scratch on the bevel of a just completed knife, what do you do?

M

Maineiac1

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May 3, 2017
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So I just finished a knife and it came out perfect. I made a kydex sheath for it and yes I understand kydex over time will make scratches because of debris. Id like to think I've got the hang of kydex now as I haven't had this problem in a long time. I did wash the sheath out after all sanding and sheath work was done and before I took the tape off the blade.

So I sharpened the knife and was doing some sheathing of the blade, in and out a bunch of times to break it in and ensure nothing funny is going to happen. Well I noticed on one side of the knife in a 1" section of the bevel I got a scuff scratch! I cant let this go because it bugs me so much and my flats and bevels are sanded perpendicular. Would you run the bevel lightly back on the grinder, hand sand it out or buff it out some? I have a 400 grit flat and a 400 grit bevel under a fine scotch brite finish...

Thanks
 
if a fine scotch bite finish is your last step, then maybe you can run it under the scotch brite belt again? assuming you used a scotch belt.
why not post a pic? it's much easier to offer advice in case like this if we can see what's going on.
 
I just had the same thing happen. I wiped some oil away from where the handle scales meet the knife, with a q-tip and there must have been something in the q-tip because there’s a small hairline scratch that goes from the spine to the ricasso. The same path that the q-tip followed. I don’t think there’s really anything you can do without taking the scales off. My scratches terminate under the scales and the only way I’d be able to maintain that finish and remove the scratch would be to remove the scales. :/

You can barely see it, right in between my makers mark and the handle scale here:

pbWCBFQ.jpg


I second the OP’s request for help. Am I wrong in assuming there’s no hope for fixing a scratch like this? I go to such great lengths to make everything perfect on this damn thing and then this happens. It’s so maddening.

I suppose one way to fix it in the future would be to do removable handle scales.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I just had the same thing happen. I wiped some oil away from where the handle scales meet the knife, with a q-tip and there must have been something in the q-tip because there’s a small hairline scratch that goes from the spine to the ricasso. The same path that the q-tip followed. I don’t think there’s really anything you can do without taking the scales off. My scratches terminate under the scales and the only way I’d be able to maintain that finish and remove the scratch would be to remove the scales. :/

You can barely see it, right in between my makers mark and the handle scale here:

pbWCBFQ.jpg


I second the OP’s request for help. Am I wrong in assuming there’s no hope for fixing a scratch like this? I go to such great lengths to make everything perfect on this damn thing and then this happens. It’s so maddening.

I suppose one way to fix it in the future would be to do removable handle scales.
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I see it :) I would glue thin piece of sand paper of same grit as finish to piece of thick rubber and make light and short pass in same direction as finish...You only need to break that line in piece to become invisible..
 
Maineiac1 said:
So I just finished a knife and it came out perfect. I made a kydex sheath for it and yes I understand kydex over time will make scratches because of debris. Id like to think I've got the hang of kydex now as I haven't had this problem in a long time. I did wash the sheath out after all sanding and sheath work was done and before I took the tape off the blade.

So I sharpened the knife and was doing some sheathing of the blade, in and out a bunch of times to break it in and ensure nothing funny is going to happen. Well I noticed on one side of the knife in a 1" section of the bevel I got a scuff scratch! I cant let this go because it bugs me so much and my flats and bevels are sanded perpendicular. Would you run the bevel lightly back on the grinder, hand sand it out or buff it out some? I have a 400 grit flat and a 400 grit bevel under a fine scotch brite finish...

Thanks
Click to expand...
I would run it on the grinder again. One thing though, because of the softness of a scotchbrite belt, you may nick the edge so be ready to sharpen again.
 
I agree with Natlek's suggestion above it won't take much to break that small of a scratch line. Light Pressure with a straight even pull.
 
Busto said:
I agree with Natlek's suggestion above it won't take much to break that small of a scratch line. Light Pressure with a straight even pull.
Click to expand...

Yep, and you can 'break in' the sandpaper first on a scrap piece of steel, otherwise it will probably cut differently than the worn in paper you finished this blade with. I'd use worn in paper that was really all but used up. That is a light scratch.
 
I use one of these in a vise, covered with fresh tape to hold the blade. Then as the others said, just try to blend it in.
Screenshot_20180825-111555_Chrome.jpg
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I just had the same thing happen. I wiped some oil away from where the handle scales meet the knife, with a q-tip and there must have been something in the q-tip because there’s a small hairline scratch that goes from the spine to the ricasso. The same path that the q-tip followed. I don’t think there’s really anything you can do without taking the scales off. My scratches terminate under the scales and the only way I’d be able to maintain that finish and remove the scratch would be to remove the scales. :/

You can barely see it, right in between my makers mark and the handle scale here:

pbWCBFQ.jpg


I second the OP’s request for help. Am I wrong in assuming there’s no hope for fixing a scratch like this? I go to such great lengths to make everything perfect on this damn thing and then this happens. It’s so maddening.

