Too much heat?

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

So i got a superhawk a couple of weeks ago(awesome), but there is discoloring of the steel at the tip and under the spyder emblem. I have tried steel wool, alcohol, brake-clean, and good old fashioned elbow grease, but it will not go away. I think it may be the result of overheating. Any ideas on other cleaning methods to try before i consider sending it to spyderco, which i do not want to do. I can post pics when i get home, but it is not going to show much. Im not a photographer.

Supmonkeyface · Mar 25, 2010

Sounds like the steel was either mistreated and/or overheated during sharpening. You'll probably have to send it back and get a new one.

Send spyderco an email, or maybe they will respond here, as to what you should do.
Don't worry, spyderco will take care of you :thumbup:

FlaMtnBkr · Mar 25, 2010

A picture would probably help. If it is in the middle of the blade under the emblem I doubt it was over heating while grinding. Even if it was I don't know what Spyderco would do about it? It is still steel and is going to cut. I would just use it.

Not knowing how big an area it is it's hard to say but more than likely if it was over heated the material will be removed as you sharpen the knife up. Are you just considering sending it to Spyderco just to have it removed? I guess they could reprofile the tip or sharpen it and bring the edge back some. I think I would rather just work it out over time rather than remove metal that might not be necessary.

Did you buy it used or new?

Supmonkeyface · Mar 25, 2010

I'm suggesting that the heat treat may have been faulty and the heat from grinding could cause discoloration anyways.

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

FlaMtnBkr said:
A picture would probably help. If it is in the middle of the blade under the emblem I doubt it was over heating while grinding. Even if it was I don't know what Spyderco would do about it? It is still steel and is going to cut. I would just use it.

Not knowing how big an area it is it's hard to say but more than likely if it was over heated the material will be removed as you sharpen the knife up. Are you just considering sending it to Spyderco just to have it removed? I guess they could reprofile the tip or sharpen it and bring the edge back some. I think I would rather just work it out over time rather than remove metal that might not be necessary.

Did you buy it used or new?

new from knifecenter. It is actually quite large an area that basically covers the width of the blade. The only area on the edge that is discolored is on the tip and that is why i think it may be overheating.

Normally i would just use the crap out of it, but i bought it specifically as a collector.

Smash05 · Mar 25, 2010

Return it to Knifecenter, they have great service. They should be cool with sending you a new one.

ElGuapo · Mar 25, 2010

I just got a G-10 Foliage Green Delica with similar discoloring. Mine had a blue spot below the Spydie hole on the non logo side. On the logo side of the blade it was more than a spot. The blue ran almost 1 1/4" up the length of the cutting edge. To me it appears that it may have been overheated during buffing and sharpening. I tried WD-40 on a rag with some elbow grease to no avail. I tried to take some pic's but I couldn't get the lighting right to show the discoloring.

I thought about keeping it since it's going to be an EDC but I just couldn't get over how much I paid for it and it not being right. It's on the way back to the retailer for an exchange.

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

ElGuapo said:
I just got a G-10 Foliage Green Delica with similar discoloring. Mine had a blue spot below the Spydie hole on the non logo side. On the logo side of the blade it was more than a spot. The blue ran almost 1 1/4" up the length of the cutting edge. To me it appears that it may have been overheated during buffing and sharpening. I tried WD-40 on a rag with some elbow grease to no avail. I tried to take some pic's but I couldn't get the lighting right to show the discoloring.

I thought about keeping it since it's going to be an EDC but I just couldn't get over how much I paid for it and it not being right. It's on the way back to the retailer for an exchange.

I cant get over it either, but i hate being the guy who sends stuff back. I have actually never returned anything in my life. I also had a hard time getting the coloration to show in photos, especially since it can only be seen at certain angles.

ElGuapo · Mar 25, 2010

Talk about a buzz killer!
I was excited about opening the box on my new EDC. I drop it out of the plastic sleeve and the first thing that comes to mind is, OH C**P!
I did the same thing too with the camera. You just couldn't see the discoloration in the pic's.

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

Smash05 said:
Return it to Knifecenter, they have great service. They should be cool with sending you a new one.

I haven't looked at their return policy, but it has most likely been too long for a return. Most states consider holding on to a purchase more than a week or two finalization of a sale.

ElGuapo · Mar 25, 2010

I'm not sure about that.

My Delica wasn't from Knifecenter. But I have bought from them before. In fact I just got an Endura in G-10 from KC. Which is why I wanted the Delica. I went with a different vendor to save a few bucks. It was someone I have done business with before and he's going to take care of me.

I would contact Knifecenter right away. They've been around a while, they will probably help you. Let us know how it works out.

spoonrobot · Mar 25, 2010

Usually you can polish out discoloration. I had severe dark spots on a VG10 blade that were easily removed by some Aluminum Wheel polish (available at Wal-Mart sold under the Mother's brand name) on a Q-tip and rubbed back and forth for a bit. It doesn't seem to affect the finish of the knife either.

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

ok got some decent shots of the issue

really hard to see the small discoloration on the tip

jnich005 · Mar 25, 2010

spoonrobot said:
Usually you can polish out discoloration. I had severe dark spots on a VG10 blade that were easily removed by some Aluminum Wheel polish (available at Wal-Mart sold under the Mother's brand name) on a Q-tip and rubbed back and forth for a bit. It doesn't seem to affect the finish of the knife either.

I've got some in my garage. Will give it a try, thanks a bunch. I'd rather clean it up myself then anything.

RevDevil · Mar 25, 2010

I'm in the same boat. I just got the Superhawk today - beautiful knife. Same discoloring, except mine is whitish-foggy almost. I'm not concerned too bad, I will clean it up with some mothers and see how it turns out. Super fine grit rubbing compount works really well too.

jabba359 · Mar 26, 2010

I've got the same black discoloration on the blade by the spyderhole of my Superhawk as well. While it was annoying at first for such an expensive knife (I'm kind of OCD), I don't notice it now and after EDCing it for the last month, haven't seen any performance degradation because of it. If you're keeping it as a collector, then I'd contact the retailer for a replacement (they can inspect the new one for you before sending it out). If it's a user, then just keep it and use it, as the black marks make me feel less bad about using my shiny new knife.

FlaMtnBkr · Mar 26, 2010

jnich005 said:
ok got some decent shots of the issue

really hard to see the small discoloration on the tip

I'm not sure exactly what that is but it doesn't look like any over heating discoloration I have ever seen. All there has to be is some sort of layer a micron thick and it will distort the light enough to produce a color. It could be oxidation, oil, or some chemical.

I would try some sort of polish which would take off anything on the knife with a little work. For a collector it doesn't look great but I doubt it would affect performance at all.

clockman · Mar 26, 2010

Im almost positive that KC has a 30 day return policy as long as the knife

is returned in the same condition in the same condition as you received it.

Id call them to make sure.

jnich005 · Mar 26, 2010

Spoonrobot,
I tried the mothers and it worked great!! Thanks for the help, i would have never thought to use that polish even though i have tons of it. There is still a light spot that needs more work but almost all gone now.