The "trend" of rougher finished blades

[Will Leavitt]

Well y'all are the ones that buy knives so that was the reason I asked y'all

I felt that it was a combination of the 2 main factors mentioned, price and a desire to own something definately "hand crafted".

Edge master, I know what you mean, I used to work in the cabinet industry. All the years we worked to eliminate handling defects then our customers started demanding distressed finishes. "Hell we been distressing them for years," was the comment from our company president

Thanks for the insight!

Edited to respond to Psycho78...

A"coarse 400x finish"? Huh? A 400x can be a nice, clean finish if well executed, a bad finish if poorly done

 

[Tai Goo]

It really doesn't take much "skill" to hand polish a blade,... just time and patience.

It takes more skill to forge it closely to shape!

 

[psycho78]

Maybe it's just the horizontal scratch pattern that throws me off... I've seen knives finished in this way (JS and MS level) that looked "coarse" to me.

I know it's a popular finish and technique, i just don't like it.

 

[thompsonblades]

I also love the "unfinished" look. All my stuff is like that. Most people think my "carry around" knife is much older than what it is. I'm not afraid to do anything with it. Chissel ice, throw it, skin with it, carve or anything.
I haven't noticed any great trend in the rough stuff though. If there was, I'd be doing much better financially. I manage to sell 1 or 2, here or there, but nothing steady.

 

[Burt Foster]

I started doing some "rough" knives a few years ago, and it wasn't for economic reasons. I will qualify that my version of rough is not very rough, meaning that there are forge marks or pseudo forge marks, but they are right where I want them and nowhere else. It doesn't take much less time to make the knife that way, than it would a typical blade with no marks left at all.

This is a typical example of what I'm talking about:

In the case of this knife, the blade isn't hand-finished, but I've done them that way too.

For me, like Tai, it was about giving the finished piece a sense of where it came from. I remember thinking about all the time taken to forge a blade, then going back and systematically removing all evidence that it was forged at all. From the few years I've been doing it, I find there is an increasing demand for them - maybe an increasing appreciation for them.

My experience is that the reaction to these knives is stronger among the casual custom knife buyer compared to the serious collector.

 

[mcswood]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It's hard to say what a favorite style is let alone a finish.
A desired finish on one knife would hurt the appearance
on another.
I think this boils down to a wanted look and intended work load.
Not to produce a cheap knife. Walmart has plenty.
Why are makers handmaking them.
I make mine because I want to. I like them 1st. Then I sell them.
I couldn't give a rat's ass if anyone else likes em.
Makers, make what you like and enjoy making it.
If a knife has a high polish it will get scuffed and scratched
when heavily used.
Why then would someone "use" the beautifully finished
expensive knife for such things.
Maybe to make a statement like how much they can afford
to spend to those around them.
Would a cheaper one do the same. Of course it would.
If looking for a heavy duty user;
Buy the "knife" for it's OVERALL ability to do the work.
Buy the "name" for your collection.
Would a "REAL" collecter of fine knives just
deside to trash one.
I don't think so.

Mike

 

[RogerP]

it only shows more skill to one who knows, or has otherwise seen, that the blade was hand hammered close to shape

Good point. I look at some of these forge-finish blades and think that when the blade left the anvil it was indeed forged very closely to shape, and was prett much straight and centered.

Roger

 

[RogerP]

A"coarse 400x finish"? Huh? A 400x can be a nice, clean finish if well executed, a bad finish if poorly done

So true. We tend to focus on the grit level and not the execution of the finish. I saw one of Karl Andersen's knives at blade and could have sworn I was loooking at very high grit finish and was absolutely floored when he told me it was 400.

Roger

 

[Lycosa]

I had a chisel grind blade where the flat side still had the cut marks left by the cutting machine. This side looked better than the side that was ground! I sold it.

 

[Kevin Jones]

It really doesn't take much "skill" to hand polish a blade,... just time and patience.

So true. We tend to focus on the grit level and not the execution of the finish. I saw one of Karl Andersen's knives at blade and could have sworn I was loooking at very high grit finish and was absolutely floored when he told me it was 400.

Roger

Anyone can put a good finish on a blade, ask Tai.

 

[Jon Brand]

Funny, my good friend whos not a 'knife guy' was just here and used my little Burt Foster dark side knife to open a package, and said he wants one. He said he likes the brute look.

