Stonewash vs. Tumbled

[ptradeco]

Need a little clarification here if someone would be so kind as to help out. I have seen the words Stonewashed and Tumbled used interchangeably for some time. Is it accurate to do so or is there a notable difference. It has never been in issue for me as I have always gotten what I was expecting but it came up again and I thought I would go to school.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Brad Rosenthal

 

[gixxer]

I believe the grit of the media used is the difference. The stonewashed stuff is done with coarse media, and tumbled can be done with lighter stuff to show a lighter, almost polished finish. I did one with plain ceramic for days and got a cloudy polish. Pretty cool.

Neil Blackwood uses really coarse stuff and calls it "riverwash". It is a coarser finish than stonewash. He sandblasts then uses a mechanical(?) tumbler.
Neil explains it in another forum, I doubt I am allowed to hotlink that kinda stuff though.

When going with the lighter grit stuff it does not get rid of mistakes or heavy scratches. Your blade has to be well finished for it to look good.

 

[ptradeco]

Thank you gixxer.