Rookie to the forum and custom knives with a few questions

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Onager76

Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
3
Hi All,
I am new to this forum and to making knives. If this is in the wrong section please let me know. I have used my google foo and either failed to find answers or found conflicting info on some basic questions.
1. I have been reading on how to finish Maple curl or similar wood scales. On this forum i have read about folks sanding up to 1200 grit and beyond, but on several woodworking forums they say that sanding above 120-220 and the grain closes and the wood no longer takes finish well. Is there something specific about knives that warrants going to the high grits or is it more of everyone has a preferred method?

2. I understand that one issue with removable scales is that you can get moisture penetration and rust under the scales. Is there a reason not to use something like liquid gasket to prevent the moisture penetration?

3. More of a dream at this point, but I was looking at custom metal stamps. Assuming I were to use a metal stamp to impart brand is there any secret for darkening in the stamp? On some jewelry making sites I read where they would use the stamp and then fill it in with sharpie for the contrast. Is this standard practice or is there a better method?

4. I have a cheap 120 grit water stone. Before I finished the primary bevel on my first knife the stone has "filled up" and was not cutting. I tried flattening and reviving the stone with a DMT plate. First mistake is I think I forgot what grit the plate was and the stone removed all of the diamond. Painful and not totally inexpensive lesson, but more importantly the 120 grit stone is now smoother than my 400 and possibly 800 grit stones. Is there a method for reviving cheap stones

Sorry for the long post. Thank you in advance
 
I'm not as experienced as many others here but I'll get this rollin'.

1. I don't know if the grain closes up at higher grits or not. When sanding make sure you're changing the paper as soon as it stops cutting so you always have sharp abrasive working on the wood. Otherwise I think you're doing more burnishing than cutting. This will close the grain. I think a lot of people sand to higher grits, some up to 2500X because they typically work with figured woods. Sanding to high grits obviously makes the surface very smooth which feels good in the hand but it also brings out the figure and chatoyance in the wood. Chatoyance is a French word meaning "like a cat's eye" which refers to how the light dances around and moves in the depth of the wood fibers. I think wood handles sanded to very high grits and often polished are also an indicator to a buyer that a lot of attention to detail has been spent on the knife as a whole and that the maker has spent the time and effort to bring the most out of the piece. On simple working knives with plain woods handles sanded to lower grits may offer better grip and that is a matter of preference.

2. I think the attractiveness of removable scales is that.....say it with me....you can remove the scales. So why use a gasket sealer? When maintaining the knife, remove the scales and make sure everything is clean and dry then replace the scales.

3. I think your answers here may depend on the steel you're using. Stain resistant steels may require special techniques. Carbon steels are probably much easier. Folks who create Hamon in their blades and those who use damascus steels often darken parts of the blade with acidic solutions. You can use vinegar, lemon, lime or other citrus juices, FeCl, Muriatic acid, Ketchup, etc. You could try using ketchup since the consistency is thicker than the liquids. fill up the depression of your mark with the ketchup and squeegee away anything on the blade surface. Let it sit for a while and wash it and out see how dark it has become. You may need to repeat multiple times to get the darkness you want. You may also need to touch up the surface of the blade if any staining occurs by sanding or polishing that area. Neutralize the acidic ketchup when you're done with ammonia and wash the blade well.

4. I don't know the best method is for reviving cheap stones. There may be tools you can get to do that but if you are spending more money on tools you may as well just spend the money on a new stone.


Others will be along shortly with better answers.
 
Beeswax or cheese wax can help prevent rust under removable scales.

I've had the same issue trying to lap sharpening stones. Diamond is harder than the abrasive (usually aluminum oxide or maybe silicon carbide) in water stones, so you actually end up polishing the crystals down to the same grit as the diamond stone is. You'll have to lap it with a coarser stone (the same as or coarser than the one you're trying to flatten), or even take it out on some concrete and rub it good so you actually break the abrasive crystals out of their binder and expose fresh ones. Use Simple Green cleaner to keep it from clogging again- I read this tip from Wayne Goddard and found it works much better than water.
 
I'm not going to rich on anything but the makers mark. On a stamped mark you'll stamp it pre heat treat. The oxides from ht will make it dark down in the mark.
 
Onager76 said:
Hi All,
I am new to this forum and to making knives. If this is in the wrong section please let me know. I have used my google foo and either failed to find answers or found conflicting info on some basic questions.
1. I have been reading on how to finish Maple curl or similar wood scales. On this forum i have read about folks sanding up to 1200 grit and beyond, but on several woodworking forums they say that sanding above 120-220 and the grain closes and the wood no longer takes finish well. Is there something specific about knives that warrants going to the high grits or is it more of everyone has a preferred method?
Click to expand...

From what I've read (not even a noob yet), normal wood should be sanded to about 300 grit, and stabilized wood can be sanded to 1200. The difference is that the stabilized wood is impregnated with resin, so there's nowhere for the sanded dust to fill on the surface.
 
I was thinking about your question regarding filling your makers mark with something dark. Some people do use a sharpie but that probably isn't too durable. My thought was to clean and degrease the blade. Then use an enamel model paint like the Testors paints you used building models as a kid (or an adult). Carefully fill the impression with a fine paint brush then gently wipe away any paint on the surface with a sponge or something. The enamel paint should last a lot longer than a sharpie.
 
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