 

[Burt Foster]

I personally think the future will trend toward more textures, and carving and things that create effects on the blade surface, rather than a trend toward finer hand finishes. Hand finishes from the better makers have come as far as they can. The evolution of the craft will inevitably head another direction, and it might as well be texture....

 

[Les Robertson]

About 4 years ago I saw Jason Knight apply what he calls his "adventure" finish.

Yes, the price was lower as there was less work involved in finishing the blade...which makes perfect sense.

The reasoning Jason used for this finish was not to create a "cheap" knife...but to provide a knife that was usable!

Being a user, like so many other people here. Scratches or dings, etc don't matter as much as performance. If you combine a "user friendly" finish along with a reduced price you are going to make a knife that people will want to buy...and will actually use.

Several years ago I had a client buy a knife from me in 3V. According to him he used it for several hours to clear brush on his property. At the end of the day he noticed a few scratches on the blade. He was disappointed...not in the performance of the knife. But that after several hours of use it no longer looked "new" and wanted to return it. His expectations of what a steel or finish could provide were unrealistic. Perhaps a lesser grade finish would have been exactly what he needed.

So if you are looking for a user grade custom knife perhaps a knife with a "adventure" type grade finish or a 200 grit or less finish or a machine satin finish or whatever you would like to call it may be what you are looking for.

With the dimensions, ergonomics, blade geometry and the sharpness of the edge are all the same as the more expensive knife. You get a quality product that the only two differences are the level of finish on the blade and the price.

Sounds like a win/win for those who are actually looking to use their custom knives.

 

[Lycosa]

Do you think a horizontal finish would show less scratches?

 

[Kevin Jones]

I personally think the future will trend toward more textures, and carving and things that create effects on the blade surface, rather than a trend toward finer hand finishes. Hand finishes from the better makers have come as far as they can. The evolution of the craft will inevitably head another direction, and it might as well be texture....

Probably partially why damascus and now laminate blades have become so popular.

 

[brightred]

It really doesn't take much "skill" to hand polish a blade,... just time and patience.

It takes more skill to forge it closely to shape!

the knife with the finest finish that i own is in fact a small one made by tai (1). most of the knives in my collection that are forged to shape and then left like that more or less, are made by tai, too (2). and the only ones that are forged and filed to shape are by - yes, tai (3). there's neither a preference for 1200 grit blades nor for rougher finishes. i just like it when a maker masters a lot of different techniques.

by the way: i think it is rather easy to pound a steel bar at random with eyes closed, then skillfully grind it to shape, add some hammer marks and sell it as "obviously forged to shape". or sell it without hammer marks as "forged to shape", even if it's stock removal. who'd notice a difference to a forged and meticulously finished knife? if it's well done, i wouldn't.

best regards,
hans

1.

2.

3.

 

[NickWheeler]

I like some of them. The hang-up being that there's such a broad variance from finely crafted with texture and such, and just plain crude.

It's a love or hate thing. I've done a few knives with texture/forge marks, and there's always been people that either really liked it, or REALLY DIDN'T.

I agree with Tai that forging a blade that close to shape shows great skill, but totally disagree than anyone can do a fine hand-finish/polish. There are not that many people that do a super clean blade.

This is one I did with texture VERY INTENTIONALLY added.... not just something left from forging. I like it, many don't.

 

[Lorien]

I don't really mind scratches. However, there is one knife that I'm reticent to use and I think part of the reason is that it has such a nice hand sanded mirror finish. However, the bigger part of the reason is that it isn't really designed for what I use my knives for. It's more of a fighter type thing;

In use, I firmly believe that the higher the level of polish, the better the blade resists corrosion and scratching. It's just that when it does take a scratch you can see it, which often isn't the case on a knife which has had less finish work done to the surface of the steel.

 

[Kevin Jones]

I like some of them. The hang-up being that there's such a broad variance from finely crafted with texture and such, and just plain crude.

It's a love or hate thing. I've done a few knives with texture/forge marks, and there's always been people that either really liked it, or REALLY DIDN'T.

I agree with Tai that forging a blade that close to shape shows great skill, but totally disagree than anyone can do a fine hand-finish/polish. There are not that many people that do a super clean blade.
This is one I did with texture VERY INTENTIONALLY added.... not just something left from forging. I like it, many don't.

Very GOOD points Nick. :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

I agree with Tai that forging a blade that close to shape shows great skill, but totally disagree than anyone can do a fine hand-finish/polish. There are not that many people that do a super clean blade.

Correctamundo.

Roger