The "F" word...

Tai Goo

Tai Goo

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.... "Finishing".

I've heard it said that, "a good craftsperson is one who knows when".
When what?...
When it's finished!

So, what is finishing all about? What's its purpose, and how do you know when?

In the classic sense of "fit and finish",... finishing always seems to mean polishing, the "P" word. Are finishing and polishing really the same things?

Polishing has an absurd character to it. It's removing scratches with scratches, and the more polished it becomes the worse the scratches look. It's self defeating, boring, and the surface becomes so reflective it's hard to look at or capture. It has this sweet syrupy look that becomes totally superficial, artificial, cliché, repetitive, distracting and cheap looking,.... like chrome plating!... Barf!

I think of finishing more as "surface treatment", with infinite possibilities,... how the surface reflects light, color, texture,... how the finish ties the piece together and brings continuity to the whole, how it accentuates the forms, inner qualities and characteristics, character, grain etc… of the materials and subject as the whole... as a form of expression!

Finishing can be a lot of fun,... if we think of it as fun and not this strict, boring chore! :)

What are your thoughts on the "F" word?
 
Tai, Wow. You have really hit on something. I have been a goldsmith for 20+ years, for me the surface always had to be mirror bright, as that was how I had been acculturated, from my apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker when I was 12 (everything sanded to 400+grit, then varnished/shellaced/waxed whatever)
Of course good craftsmanship required that joinery be as close to perfect as tooling allowed, and if the surface was supposed to be flat it was truly flat etc.
Then I forged a knife from a crowbar, forged a little snakehead in the butt of it. Ground the scale off, heat treated it, did a torch draw on the spine, and teh tempering colors on the blade gave it such a primal look that everything just worked. I decided that I would leave the knife as is.
Now I really don't know where my aesthetic is going, I have begun searching for the primal roots of what I am building, and it has been somewhat freeing, I tried my first bloom over Thanksgiving. I have started looking at my smithing as a creation process rather than working toward a defined product. Surface treatment really in an unexplored frontier.
Thank you for opening this discussion.

-Page
 
A highly reflective surface can certainly be used to advantage in a composition. One can see this frequently in many expressions of art.

Everything has its place. It is the artist's job to express the choices advantageously. I personally wouldn't want the limitations imposed by denying myself options.
 
fitzo said:
A highly reflective surface can certainly be used to advantage in a composition. One can see this frequently in many expressions of art.

Everything has its place. It is the artist's job to express the choices advantageously. I personally wouldn't want the limitations imposed by denying myself options.
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Exactly,... it depends on personal expression.

Polished surfaces work great on certain expressions,… but not on all. There is room for exploration in “surface treatment” and all rules that would oppress personal expression, individualism, freedom of expression, etc… should be tossed out!

... In terms of "performance" the general consensus is that "polish" is not that important.
 
Tai Goo said:
Exactly,... it depends on personal expression.

Polished surfaces work great on certain expressions,… but not on all. There is room for exploration in “surface treatment” and all rules that would oppress personal expression, individualism, freedom of expression, etc… should be tossed out!

... In terms of "performance" the general consensus is that "polish" is not that important.
Click to expand...

I have one of your knives in front of me, use it every day as my desk knife. It is a tiny file-finish knife, and the only really polished section is the very edge from the finest stone. It would definitely not look right highly polished, nor have anywhere near the appeal. The "parts" would conflict; pinion pitch, turkshead knots and mirror polish would not work together for me. The textural aspect of the finish is an integral part of the art of the knife. And well chosen.

At the same time, I have seen polished blades wherein a highly textured guard reflected in the mirror and lent its own appeal. When color shimmers up the blade from a blued guard there is an appeal to that, too..

It's all about integrating the various elements to work together synergistically. Therein lies the visual art in knifemaking.

About the only functional reason I have heard for mirror polishing a blade would be that it has less of a tendency to corrode, for metallurgical reasons. Aside from that, it has its drawbacks, like showing scratches, etc....
 
Is too much emphasis being placed on "surface treatment", rather than geometry, balance, form, design, performance etc...?

Who can make that call?

Does the general standard make any sense, or is it just an artificial tend of the day?... with absolutely no meaning at all except in the current marketplace?... monkey mentality,... swarm psychology!
 
"It's all about integrating the various elements to work together synergistically. Therein lies the visual art in knifemaking." Fitzo

Well put bro! :)
 
Tai Goo said:
... continuity of expression!
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A good term! :thumbup: We have all seen knives that make us feel odd about the piece; the elements don't jive. Dada does not seem to be appropriate for knives. :)

Tai Goo said:
Is too much emphasis being placed on "surface treatment", rather than geometry, balance, form, design, performance etc...?

Who can make that call?

Does the general standard make any sense, or is it just an artificial tend of the day?... with absolutely no meaning at all except in the current marketplace?... monkey mentality,... swarm psychology!
Click to expand...