I suppose one way to fix it in the future would be to do removable handle scales.
Click to expand...

Stick a piece of tape over the end of your scale to protect it, then use a sanding backer with a very sharp edge to get right to the taped edge of the scale. Pull back a few times and you should see it start to fade.
 
As much as I want to believe you guys, my experience tells me that if I try to pull 220 grit sandpaper from the very front of the scales(with tape protecting them), it will show that the scratch pattern started there, not under the scales. This isn’t as bad as a “j hook” from a stop/start, but the beginning of the stroke shows and is different than if it was generated, or terminated from under the scales or off the tip of the knife.

All this being said, I’ll still try it out on a separate piece of steel and see if I can get it to work. Basically I need to decide if the hairline scratch looks worse than what the start mark of a few pull strokes would be. Either way, I’ll let you guys know what my experiments yield.

This has been a problem that has plagued me my entire knifemaking career. I work my ass off trying to make something as perfect as it can be and something like this happen. In my opinion, even the smallest imperfection ruins it for me. Because I have to either keep it, or sell it at a lower price and be up front about it in the for sale ad. I REALLY want to start using removable scales, by there really doesn’t seem to be decent handle hardware around for it. It’s truly insane. There’s a huge demand for it, and none of the suppliers sell decent handle hardware. I think it was either JTknives or Kuakri that got a custom run of some good, suitable hardware a while back. But iirc it was a little pricey.
 
Well sorry I didn’t get back with pics or anything but I hit the bevel on a 220 and 400 grit belt as the surface conditioning I wouldn’t be able to do as it would bleed onto the flats which I would never be able to clean up with the handle on. I was careful enough and ran the vfd at 10hz and was able to get all the scratches out without screwing anything up! Phew!
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
As much as I want to believe you guys, my experience tells me that if I try to pull 220 grit sandpaper from the very front of the scales(with tape protecting them), it will show that the scratch pattern started there, not under the scales. This isn’t as bad as a “j hook” from a stop/start, but the beginning of the stroke shows and is different than if it was generated, or terminated from under the scales or off the tip of the knife.

All this being said, I’ll still try it out on a separate piece of steel and see if I can get it to work. Basically I need to decide if the hairline scratch looks worse than what the start mark of a few pull strokes would be. Either way, I’ll let you guys know what my experiments yield.

This has been a problem that has plagued me my entire knifemaking career. I work my ass off trying to make something as perfect as it can be and something like this happen. In my opinion, even the smallest imperfection ruins it for me. Because I have to either keep it, or sell it at a lower price and be up front about it in the for sale ad. I REALLY want to start using removable scales, by there really doesn’t seem to be decent handle hardware around for it. It’s truly insane. There’s a huge demand for it, and none of the suppliers sell decent handle hardware. I think it was either JTknives or Kuakri that got a custom run of some good, suitable hardware a while back. But iirc it was a little pricey.
Click to expand...


I can be the same way, but lately I've been thinking maybe I need to lighten up. A scratch like that is going to happen the first time the buyer drags it across a dirty cutting board or something.
Maybe we are being a bit too fussy?
I mean if you are going to buy a knife and put it in a glass case, with appropriate lighting and all, ok, maybe you want that kind of finish.
But really? On a daily use knife. Are we being to critical of ourselves?

Maybe we start pricing as:

Daily user knife: $350.00
Display case model: $500.00 :)
 
I've had to refinish the flats of a knife I made that had a very sharp angle to the front on the scales with a hand rubbed finish at 400 grit.

What I ended up doing (after setting the knife aside for a while to think of something) was taking a flat paint stirring stick and made a cutout that exactly matched the front of the scales. Then I took a piece if 400 Rynowet paper and spray-glued the back of it in order to stick it to the area of the paint stick with the cutout. Then I used something like an Exacto knife to cut the sandpaper along the edge of the cutout in the stir stick and used that as a sanding "stick/block" to very carefully make some pull strokes from scale to the end of the flat.

This took some patience for getting things to match just right as well as a number of tries to make sure there weren't any noticeable j-hooks at the front of the scale, but I was finally able to get everything to blend in again. And if you end up needing to use a fresh piece of paper then you need to cut it to match the stir stick cutout again, which isn't that bad as that shape is already in the stir stick to follow the Exacto knife against. Hope that wording makes sense!

