Photos What do you guys (and gals) think?

AJR576

AJR576

Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
773
I wanted a more "refined" Les George VECP so I started out with a VECP that was already in excellent condition and... polished the titanium hardware, lightly sanded the blade with 800 grit wet/dry paper (in a swirling motion/frequently changing direction) and finished it with several polishings, slightly flared the lanyard hole and polished the inside, gave the scales/pocket clip a "hammered" satin look.

The action was already extremely smooth but I tried to make it even better by polishing around the pivot, washers, and blade area that contacts the washers...the action is like glass now.

There were several points in the process where I started to think "I made a mistake with taking this on" but now that I'm finished, I'm really happy with the results...

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Hickory n steel said:
Just curious, were you trying to simulate a tumbled finish on the blade ?
Click to expand...

Thanks to all, I appreciate the feedback.

With regards to the blade finish, I think it came out pretty cool. Depending on the lighting, it appears either slightly mirrored/polished or a bright/stonewashed finished.

I'll attach a few more pics a bit later in natural light so you can see the difference.
 
I like what you did with the frame, how did you get the hammered finish? The blade just looks scratched up to me, sorry to say.
 
I did a satin finish on the scales then used a medium polishing wheel at about 7000 RPMs and moved it back and forth in quick/short strokes to give it that appearance.

I understand what you're saying about the blade but that's basically what a stonewashed finish is...the lighting that I used for the above pics make the finish look a bit harsher than it really is...I originally started with a polished/mirror finish but wanted something that would hide use...here are some pics of the blade in natural light.

20180604_095945.jpg 20180604_100159.jpg
 
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Not my style of knife finish anymore, (shined up everything I could get my hands on from 2005-2008. :D) but you did an outstanding polishing job on your Les George
 
Stonewash finishes that I have don't have scratch lines like that on them, they are more random and hide usage marks very well.

But it doesn't matter because it's not my knife. You put a lot of work into it and you are happy with the results so at the end of the day, that's what counts!
 
I understand but the Les George VECP is such a quality piece, I wanted to give it an equally interesting/more "sophisticated" finish...plus many of my other folders have a very utilitarian look to them so I wanted something different...great thing is, if I get tired of it, I can always try something else :D
 
unwisefool said:
Stonewash finishes that I have don't have scratch lines like that on them, they are more random and hide usage marks very well.

But it doesn't matter because it's not my knife. You put a lot of work into it and you are happy with the results so at the end of the day, that's what counts!
Click to expand...

Again, I think it's more of the lighting that I used in the first set of pics which makes the finish look much more harsh. In normal lighting/in person it's much more subtle.

Regardless, I understand that not all are going to like everything.

Thanks again for the feedback.
 
If you ever decide to change it, maybe having polished flats and stone washed bevel might be neat. Or vice versa. The other pictures you put up of the blade make it look nicer.
 
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