Tiny round spot in new M390 blade- Any idea what this is?!

Motega

Motega

Joined
Jun 20, 2006
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There is a >1mm almost perfectly round shadow on a satin finished M390 blade, new from bladesmith. It doesn't bother me that much, but I am curious what it could be. it's almost a shadow and being almost perfectly round leads me to believe it's either a drop of something that slightly oxidized the metal or some artifact from a heat treat.
This is more of an academic concern over anything else, though if it hints at some issue with heat treat that's something I'd like to know. I think there was another one which came out with some acetone- but I can't be sure. I noticed this the day I got it, and I don't use my new knives on day 1 until I take some pics and log them (purchase price, serial #, etc.) so I know 100% this is not from anything I did.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

mystery spot.jpg
 
if you are not going to return it or cant, then treat it with sand paper or baking soda, (im not a chemist so im just ball-parking here)
ive seen stuff on my stuff i cant explain so i use the crap out of it in the "problem area" and once im at the point of no return i mark the knife as a beater, i have several of those, so far, all cosmetic blemishes
 
Tried alcohol, and lab quality acetone as well as .25 micron diamond paste (high quality Ukrainian). They are telling me it is a drop of kiwi or lemon juice. Oddly, another incident recently where I bought an original Wayfarer in CPM154 from a consignment knife dealer arrived literally crumbling with rust along the edge which they also said was kiwi juice. I'm just mentioning it because it's such an oddly specific juice to name. Apparently, we knife bearing folk must be on the alert always for wayward kiwis.
I can post more pics, but I'm not sure what looking at it from a different angle would matter. Different lighting or zoomed in is what you think will help?
Anyway, it's more of a curiosity as opposed to concern.


nio kiwis allowed.jpg
 
Motega said:
Tried alcohol, and lab quality acetone as well as .25 micron diamond paste (high quality Ukrainian). They are telling me it is a drop of kiwi or lemon juice. Oddly, another incident recently where I bought an original Wayfarer in CPM154 from a consignment knife dealer arrived literally crumbling with rust along the edge which they also said was kiwi juice. I'm just mentioning it because it's such an oddly specific juice to name. Apparently, we knife bearing folk must be on the alert always for wayward kiwis.
I can post more pics, but I'm not sure what looking at it from a different angle would matter. Different lighting or zoomed in is what you think will help?
Anyway, it's more of a curiosity as opposed to concern.


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If you don't mind, could you please post more picture of the Wayfarer which you described as "crumbling with rust"? Did you end up returning the knife? And if there are more pictures of the first post knife in more even lighting, that probably will help as well.

Not trying to start anything, just like to know what really does happen.
 
The problem was immediately rectified with a swift prepaid return an apology. Before I go digging up photos, what would be the purpose of seeing them? It's a rusty knife edge that resulted from mishandling at some point- CPM154 isn't stainless. I don't mind going looking for them, but I don't really see the point.
 
Motega said:
The problem was immediately rectified with a swift prepaid return an apology. Before I go digging up photos, what would be the purpose of seeing them? It's a rusty knife edge that resulted from mishandling at some point- CPM154 isn't stainless. I don't mind going looking for them, but I don't really see the point.
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CPM 154 is a stainless steel ?
 
Motega said:
The problem was immediately rectified with a swift prepaid return an apology. Before I go digging up photos, what would be the purpose of seeing them? It's a rusty knife edge that resulted from mishandling at some point- CPM154 isn't stainless. I don't mind going looking for them, but I don't really see the point.
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CPM154 has 14% chromium. That's stainless by anyone's definition. Maybe not stain proof, but definitely stain less.

Who told you it was kiwi juice?
 
OK, semi-stainless. Whatever. The guys over at Olamic were the ones with the kiwi. Again, just thought it was funny because it's such a random juice to pick.
 
Motega said:
CPM154 isn't stainless.
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But it is, though. So is M390. That doesn't mean they can't discolor, or even rust...as Eli Chaps said, above, the name doesn't claim stainproof - it's stainLESS
 
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I am sure you've read the warranty and return policy on Olamic, and since you'd already tried a few methods, so I am guessing you are not returning the blade for whatever reason.

My humble suggestion is to try using Flitz polish to see whether that will remove it. I was told it is not abrasive(I guess it's relative term), but some online resources do claim it is 3-3.5 micron.
 
Forget the other knife and discussion of CPM154, I only mentioned it because of the mention of KIWI Juice. That situation was resolved a long time ago. I thought someone might have seen this before and know for sure. Doesn't matter, just curious.
 
Motega said:
OK, semi-stainless. Whatever. The guys over at Olamic were the ones with the kiwi. Again, just thought it was funny because it's such a random juice to pick.
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It's not semi-stainless. It is stainless.

The problem I have is when you make these insistent claims I can't help but question the validity of all the other claims.
 
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