JG, the shape of your scale fronts shouldn't be too difficult to match a sanding stick to if you wanted to give it a try.

If I had to do it again I would also bevel the edges of the cutout I made in the stir stick so that the paper would be able to reach in the tight ricasso area right at the scale fronts.

It may sound like a lot of work to simply sand a light scuff out but I think it's worth it to at least try on a knife you already spent so much time making and finishing up nicely.

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
 
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I would think it's next to impossible to get that scratch out on the platen with the scales still on and it look even. As much as it sucks, your best bet it to pop the scales of and hand sand it again. If you used quick setting epoxy this is relatively easy. If it's slow cure then this is a good bit more difficult. You can try sanding without removing the scales but with the front of the scales being rounded it's really going to be tough to get it uniform. It's a nice looking knife so whatever you do don't settle.
 
So i’m assuming you guys finish the flats, then tape, before the epoxy. Two things happens to me frequently. The blue tape leaves lines that are very difficult to remove. I also find what appears to be a bit of rust at the plunge. These are scandies and remain taped for a few days. Do you oil your blades before taping? It seems I always have to go back with a light sand after removing the tape. Rich
 
rjedoaks said:
So i’m assuming you guys finish the flats, then tape, before the epoxy. Two things happens to me frequently. The blue tape leaves lines that are very difficult to remove. I also find what appears to be a bit of rust at the plunge. These are scandies and remain taped for a few days. Do you oil your blades before taping? It seems I always have to go back with a light sand after removing the tape. Rich
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I had this problem too when I used a similar technique. If you want your finish to stay as it is after you finish it, then you need to minimize the amount of time it’s wrapped IMO. Now I NEVER use painters tape directly on my knives, except for momentarily when making kydex sheaths. For wrapping a blade to work on, I use printer paper, oil, and black electrical tape. I put a decent amount of oil or WD-40 on the blade and a little bit on the area of the printer paper that will be in direct contact with the knife, and then fold the printer paper around the knife as tight as I can. Then I go around the printer paper with cheap electrical tape. I pull hard on the tape when wrapping it, so that it will hole the oiled paper in place. I don’t leave the wrap on more than a couple hours. When sculpting handle I’ll have it wrapped and when I’m done with a session(couple hours of work) I’ll un wrap it, gently wipe it down, and oil it. Then I’ll re-wrap it when I’m going to start working on the handle again. When I’m applying epoxy I take all the wrapping off. That way it makes it easier to wipe away epoxy that smashes out from the front of the handle scales.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I had this problem too when I used a similar technique. If you want your finish to stay as it is after you finish it, then you need to minimize the amount of time it’s wrapped IMO. Now I NEVER use painters tape directly on my knives, except for momentarily when making kydex sheaths. For wrapping a blade to work on, I use printer paper, oil, and black electrical tape. I put a decent amount of oil or WD-40 on the blade and a little bit on the area of the printer paper that will be in direct contact with the knife, and then fold the printer paper around the knife as tight as I can. Then I go around the printer paper with cheap electrical tape. I pull hard on the tape when wrapping it, so that it will hole the oiled paper in place. I don’t leave the wrap on more than a couple hours. When sculpting handle I’ll have it wrapped and when I’m done with a session(couple hours of work) I’ll un wrap it, gently wipe it down, and oil it. Then I’ll re-wrap it when I’m going to start working on the handle again. When I’m applying epoxy I take all the wrapping off. That way it makes it easier to wipe away epoxy that smashes out from the front of the handle scales.
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I agree that a blade should not be kept wrapped. I've even tried to heavily oil a blade before wrapping it and if left on for a couple days, chances are that I'll find a rust spot or two. Now, I remove any wrap before the day is over and oil the blade immediately. I find that 3 in One is one of the better rust preventing oils. WD-40 seems to prevent rust, but eventually attracts moisture... Kind of a mixed bag for me. I also like the rust prevention properties of Ballitstol, but I cant stand the smell of it. Smells like my grandpa's old tackle box.
 
Well that sounds logical. It looks like a change in procedure is needed. I’ve been using the same technique for a couple years. Call me a slow learner. Thanks for all the responses. Rich
 
I tape it while handling so I don’t scratch it, glue on handles and then remove tape, alcohol blade clean then oil. Once handle is ready for shaping I tape the blade, shape then I remove tape and alcohol. Then oil.. again for sheath..
 
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