The Hamon Thread

There are a variety of loose grit and compounds that can be used to develop a hamon. Every one makes a slightly different effect and look. The coarser, the frostier the look. The finer, the shinier. Some leave a darker surface, and others a whiter shine.

A word of caution - DO NOT cross contaminate the applicators. Every polish, compound, or grit of paper should be kept separate. Wash everything off before changing. make sure to wash your hands well. Toss out any paper towels you used on the last grit.
Also, most of these polishes will stain your hands and clothes. Wear rubber/nitrile gloves, and old clothes. Cover any good surfaces with newspaper. Change glovers and paper when you change grits.



Grits:

Silicon Carbide (SC) powders in assorted grits. Use the higher grade powders that are more refined and uniform in grit. 1000, 2000, and 3000 are good sizes.

Pumice powder. An interesting fact is that FF FFF and FFFF pumice are all screened at 325 mesh/grit. It is the percentage of finer grits that separated them. FFFF has more fine grit than FF, but only by 10%. They are really all just about the same.

Chromium Oxide

Iron oxide. The red oxide is called rouge and the black oxide magnetite. They polish quite differently.

Aluminum oxide. This is the workhorse of polishing and lapping grits. It is available in almost any imaginable grit. An assortment of 800, 2000, and 4000 is good. Linde A and B are also in this group.

Tin oxide

Cerium oxide

Bon Ami ( feldspar powder and soap)

Diamond lapping compounds are really useful for close polishing right next to a hamon. These come in syringes of carrier oil and grit. They leave a very uniform finish. 325 leaves a frosty surface, 800 a bright matte, 1200 a bit whiter, 4000 pretty shiny, and 8000 very shiny. You can go up to 50,000 if you want, but there is no real gain above 8000 on a knife blade. A good applicator is a small triangle of hard felt. Label the wedge and store it in a small zip-lock bag with the syringe for that grit.


Compounds:

Mag polish
Mother's metal polishes
Flitz
Simichrome
Valve lapping cpompound
Glass/stone lapping compound


The simplest and best polish applicator for most things is a 2" round makeup removal pad. You buy them in rolls of 100 at the cosmetic section of the local drug store.
 
I'm a bit confused on the purpose of the pumice. is it acting as a superfine hand rub type abrasive, or does it react with the etch in some other way. Above, Stacy states " Every one makes a slightly different effect and look. The coarser, the frostier the look. The finer, the shinier. Some leave a darker surface, and others a whiter shine."
 
Cardinal Knife said:
I'm a bit confused on the purpose of the pumice. is it acting as a superfine hand rub type abrasive, or does it react with the etch in some other way. Above, Stacy states " Every one makes a slightly different effect and look. The coarser, the frostier the look. The finer, the shinier. Some leave a darker surface, and others a whiter shine."
Click to expand...

It's not reacting with the etch. The changes in appearance that Stacy is referring to are how the various compounds change the surface profile of the knife and therefore how it reflects light. They're not actually changing any color of the steel (outside of removing oxides). But there is more to their effect than simple grit size, there is also how sharp or free cutting a compound is, how hard a compound is, etc, and all these variables leave their own slight variation to the surface finish and how it reflects light back to the observer.
 
kuraki said:
It's not reacting with the etch. The changes in appearance that Stacy is referring to are how the various compounds change the surface profile of the knife and therefore how it reflects light. They're not actually changing any color of the steel (outside of removing oxides). But there is more to their effect than simple grit size, there is also how sharp or free cutting a compound is, how hard a compound is, etc, and all these variables leave their own slight variation to the surface finish and how it reflects light back to the observer.
Click to expand...

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm hoping someone shows a traditional polish, with stones and no etching. I've been meaning to try that.
 
Finger stones? I was looking into getting some of those materials but I can't sort out what I need/want when descriptions begin using Japanese terms.
 
id like to hear you guys's input on the "pattern" (for lack of a better word) of the clay application.
Recently i have been thinking about doing an experiment one blade with the clay applied in x'es down the blade, then an application more constant but with a wavy edge and the last one i would like to try a "splatter" pattern.
 
andrewh2011 said:
id like to hear you guys's input on the "pattern" (for lack of a better word) of the clay application.
Recently i have been thinking about doing an experiment one blade with the clay applied in x'es down the blade, then an application more constant but with a wavy edge and the last one i would like to try a "splatter" pattern.
Click to expand...

The thickness of the application and the continuity of the application and the size/mass of the blade make almost as much difference as the pattern the clay is applied. I cannot for the life of me figure out how guys like Will Morrison are getting such fine little "crows feet." Whenever I try fine detailed application like that, I get nothing. I also have a hard time getting any activity on smaller blades. I've recently had two complete failures with small, thinner blades, one 1075 and one W2. They're just hard all the way through, like they quenched too fast even through the clay.

In your one example, a wavy edge, what I have found is that where the edge dips, if you taper the application of clay thickness with the dip, that's where you'll get more of the cloudy transition between the hard steel and soft steel.

But I also have a multitude of blades that absolutely did not follow the clay application whatsoever.

FWIW I have only used Satanite as my clay, and I quench everything in Parks 50.
 
kuraki said:
The thickness of the application and the continuity of the application and the size/mass of the blade make almost as much difference as the pattern the clay is applied. I cannot for the life of me figure out how guys like Will Morrison are getting such fine little "crows feet." Whenever I try fine detailed application like that, I get nothing. I also have a hard time getting any activity on smaller blades. I've recently had two complete failures with small, thinner blades, one 1075 and one W2. They're just hard all the way through, like they quenched too fast even through the clay.

In your one example, a wavy edge, what I have found is that where the edge dips, if you taper the application of clay thickness with the dip, that's where you'll get more of the cloudy transition between the hard steel and soft steel.

But I also have a multitude of blades that absolutely did not follow the clay application whatsoever.

FWIW I have only used Satanite as my clay, and I quench everything in Parks 50.
Click to expand...

Kuraki , on this side of the pond I saw same beautiful hamon line .Guys say they use high temperature sealant ?
Something like this ................... I hope they will not offend, I borrowed pictures from a local forum :)

3149w5d.jpg

143iagi.jpg
 
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There is a similar product I've seen people use here as well. Even mixing it with satanite. I'll give it a try.
 
For small knives, I do light clay, 3s in DT-48, 3s out, 3s back in quench, 3s out, and 3s quench. It also helps to grind as if the blade is getting a sabre grind, clay along the grind , then grind the ffg after heat treat. Geometry plays a big part in kitchen knives, and small knives. Thin clay, rather than thicker. You are basically trying to get a clayless hamon with a little suggestion to the steel where to transition.

I did a set of 6 0.090" steak knives, and had to heat treat 13 to get 6 with a consistent hamon.

Here's 2 of them. I didn't polish or etch much, as steak creates a very dark patina quickly.

29944977851_da134d68a6_b.jpg
[/url]image by Wjkrywko, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Thinner really? I would have thought the opposite. I'm running low on propane but might give one a retry tonight. I've been puttering around with sheaths and etching in the house since running the forge all day Monday and the temps dropping below zero Tuesday.
 
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