Toying with new belt/hand rubbed finish combo, UPDATED

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
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Well, I'm sure it has been done before but this is a first for me. I was finishing this little Drop Top over the last few days and had decided I wanted to do a hand rubbed satin finish on it. I was liking the way it was looking but I thought that the swedge had disappeared into the blade a little too much for my taste so I took it back to the grinder and put a vertical belt finish back on the swedge but left the rest hand rubbed. It looks a little different than what i see most of the time but I kind of like it. I think I'm going to keep it this way and put some handles on this one.

What do you guys think?

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Hey Jon,

I can't decide if it looks like you forgot to finish the swedge, or if it is a genius move to provide contrast. Maybe in person I would be more sure, but it looks cool in the picture, anyway. I wonder how it would look with a mirror polish on the swedge only:eek:

One of the makers here probably has a stronger sense of it than me. Nice knife.

EA
 
Contrast can make a blade more interesting overall. You could take it a step farther and take it too 600. Either way it adds contrast.

I enjoy the fact that you are trying different looks with your blades. It makes the whole process more enjoyable and that should be the focus

Fred
 
Do you use a guide to help keep the sanding lines straight? I have found it helps when hand sanding.
 
looks good jon. just out of curiosity try what alb1k said and put a mirror finish on the swedge. i have done similar things to blades playing around and some of it looks good.
 
Personally, I think that unless you're standing there to explain to everyone who looks at the knife that you did that on purpose, most people will think you just didn't finish it out.

I understand the desire to keep things crisp!!! But to me that just means getting the grinding/finish work figured out so that they stay crisp- not stopping short. I know that's not your intention, but I think that's how many folks would see it. :)
 
I would like it because I like contrast BUT , you sanded out your main bevel grind line and that for some reason makes it look strange to me . Because of that you have lost the visual of 2 crisp grind lines . Just for fun , do a drawing and raise your plunge line up and even with the swedge line . Just a thought .
 
richard j said:
looks good jon. just out of curiosity try what alb1k said and put a mirror finish on the swedge.
Click to expand...

That might be cool. As it is it just looks like you didn't bother to finish the swedge. Then again if you mirror the swedge it might look like you forgot to mirror the main bevel :confused:

I've tried vert scratch patterns on a ricasso and normal horizontal on the rest (same grit for both) and that didn't look right either. How about hand-satin on the swedge, mask it off and powdercoat or ceracote the rest?
 
you could have 3 different contrasting surfaces. make your flat a satin going in line with the blade. that would look cool.

the knife in my avitar has a satin finish on the bevel running from the top of the bevel to the edge. the flat along the spine up to the edge of the bevel has a satin finish running in line with the blade.

if you like a coated blade you could try something like what i did to this ratmandu. the blade came to me coated and i stripped the bevels and left the flats coated. the owner liked it and that is how it stayed. i always wanted to do a knife up that way. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=819486
 
Hmmm, lots of good points made here. I see how the primary bevel is lost with the satin. Nick, you are definitely the gestapo as far as finishing goes! I don't mean that in a bad way, but I definitely expected that response from you. Lots of guys here have been at this a lot longer than I have, so what is obvious to some is still fairly new territory for me. I've been using and collecting knives for nearly my entire life, but making them is a whole different ball game. The comments about the swedge looking unfinished because of the contrast never occurred to me before, so that's why I like getting this feedback. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'll change it on this one:D So it looks unfinished to some, and believe me Nick I respect your opinion very much, but I don't see why I can't finish the knife this way and see what happens....... I'm not an overly radical guy when it comes to design and finish, but why not try it out? If I put it up for sale and nobody wants it then I've learned a lesson, but I'll never know personally if it appeals to anyone else if I don't try.

I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel here, just learn for myself through my own trial and error. Thanks for the feedback guys!!
 
Okay, after looking at this blade for some time, I really don't like the loss of distinct grind lines. I know that I need more practice doing a hand rubbed finish that keeps lines in tact, so for the moment, I went back and re-ground the main bevel as well. Now I have a nice belt finish on the bevel and the swedge with a 600 grit hand rubbed finish on the flats. I'm happy with this one now.......I think:D

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Yeah, I like it much better now. It looks crisp and clean and there's no doubt the contrasting finishes are intentional. Cool!

Earlier, i mentioned that I'd tried a vert/horizontal combo and didn't like it, but that was on a full-flat, and the vert was on the ricasso. With your saber grind, the ricasso/flat reaching along the blade with a horizontal pattern adds flow. :thumbup:
 
I'm no critic but I think the final finsh makes it look a lot more serious. Nice grinding, what kind of handle material are you going to use?
 
I like it a lot with both the grind and swedge belt finished. But then, I go for contrast.
 
I really like hand-rubbed finishes but your belt finish knives are always so crisp and clean. I'd love to see more of both :D
 
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