share;PTK81jkUp08]http://youtu.be/PTK81jkUp08[/video]

Megawatt308 said:
Go buy a sebenza or a XM-18 and it will be identical to the 1000's that were made before it and all that will be made after you purchase. Vulcan is a nice choice available if you want it. Why run with the pack and be like everyone else?
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Each Damascus Sebenza is unique, so are their unique graphics. Each stonewashed blade is unique too...the scratches are always in a different place:D:p
 
I wouldnt say incomplete either. But I think if i were to incorporate the lack of doing something most knifemakers consider to be essential to the bare minimum of knifemaking as a feature I would just say this is a raw blade from treatment and if you like it its an option. I wouldnt give it a name and pretend its special. Even todd beggs cracked ice finish on titanium is made by random grazes with a cut off disk. That while a completely random pattern is actually the act of doing something. It takes time and some skill to do. I just think its a slippery slope and pretty soon with the way the trend has been to see as little as possible for the most amount of money is odd to me. I came up in this hobby when if you dropped five bills on a knife you got a ton of work in that knife. Stuff that really requires skill to master. Im a douche I guess (honestly) about this as i just think its sorta weak that things like hand rubbed satin and mirror finishes get some dumpy self explanitory name but then we go "man this thing came out of the oven looking pretty cool lets not change a thing. What are we gonna call it?" I personally would have called it the "Easy bake" finish but I bet thats trademarked. :D
 
Exaggerated or exploitive marketing is too common of an occurrence in too many industries to call out any single knife maker as the "Pariah of the day". But I also sometimes enjoy sticking it to all the evil doers.

So on this day, I say to you Greg Medford, stop being such a jerk and market your knives for what they are, hunks of metal, shaped using common and uninteresting methods, to varying degrees of completion, for lucrative self indulgence.

P.S. Also a lengthy and speed read disclaimer would be nice.

"May cause irritation, fatigued muscles, lacerations, contusions, broken toes, bounced checks, vehicle repossession, animosity, accusations of inferiority, libelous claims of over compensation for complexes of inferiority, marital infidelity, impotence, loss of hair on the forearms, and in extreme cases, tetanus."
 
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Blues Bender said:
With what? That Greg calls something a "finish" when it's not?

If you like that look, more power to you:thumbup: I thought I made that part clear:)



Completely different....
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Well how about this; he's applying a process to the blade that changes it's state. When the process is done the blade is finished.

Seeing the number of users who first thing force a patina onto as carbon steel blade there seems to be fans of the look.
 
If you've bought a heat treated knife at one time it had a "Vulcan finish " it happens .

I think a lot of it is the maker not the finish . If someone besides medford did the vulcan it would be accepted better. Just my opinion and not pointing fingers .
 
Danke42 said:
Well how about this; he's applying a process to the blade that changes it's state. When the process is done the blade is finished.

Seeing the number of users who first thing force a patina onto as carbon steel blade there seems to be fans of the look.
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He isn't applying a process. Its a lack of process. Most knives will come out of a heat treat foil pack looking like a "vulcanized" blade. He just does the heat treat as a final step before sharpening rather than doing the final finish afterwards.
 
PURPLEDC said:
He isn't applying a process. Its a lack of process. Most knives will come out of a heat treat foil pack looking like a "vulcanized" blade. He just does the heat treat as a final step before sharpening rather than doing the final finish afterwards.
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Wouldn't doing the steps of final finish and heat treat in a different order than normal constitute a "process"?
 
PURPLEDC said:
He isn't applying a process. Its a lack of process. Most knives will come out of a heat treat foil pack looking like a "vulcanized" blade. He just does the heat treat as a final step before sharpening rather than doing the final finish afterwards.
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That's the hook, that raw industrial finish is what some people like. The polar opposite of a polished blade.

I think someone said once that's the catch in art; knowing when to stop.
 
I do like the look of some "vulcan finishes" depending on the handle designs or how they work it it can really look nice.

I've seen a couple that dint have any of the contrasting colors or maybe a speck the size of a fingernail.

I understand you can't predict or manipulate the patterns and it is what It is . However people want those blends of colors . The few I've seen that had little to no color at all should of been reworked IMO. When it comes out right it can look nice though.
 
Spartan00 said:
I do like the look of some "vulcan finishes" depending on the handle designs or how they work it it can really look nice.

I've seen a couple that dint have any of the contrasting colors or maybe a speck the size of a fingernail.

I understand you can't predict or manipulate the patterns and it is what It is . However people want those blends of colors . The few I've seen that had little to no color at all should of been reworked IMO. When it comes out right it can look nice though.
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I'll bet you could fold or crinkle the HT foil to create patterns.
 
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