Should I have CRK Reblast Scales? Or Not?

Should I have CRK re-blast my plain Janes?

  • Yes - there is nothing more beautiful than a freshly blasted scale!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yes - I prefer the worn look, but you need to earn those beauty marks yourself!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No - Why would you undo the history of the knife. Rejoice in it's battle scars!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Vaporstang

Vaporstang

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I have several knives that I am sending into CRK for various types of work, repairs, modifications, reissued DOB cards, etc. Included in these are three plain Janes: a Small No Idaho Stamp, Small Classic MM, and a Small Regular Seb. I am not the original owner of any of these and they have various amounts of wear, snail trails, and other "beauty" marks on them. Most of the patina has been done by the previous owners.

So, the question is should I have the scales re-blasted by CRK as part of their spa treatment? (I do have some other knives that I could send along for the ride for a spa treatment and have and decided not to.)
 
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Depends upon if you want to preserve the history the knives already have, or if you want to wipe the slate clean so-to-speak and start anew with only "your" wear marks on them.
 
If they are much older, I would leave them alone, they don't bead blast them anymore.
 
I would only re-blast them if putting up for sale(full disclosure of course), and even then it is a toss up.
 
I reblasted mine - I sent a new-to me user in to get a beat up blade finished up and asked that it be blasted, too. I love knowing that I get to start afresh. Either way it is fine, but it is a free service anyways, so why not?
 
I like the look of freshly blasted titanium. I had several Ti knives that had a rather 'slippery' stone washed finish so I bought an inexpensive gun and picked up some beads at Harbor Freight, but the beads didn't do much of anything. So I got some sand from Tractor Supply and used that on my Spyderco Sage and the result was fantastic. The finish was a little aggressive feeling at first but I rubbed it out with some denim and after a little pocket time it was perfect. I haven't done any of my Sebenzas yet but next time one needs cleaning and grease it'll get done.

I vote for reblasting!
 
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I'm in the same place as you. I have a new to me large 21 that is pretty well marked up. I'm on the fence also.
 
Yes, have them reblasted and looking new. You won't regret it one bit. If they're keepers, they'll truly be yours by the patina you put on them, or, if you're like so many of us, decide to pass some along, they'll be ready for new owners.
 
Ajack60 said:
Yes, have them reblasted and looking new. You won't regret it one bit. If they're keepers, they'll truly be yours by the patina you put on them, or, if you're like so many of us, decide to pass some along, they'll be ready for new owners.
Click to expand...

I think this is the direction I am heading.
 
I would say depends on how marred up the knives are? Also, you could prob find someone here on the forums that does bead blasting. If youre wanting to keep original finish, thats what i would do, just for the history of the knife.
 
I said "no" for the simple fact that if it was any other knife--say a traditional barlow from the 40s, for example--there is absolutely NO WAY I would have it restored. I want the knife AND its history. To me, that is what makes it cool. If you knew that someone famous put a particular mark on your knife, would you really want that mark removed? Why should it be any different just because someone not-so-famous left the marks (at least so far as you know)?
 
I don't like the feel of a freshly blasted CRK. I wouldn't do it again unless prepping for a sale. Scratch that - let the new owner do it.
 
The logo will never look the same. In fact, the reblast generally doesn't look the same (different media and/or grit used, I guess). Leave it as is.
 
I was actually planning on having some of them blasted and leaving some as is, but this thread is changing my mind. Between the poll and the comments (especially the way they blast them now), I am going to leave them all as is.

The results are interesting. As I write:

14% prefer the blasted look
50% prefer the worn look but say I should earn the marks myself
36% say preserve the history
​
 
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