Want to knock that high gloss off of your blade?

warty

warty

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For most of the blades I intend for really hard use, I prefer what would be more of a "Villager" finish over the high gloss finish many come with from the Kamis. Above you can see the Parang I recently bought, on the top it is as it came from HI mostly (I had used it a bit prior to the picture so there are already a few scratches) and below you can see the more satin appearance it has now as well as the way I did the deed. I used a Scotch Brite pad, the non-sponge side, and I then simply went along the blade with it in a single direction until I had the look I was after. This took me about a half an hour.

I find this method to be the best. Much better than using sand paper of any grit because the Scotch Brite is the right hardness and "grit" size, easy on the hand and easy to grip and use plus they are cheap. It doesn't really take much force either, you just press it down into the blade and make sure you only go in one direction. If you go in swirls or back and forth, I have found it makes it a lot less attractive looking but it will still knock the shine off of the blade. Try to keep your strokes parallel to one edge or the other to make it look best, on the Parang I went with the top. Don't stress out on making it perfectly parallel. This variation is what will make the satin look you are after but do try to stay in the one direction and do try to stay relatively parallel as you work.

This is an easy way to make your blades look great and you can stop stressing out about them getting a scratch on them once you have done this to them. Of course some of my showier blades remain High Gloss and I can maintain those as well if they get scratched but that is another thread. Hope this is helpful.
 
I use the same method, also works to restore a brushed finish on my watches. Scotch-Brite is a wonderful thing.


Edit: I really like the look of the brushed finish on that Parang!
 
Nice little tutorial. I like how your Parang turned out.
 
I did the same with my M-43, but now it's so stained and patinaed that you can't tell. I need to enquire about one of those parangs. I had forgotten the blasted thing again till I saw this thread. Cyn's reading over my shoulder and is cursing you and your descendents unto the eighth generation for reminding me of it.
 
fine, I am singe and have no descendants to any generation beyond mine. :)
 
warty said:
fine, I am singe and have no descendants to any generation beyond mine. :)
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Looks like you'll bear the brunt of the curse all by yourself then.

matilda said:
Carolina River Rat, your Cyn and my Syl have a lot in common!!
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Similar names and all. I can actually hear her calculating bank balances as soon as I log onto Forums. What makes it worse is that she's right; I don't need anymore sharp things or things that go boom. The flipside of that argument is that she doesn't need anymore shoes or purses. She disagrees of course.
 
Great tip Warty, that blade looks great. I've used the brown brillo pads for a similar effect, just more satiny (satinish....satin like? meh, something like that). In fact, it's the same technique Freedom Arms uses to finish off their premier grade revolvers.
 
I tried the Brillo method on my M-43 over the weekend and didn't have much luck. The cheapo blue scrub pad/sponges don't get the job done. I'll try to find brown scrubbies next time I'm at the grocery store. I wish I still had access to the bead blaster at my old job, as it would leave the exact finish I'm wanting for my big blade...
 
I spent some time doing this with a green scrubber like the one pictured, and then tried a brown version which did the job so much quicker!
 
If it's going to be a user, I just start using it. Then when the day is over out comes the scotch brite pad (or a cheap knock off) for a quick clean up of the blade. After a while the effect on the finish is pretty much the same as an initial dedicated scrubbing gives.
 
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