Question about Medford's "Vulcan" finish.

[RX-79G]

You really have no idea what your talking about do you?

How so? The colors are a result of the amount of oxygen in the foil envelope, the way the heat flows between the foil and the blade, and what happens when the foil is pulled off.

If I've misunderstood the process in any way, I'm happy to be corrected.

 

[Heartland_edc]

I just watched this video on his different finishes. At 9:30, he goes over Vulcan. He refers to it as a "gamble." Apparently, only 1/3 of the knives come out (visually) the way he wants, then 1/3 comes out kind of "bleh" and he has to decide whether or not to redo them, and the last 1/3 comes out totally washed out with no visual appeal, which he then definitely does a do-over. He DOES fully finish them before they go through the vulcan process, which I also find interesting. So, whether or not it's an added bonus I suppose is still arguable, but I do find it commendable that at least half of the time, he is having to spend extra time and $$ making the knives look the way he and some of his customers appreciate. There is certainly some care and attention that goes into this "finish."

[youtube]dhHoOC-K37E[/youtube]

 

[Danke42]

Pretty much the same reason Spyderco quit flaming/anodizing the fluted ti Military. Too many scales came out looking poorly.

 

[JR88FAN]

I think it's a finish that Greg just really likes. I guess you can say he's saving money in some strange way, but

a: If you like the look of something, it doesn't matter how you got there.
b: A ton of blades will not work out to satisfaction through this process, so the "waste" is a considerable expense.
(I am not sure if blades that don't make the cut can still be used, but it doesn't sound like it from Greg's video)

It's the raw finish caused during HT as air leaks into the the foil packets.

Bottom line, if it's "your thing" great, if not, he offeres other finishes at no price difference...

 

[PURPLEDC]

I think it's a finish that Greg just really likes. I guess you can say he's saving money in some strange way, but

a: If you like the look of something, it doesn't matter how you got there.
b: A ton of blades will not work out to satisfaction through this process, so the "waste" is a considerable expense.
(I am not sure if blades that don't make the cut can still be used, but it doesn't sound like it from Greg's video)

It's the raw finish caused during HT as air leaks into the the foil packets.

Bottom line, if it's "your thing" great, if not, he offeres other finishes at no price difference...

They most definitely can be used. I would wager the ones that never take end up bead blasted or PVD coated. The lack of color would not have an effect on its ability to be a usable blade.