What's your favorite blade finish?

Brushed finish gets my vote. It's too bad knife makers don't sand their knives parallel to the blade. This would put an end to sheath scratches.
 
I'm not a big fan of highly-buffed mirror-polished blades. That's just a matter of aesthetic opinion; I have no real "reason" for it.

I very much prefer a fine, hand-rubbed finish at 2000 grit or higher, even on "using" knives (which is pretty much all I make). No matter what steel, a very fine hand finish resists corrosion well and just plain looks good to my eye. The knives I make for myself are finished that way. I do not care a whit if minor scratches from use become evident.

However, most of my clients neither give a hoot about a really fine hand-rubbed finish or are willing to pay me extra to provide it. So I have come to appreciate and embrace "machine satin" finishes applied with a 400 or 600-grit belt followed with a fine Scotchbrite belt. That seems to work very well for using knives; it's clean and fairly smooth, but it also "hides" scratches from use, and a person is not afraid to take a scrubbie pad to it when it gets gunked up.

Another way is a "basic" hand-rubbed finish; most handmade/custom knifemakers bring that to about 400/600-grit. That also looks good, "hides" use, and is easy to maintain. I've sold more 600-grit hand-rubbed knives than any other finish style.

To me, stonewashed/tumbled blades absolutely reek of mass-production. It's tied for being the easiest/cheapest way to "finish" a lot of blades real fast. (The other cheap/easy way being, rough grind 'em and powdercoat 'em.) There's nothing particularly wrong with that, it's just not what I prefer. There's no question that a good tumbled finish looks nice and holds up very well through a lot of use.
 
Last edited:
Most of mine are stonewashed, a few are satin and I've got some coated and polished.
But my favorite blade finish, is the one with a sharp edge on it.
 
hermit dave said:
Brushed finish gets my vote. It's too bad knife makers don't sand their knives parallel to the blade. This would put an end to sheath scratches.
Click to expand...

They used to do that.

DSC_2360b_zpskogqlmeb.jpg



Back to the question- I like satin or hand rubbed finishes the best. I like to see the crisp grind lines. I have some custom knives with nice polish jobs that I like. I don't particularly care for stonewashed finishes, it seems that is what you do to hide bad grind lines. My least favorite finish is bead blasting.
 
Nothing beats a hand rubbed mirror finish on a custom knife.I just really appreciate all the work that goes into it.

On production knives I like satin,stonewashed & brushed ;in that order.
 
I have an XM-24 Spanto that looks like someone took a standard stonewashed finish and partially polished it. They did this to both the titanium and the blade. It still looks stonewashed but is shinier and smoother than a standard stonewashed finish. The feel is so smooth and slick it almost feels like it's been waxed. I really love the way it looks and feels. I don't think it came that way from hinderer, wish I knew how it was done.
 
james terrio said:
I'm not a big fan of highly-buffed mirror-polished blades. That's just a matter of aesthetic opinion; I have no real "reason" for it.

I very much prefer a fine, hand-rubbed finish at 2000 grit or higher, even on "using" knives (which is pretty much all I make). No matter what steel, a very fine hand finish resists corrosion well and just plain looks good to my eye. The knives I make for myself are finished that way. I do not care a whit if minor scratches from use become evident.

However, most of my clients neither give a hoot about a really fine hand-rubbed finish or are willing to pay me extra to provide it. So I have come to appreciate and embrace "machine satin" finishes applied with a 400 or 600-grit belt followed with a fine Scotchbrite belt. That seems to work very well for using knives; it's clean and fairly smooth, but it also "hides" scratches from use, and a person is not afraid to take a scrubbie pad to it when it gets gunked up.

Another way is a "basic" hand-rubbed finish; most handmade/custom knifemakers bring that to about 400/600-grit. That also looks good, "hides" use, and is easy to maintain. I've sold more 600-grit hand-rubbed knives than any other finish style.

To me, stonewashed/tumbled blades absolutely reek of mass-production. It's tied for being the easiest/cheapest way to "finish" a lot of blades real fast. (The other cheap/easy way being, rough grind 'em and powdercoat 'em.) There's nothing particularly wrong with that, it's just not what I prefer. There's no question that a good tumbled finish looks nice and holds up very well through a lot of use.
Click to expand...

Can we get some pics of the finishes you've created, please :D
 
What does oxidized finish look like? Is that the one where the steel almost looks slightly anodized or patinaed?
 
Satin or stone wash type finishes for me.

I would probably not take coated knives even if free.
 
My fav. is a really uniform stonewash as seen on many Shirogorovs. But this type does show wear. My "go to" will always be a more random stonewash as seen on CRKs and Hinderers.
 
I think Emerson's stonewash is impeccable. It almost has a jeweled appearance to it. Also there is just something about Burt Foster' s laminates. The way the dark core jumps out against the bright outer layers is stunning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top