Who can stonewash my Benchmade blade?

S

SuperDuty Steven

Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
83
I am looking for someone whom I can send the blade from my Benchmade Ares 730 and get it back with a stonewashed finish like that on my Microtech LCC. Who can do it and what does it cost?

Thanks,
Steven

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Steven Reiter,
Lewisville, Texas
 
Why not call Microtech and see if their custom shop will do it for you? REKAT is also the type of company that might be willing to do it.

Just a shot in the dark though. I'm pretty sure the equipment to do the stonewashing is really only used for that purpose so you may not find too many places that have one around.
 
Just thinking out loud, but if one knew someone that reloads thier own ammunition and has a vibrating "tumbler" (Example), it should be just a matter of getting the right media and you can "Stonewash" your own blade.

Any ideas guys.
 
Well I haven't been here on BF much of late..but cruisin thru tonite and saw your topic. I've often thought of stone polishing blades to take off the imperfections of age&use. Seems like a fairly forgiving finish. I really like the sw finish on the Sifu. Though I have both a small Thumler's Tumbler as well as large vibrating tumbler I did happen to purchase a large commercial duty tumbler unit. When I got it it had some rock/stone media already in it. Never did get around to trying the stone wash but guess I need to play with it. I'll try it on some crap blades first...will let you know how it works out.

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Only perfect practice makes perfect
 
My memory is jogged..... I've read an article on this somewhere....

It will take the edge off completely, and smooth many of the lines down....

As you said, best to try it on a (very) cheap knife the first time....

James

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My Home Page (writings)

The beast we are, lest the beast we become.
 
Stonewashed blades have thousands of little scratches all over them. I know it sounds strange, but it looks good
smile.gif


Knives that i'm aware of that come with this finish are REKAT and the Sebenza by Chris Reeve (Note, on the decorated versions, the hollow grind is polished).

That's off the top of my head, i'm sure there's more companies using this finish, but those are the two i've owned.

James

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My Home Page (writings)

The beast we are, lest the beast we become.
 
The Microtech LCC also has a Stonewashed option.

I think from a 1 foot distance or more the blade finish looks like galvanized steel.

It's also a very durable finish IMO, since the finish is made up of thousands of little scratches, when you get a scratch it does not show up very much.

[This message has been edited by cpirtle (edited 05-14-2001).]
 
The Benchmade 690 has a portion of the blade that appears to have a stone washed finish. It's the area around the thumb stud and the Benchmade butterfly logo.
 
Again, what is the difference between finishes? I know I sound kind of dumb, but can anyone tell me how to differentiate:
satin finish, bead blasted, etc.
I understand mirror finish: it is shiny like a mirror.

Thanks a bundle!
 
I wonder if you could tape over certain parts of the blade before tumbling it, would those parts not get stonewashed? The edge can be touched up afterwards, but the part of the tang where it interfaces the lock and the area around the pivot might suffer from being refinished. I don't know if masking tape would do it, or if electrical or duct tape would work better, but you don't want to enlarge or roughen up the pivot hole or lock interface, and the knife will open smoother if the whole area around the pivot is satin rather than stonewashed, I think.

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Jason aka medusaoblongata
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"Is not giving a need? Is not receiving mercy?" - Thus Spoke Zarathustra
"Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about." - Lazarus Long
"Knowledge is not made for understanding; it is made for cutting." - Michel Foucault
 
Chris -- I would describe the satin finish as one where the blade looks quite bright, but you can see the fine grinding lines all over the blade. The bead blast usually takes on a gray color. The smoothness of the bead blast varies quite a bit. The CRKT Apache bead blast is nearly rough. I don't mean it feels like it was never sanded, but it isn't slick at all. If you pinch the blade tightly between thumb and finger, then you will have trouble moving your fingers. They stick to where you're grabbing. This finish has probably the greatest potential to corrode, because of all the air/moisture pockets that exist on the surface of the blade.

The stonewash is a very bright finish, that has a very fine mottled appearance to it. As someone else wrote, you could liken it to scratches, but I'd say it is more like every extremely tiny portion of the blade has its own polish, lying in all directions everywhere. It is very smooth to the touch, as is the satin finish.

The REKAT Pioneers -- at least the older models have the stone wash finish. I really like it, and believe it helps the corrosion resistance of the blade, probably even more than the satin finish does, but probably not quite so much as the mirror finish.

Hope this helps.

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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
I stonewashed the titanium bolsters on my Microtech LCC.
I took them off the knife, bolted the bolsters together so the back sides wouldn't get worn and the edge that meets the liners would still be nice and straight. I also put a piece of double sided tape on the sides of the bolsters that make contact with the carbon fiber (I used double sided tape just because it was the stickiest tape I had).
Then I crushed up some glass into small pieces and filled up a 20oz plastic juice bottle halways with the glass, threw in the bolsters, filled it up with water and a drop of soap, closed it, wrapped it up in a towel, bound the outside with paracord, threw it into a drying machine, put in a quarter, set it on no heat, then left it and came back 20 minutes later.
It puts a stonewash finish on it, but I found the the scratches weren't as fine as those on the LCC's blade. The scratches were also longer in overall length. Not a bad finish, but doesn't quite match the blade.
I'm going to start experimenting with small chips of ceramic (I hear that's what microtech uses) instead of glass and I'd like to find somethign to vibrate the mix instead of tossing and turning it. I think that will get rid of the longer stonewash marks.
I'd go into more detail, but I'm too lazy to type
smile.gif


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~Fumbler
the crazied knife weilding Sarah McLachlan fan =)

[This message has been edited by Knife Fumbler (edited 06-13-2001).]
 
Now that I think about it, perhaps the finish doesn't quite match the blade because they're two different metals.
Titanium scratches much easier than steel so that could be a reason it's not as smooth as the blade.

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~Fumbler
the crazied knife weilding Sarah McLachlan fan =)
 
That's the most useful reply I've heard on this subject since I posted it last month.

Thanks.

Fumbler, I may try to duplicate your technique with very small pebbles instead.

At least you did yours in a laundromat. I will wish I had done so if I break a bottle in the dryer and my wife finds out...

I am going to try this with a cheap knife first.

Thanks again,
Steve

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Steven Reiter,
Lewisville, Texas
 
Hey Steve,

Fumbler used a PLASTIC juice bottle!
smile.gif


Just trying to keep you SAFE.
tongue.gif


Preventively yours,

Karl

P.S. If this stonewashing technique works, submit it to "Hints From Heloise" and maybe she'll put it in her column!

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"Celebrate the diversity of inclusive, self-esteem nurturing, multicultural weapons arts." Karl Spaulding, The Safety Guy

[This message has been edited by Safety Guy (edited 06-14-2001).]
 
Yes, I can read. But glass is sharp and pieces, even small, bouncing around in a thin plastic bottle could penetrate the bottle and make a bad mess. That's why I wish I could go to the laundromat.

Steve

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Steven Reiter,
Lewisville, Texas
 
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