You ask god questions Caden. And make a few good points. With that said, let me say that we disagree. Take your statement on the old movies for instance. Yes the shiny blades may look out of place in an old western, but why. We see the real things in museums, or in collections. Not shinny at all are they. So we see the blades in the movies as wrong. Or FAKE,. But hold the phone. Are we really thinking things through? The weapons in the movies are portrayed as what was used at the time. Or at least should be. You know Hollywood. But if you were able to actually able to go back in time, you would indeed see plenty of shiny fully polished blades. The blades from Toledo were, and are famous for it. They have been doing it for centuries. As have the higher end blades form Sheffield England, and Solingen Germany. These are just a few examples. There were fine blades from other places as well. Will an finch,(Spell?) and Michael Price for instance. It is the movie makers attempt to make things look rustic and period that has led us to believe that all things in the past were dark, crude, and dingy. If anything, many items were more opulent than today. Especially in weaponry. Guns are a great example. ever look at the weapons of the German upper class sportsmen from a century or more ago. Beautiful works of art.
Now for the why. If done with skilled hands, the full polish is very striking. And shows the skill of the grinds and finish. I remain convinced that one of the biggest reasons that the makers adore the satin hand rubbed finish is that it hides very effusively the ripples, and waves of a less than perfectly ground blade. Especially on a flat ground blade. A full mirror own a flat ground blade will show a ripple like a spot light. Why put your self in that spot light? The ABS has gone crazy with this. It is much more popular now than the past. Even using the knives of the last century were never polished routine. Well, they were. It is a dodge. Take a look right now at different knives posted of top makers work right here on the forum. Pay close attention to the point for instance. You will see the points rounded, or nubbed off in an attempt to blend the rubbed finish. To me this looks very amateurish. All lines want to be crisp and well defines. Even the point of the knife. Some would say especially the point.
Are there advantages to the mirror. Yes. When you fully polish, you not only shine the surface, you also burnish the surface. This seals the surface structure of the steel. Much like painting a car. Is it like cheap chrome plating. No. When ask if I chrome the blades, it isn't a compliment to me. Chrome plating is a cheap, no talent way of hiding the flaws in a metal. But it does protect it. Even in the old days, no one wanted one of the cheaply made chrome plated guns. If it was to be bright, and more resistant to rust, the better quality firearms used Nickle Not chrome. (Don't confuse chrome plating with industrial hard chrome, Completely different animals). The burnished surface does away with stress risers that weaken the blade. It will not scratch as easily as a satin finish. With the scratches left by the hand rubbing all flow in one direction, any scratch or mar will instantly show even more that on a mirrored blade.
The high finish has fallen out of favor with many collectors. But few know the why of it. There is a rather large market for forged blades. As this has grown, we see more and more flat ground blades.( I won't get into the flat hollow thing right now. ) Hammons have become popular again. Yes again. They aren't anything new. Just revived. There are two major ways of doing a differently heat treated blade. One is the differently hardened. The other is the differently tempered. I doubt if most collectors of even uses know the difference. But it is a huge one. One is a work of the cutlers art. The other. well. We wont go into that either. If you hand rub the blade on these, one will give different colors of the steel. So you get to see the hammod. Good news. If you try polishing these blades, you are in for a disappointment. The edge will be very bright. The rest of the blade will be much duller in appearance. With one of the methods of heat treating, the flat of the blade will become quite ugly. full of pits, and waves. Showing the true nature of the steel. The hardened edge will at times even stand proud of the rest of the blade. The hand rubbed blade can hide all these truths. Not what the maker has in mind at all. Just trick of the trade folks. When you have been at it for as long as I have, you learn where a few of the bodies are buried.
But seriousy. It just looks good and anything that Simichrome won't cure would be visible in a 400-600 grit finish too.