Interesting questions. My response would be that we see the gamut, from knives where surface treatment is obviously trumping functionality to vice versa. And, it seems there are room for both. Certainly, some of the highly decorative carving we see on some blades has sacrificed functionality, but those knives still have huge appeal. At the same time, some knives with little surface appeal can find instant acceptance picking them up and using them.

As such, I feel that no one can state anything dogmatically, because there are customers/appreciators for both. And, I feel it is historically reflected, too. In most cultures with the time and resources, artistic expressions of everyday objects arise. Visual appeal becomes enhanced.

Regarding your last comment, there has been and always will be a fluid aesthetic in manmade artifacts. As form follows function as needs change, thus have our embellishments to these new forms changed. And, always, the marketplace seems the final arbiter of perseverance. Man has a tendency to fads, and popularity. The psychology of mass mentality is well documented. And, by it's very capitalistic nature, pop culture demands constant change. Otherwise, why would skirt lengths go up and down like a sine curve? :)
 
I have been trying to figure out what people will buy for 20 years, every once in a while you have to feed your own soul, and if your muse sings that piece will not stick around long enough to even get pictures.

Build stuff that you know you can sell to feed your stomach and your fire, build what your muse drives you to to feed your soul, because if your soul starves your spirit dies!

On the other hand the starving artist thing is a load of rubbish, If you can't afford to eat you certainly are not going to be creative. Cellini, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Picasso, all had rich patrons supporting them
-Page
 
Finishing for me is easier now that I know how to make flats flat and curves curved. Trying to buff away mistakes is very frustrating and just wrong. There are tools for every procedure that will make finishing quick and easy. I dont like the looks of polished metal parts unless they are to be hot blued. Any other surface IMHO should be a soft satin finish that can be applied again some day when refurbishing. I agree that it is part of the artistry of our craft and done correctly will make or break the sale and affect the value of the piece.
 
If you are sincere in your finishing, if it's well thought out and you like it! Others will too. Trends do change, but not until someone breaks them and points in a new direction.

Should we let the market dictate the finish or should the finishes dictate to the market?

How do new market trends happen?

Just for example,... 10 years ago you couldn't give away a hammer finished blade, unless maybe it was in the American frontier style, but today there is a widespread market for them.

How would people know how to appreciate it, if they hadn't seen it?

How can we innovate in the area of finishing? How can we make finishing interesting and exciting again?
 
Here's a couple rules that I decided to toss out a long time ago:

1. Don't go to the next grit until all the scratches from the previous grit are removed.

2. All the scratches must go in the same direction.

I like scratches!
Scratches are handmade, show the mark of the artist and the process. :)

I've been experimenting with overlapping scratches of different grits all going in different directions, coupled with surface etching to "raise the grain" of the steel. Also, using different finishes on different parts of the blades to bring out contrast and form. It's doing some interesting and exciting things with the reflection of light off the surfaces,... rainbow colors, holographic 3D effects etc...
 
Sam Salvati said:
You can do what you want and be poor, or you can do what people will buy and eat.
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I hate to say this Sam,... but that sounds like "loser talk" to me.

If you work at it hard enough and give it just a little time,... you can have your cake and eat it too. :)
 
My finishing philosophy is as follows...

It is finished when the creator says it's finished

"there is no "try" only do, or do not." Yoda (smartest puppet ever)
 
J.S. Carter said:
My finishing philosophy is as follows...

It is finished when the creator says it's finished

"there is no "try" only do, or do not." Yoda (smartest puppet ever)
Click to expand...

That's right!

Effortless effort!
That's where work turns into fun! :)
 
Tai Goo said:
I hate to say this Sam,... but that sounds like "loser talk" to me.

If you work at it hard enough and give it just a little time,... you can have your cake and eat it too. :)
Click to expand...

Hahah I was only semi kidding hehe. No I am of the philosophy of, make what you want, customers will come.

"If you build it, they will come"
 
Tai Goo said:
Here's a couple rules that I decided to toss out a long time ago:

1. Don't go to the next grit until all the scratches from the previous grit are removed.

2. All the scratches must go in the same direction.

I like scratches!
Scratches are handmade, show the mark of the artist and the process. :...........)

...
Click to expand...
1. and 2. are good points, Tai!

Give ya'll a tip!
I Do have a "little" experience in this field - I am an award winning Grand Piano finisher. I quit back in '85, but had many pianos on display with as much as 30 coats of hand-rubbed mirror finished lacquer. I did it for 10 years under an actual Master Refinisher from Germany.
A lot of folks think a "satin" finish is something where you stop at a certain grit. Not true.
If you want an Award Winning Finish at, oh, 600 grit, take it up through 600, maybe 1000 or 1200 with all previous scratches gone.
Then! go back and install the grit you want the finish to be.
See? Take it to 1200 and then if you want a 400 finish, you can see your 400 scratches as they gradually cover the ENTIRE surface, since that surface is a LOT smotther. You'll see how much finishing you really need to do when you see all of the 1200 scratches disappear!
 
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