The "trend" of rougher finished blades

...but totally disagree than anyone can do a fine hand-finish/polish. There are not that many people that do a super clean blade.

i do a lot of polishing (steel, gold, platinum), and i am firmly convinced that achieving a good result is less a question of skills than of patience and will. give a guy a piece of scratched platinum and ask him to polish it. the result will tell you more about his character than a day-long psycho test! :D

and i really do like your knife! :thumbup:

best regards,
hans
 
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. :)

1. Russ Andrews, Don Fogg, Burt Foster and Larry Fuegen do such a fine finish that maintenance can be a nightmare to keep the rust spots at bay. With these knives, a scratch is an insult, a pus filled carbuncle on beautiful skin. That said, they are a pleasure to own, really the best work available...and the finish adds to that.

2. When Burt, yourself, Don or any of the other fantastic makers do the "mixup" of finishes(rough back, fine flats) I don't care for it, but I do respect it, if that makes any sense. I won't buy it.

I buy Murray Carter blades when I want to mix the rough and the smooth in a using knife, because they are indeed, using knives at a user price, and readily available:

http://www.cartercutlery.com/japane...new-utility-235-hammer-finish-stabilized-burl

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
here is a new Raymond Richard knife. He used his grinder to profile it, and that's it. Completely hand hammered;

richard.jpg


I'm always amazed by his work with a hammer --- this knife shows extreme forging skill. But I'm still glad to have a few hand-rubbed pieces fro Ray as well :)
 
I'll bet you do!:cool:
 
Hans, I do think patience is a huge part of it, but just plain polishing a piece of something is one thing....

Grinding symmetrical, crisp bevels, and then polishing them out with a smooth and ripple free finish withOUT washing out the crisp elements of the grinds, takes technique and skill that I just don't think that many folks have.

Not trying to be argumentative, just give another maker's perspective.

You guys buying them are the ones that matter! :)
 
To be fair, I want to point out that while I can forge a blade close to my predetermined patterns, I cannot even come close to touching on what Tai does with a hammer... and obviously Ray is doing some seriously detailed forging as well!

Rob Hudson's forgings would be hard to tell apart from his finished blades from about 10 feet away. He does finely finished work, but the man can seriously shape some steel as well. :)
 
I think there is a big difference between "hammer finished",... and "hammer textured".

Hammer texturing is more about giving the blade a rough look or certain aesthetic. Forging to shape and hammer finishing is more about achieving good overall blade geometry with hammers, and letting some of the hammer work (or process) show...
 
Phill Hartsfield gets hammered here but his duty finish is just that. It holds up VERY well.
 
I just read the whole thread for the first time, and must say it has been quite informative! Thanks to all for the great posts and insight.
 
In addition to my last post, the “hammer textured” blades do tend to be prettier than the “hammer finished” blades. It’s real hard to do a true hammer finished blade that isn’t just plain old butt ugly.

I see what Nick is saying,… but let’s not get patience, discipline and craftsmanship confused with “skill“…or really hardcore split second athletic type hand eye coordination.

Not that one is better than the other though… Like Hans said, I use a wide variety of finishes and think that each has it’s place.
 
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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.




Les really nailed it for me

I love the brure or rough finish look

There is something elemental to it
 
Likewise, Lord of the Rings. Lots of blade forging in pop culture these days, and an increasing number of products on the market which are capitalizing on this elemental steel shaping procedure.

It is surprisingly so.

When I Google for blacksmithing books, many many results are for video games. There are blacksmithing components of role playing games.
That and movies expose younger buyers to the market.
 
It is surprisingly so.

When I Google for blacksmithing books, many many results are for video games. There are blacksmithing components of role playing games.
That and movies expose younger buyers to the market.

Umm I play a popular MMORPG called Runescape :o they have a skilled called "Smithing" my friends jokingly say I have "RL 99 smithing" because of my bladesmithing work. Interestingly enough with the way the video game economy is set up high level smithing is a very very valuable skill a lot like smiths were in years past.

For the people that actually wonder, my RSN is Grunt40p... :cool:
 
Tai, I totally agree with you about forging to shape versus forging/hammering in texture. The former is definitely the one that requires a high skill set. Even a stock removal blade could be simply textured with a press or hammer.

I got a little lost in the whole idea of leaving some kind of forging history on/in the blade.

What Tai is referring to, AND can do with a hammer is at the top of the heap for forging to shape... no doubt. :)
 
Tai and Ray are heroes of mine for that reason, Nick:thumbup:.

Ps. me and the missus might be heading down your way come April for a bicycle show in Portland:)
 
when it comes to my blades
the kitchen users like a belt satin that is not only well done but easy to clean up without removing the handle
and the razor guys seem to love a mirror finish but have no problem with a high belt finish that is buffed (helps keep rust at bay)
as i do little forge work i can't speak on how ppl like it on my work (this i hope to change soon)
 
I agree with what others have said.

I want my knives to be users so for knives that are going to get abused I prefer a rougher finish then you don't feel so bad about scratches and dings etc.
 
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