Why hand rubbed finishes?

I wanted to add that I tend to hand rub because i precede it with draw filing. No matter what I do, I have found small inconsistencies in the flatness of a grind even when by all other accounts they look perfect. Draw filing shows me minute dips that i cannot find by any other means. Since i draw file lengthwise, I tend to follow it up with sanding lengthwise. If i had never started drawfiling, i'd never have known that my flat grinds arent truely flat....and even though the dips i catch were never even noticable to the naked eye (hidden by belt grind lines), i cant let them go!

(give it a try....you might be sadly surprised!)
 
to me a hand rubed finish just looks nicer
that said today ive been doing a ton of it and am bout half sick too bootboth with a cold and of hand rubbing (i need to get a few more belts im out of, fine grits)so i dont have to hand sand as much
 
Bruce Bump said:
The reason for the hand rubbed finish is when the blade is dirty and gets cleaned off the tendency is to wipe it down horizontally which would scatch the heck out of the vertical grind lines.
Click to expand...

Huh. Ya know, I think that's the first time I've ever heard that put forth as a reason for the horizontal finish.

In use, I get scratches in all directions, but really most of them are more like spine to edge rather than hilt to point. I mean, if you were just cutting something abrasive enough to scratch the blade when you wipe it down, chances are it probably scratched the blade while you were cutting it, too. and cutting goes edge to spine, unless you were thrusting. Same goes for little scratches from sharpening when ya try getting the edge thin as possible, and get one stroke a little too close to the stone. :D :eek:

Now, on the other hand, I do notice that a using knife that's pulled out of its sheath 100 times a day will tend to get those horizontal scratches from dirt in the sheath.
 
Bruce..I have found the a scotchbright belt wants to wash lines out when hollow grinding..how are you getting a dagger ground blade to stay crisp...I do all hollow grinds if I use a scotchbright belt it wants to go up and wash into my flats, I have to go back and to the flats on the platen to sharpen the seperation lines between the hollow bevels and the flats
Nathan
 
Houseknives said:
Bruce..I have found the a scotchbright belt wants to wash lines out when hollow grinding..how are you getting a dagger ground blade to stay crisp...I do all hollow grinds if I use a scotchbright belt it wants to go up and wash into my flats, I have to go back and to the flats on the platen to sharpen the seperation lines between the hollow bevels and the flats
Nathan
Click to expand...

Hi Nathan
It only takes a couple passes with the scotchbrite belt. My belt is pretty thin and worn out as Ive had it for about 10 years. Maybe yours is still thick and aggressive. I see no problem going back on the flats to remove the fuzzy edges but its a pain if the handle is already in place. Thats another good reason to use removable handle scales.
 
I feel a hand-rubbed finish is the finest finish that can be put on a hand-made knife. Period.

A machine finish will always look like just that. Which is not a bad thing, it certainly has its place.

A carefully applied hand rubbed satin finish will NOT wash out grind lines.

In my not so very humble opinion I think it's a fairly rare thing to see a super clean hand-sanded finish. This could be the reason some people don't care for it. But if you're looking at a collection quality piece, it should have a PRISTINE hand done finish on the blade... :)

I could have just said "ditto" to my good friend Fitz :D
 
Bruce I don't use the scotch brite belts much so it is thick..I do hand rubbed myself I think it looks better and shows a little extra effort on the makers part....I do think a machine finish has it place on super hard working knives that are going to see alot of abuse I think a good high scotch brite belts finish is nice looking..it blends well if done right and make a nice workeing finish
 
Well, honestly I hand rub my blades because I'm not happy with the machine finish I am capable of. I don't like how my knives turn out if I don't hand rub them. If I was able to put a good machine finish I might do it sometimes.
 
The same look as hand rubbed is often done with a belt grinder and a modification of the platen and slow speed. Some go beyond that with maybe a few strokes without the machine. You can even make yourself a flat to work on to do the same thing with very little effort because most of the work is already done on the grinder. It is all about how much time and to what degree of polishing in either case flat or hollow. A person can spend a long time on either one or shorten that time with machines. I have invested thousands of $$$ in such equipment. I have about a dozen grinders and that many forges as well. Just because the lines are running parallel with the blade doesn't mean that knife was totally finished by hand rubbing. I'm sure that some are. Same thing with some knives, they are made with a file and not a power grinder. Sometimes folks only tell what they want you to know but not all they know.
Ramsey "I've been to Texas too"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top