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5:56 am
NWBA Member
March 22, 2011
Offline
Hello all, hope the holiday season is treating you well.
I'm almost finished with my first knife, but have some questions about final etching before gluing the grip on. I polished to a near mirror finish to 1000 grit, washed the blade, air dried then soaked in vinegar for about 6 hours while at work. Got home to a nice black blade, neutralized with baking soda, rinsed oxide off while rubbing with fingers, and had a really dark, pattern like shown in the picture, only very uniform. I wanted a sharper contrast, so I gave each flat a few swipes with a hardened and polished block of 4140 and 2000 grit wet/dry paper. the pattern got really washed out and looked mottled and awful, so I re washed, re-etched for a few hours in the vinegar and after neutralizing and rinsing with mu fingers, here's where I am, afraid to go further and washing out the pattern again. Notice almost no etching on the guard..
Any suggestions?
Thank you
as always
peace and love
billyO
8:32 am
NWBA Member
December 27, 2014
Offline
Well, my opinion is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. With my last knife, which I tried Damascus with, it is very hard to tell the pattern. It's most likely the steel I used, a bunch of unknown carbon steels, but I'm not too worried since it's my first try.
That knife there looks great, I'm not gonna lie. The design is quite noticeable, and it's certainly not a failure of any kind. If you're worried about the pattern still, I don't think you should be. This is your first knife, as you said, so I say be happy with how nice it turned out! However, if you want to try a better contrast still, there are sandpaper grits like 5000 that would probably be better for that if 2000 didn't work. Perhaps you could test it on the spine of the blade before going on the flats.
My Youtube channel: Cave of Skarzs
Just having some fun messing around with whatever I have a mind to do.
9:54 pm
NWBA Member
June 8, 2010
Offline
Hey Billy:
I think the blade looks great! Did you forge the damascus? If you want help fixing this, I would suggest you contact Dave Lisch or Martin Brandt... Both great knife makers... I do agree with Morgan... If it ain't broke, don't fix it...
Lynn
6:03 am
NWBA Member
March 22, 2011
Offline
Hi Lynn and Morgan, thanks for the input. I hear you, but it IS broke if it isn't turning out like it should/could. I'm re-etching using ferric chloride instead of vinegar (not currently, after the holiday) and we'll see how that works.
Lynn- yes, I forged the billet. Started as 22 layers of 1095/15N20 (1095 is from Pop's Knife supplies and the 15N20 is some bandsaw blade from one of the mills in Morton) welded, drawn out, and cut into 5 pieces, then repeated but cut into 4 pieces and re welded for about 440 layers.
as always
peace and love
billyO
8:46 pm
NWBA Member
March 22, 2011
Offline
Hello all, this took longer than I planned, but finally finished it up this weekend.
The handle is some spalted maple off my property, stabilized by K&G with ebony and bloodwood accents (unstabilized blocks off the same tree under the knife). Handle was sanded to 5000 grit and wiped down with some citrus paste wax I had.
I learned a lot, and hopefully the next one won't take quite so long.
as always
peace and love
billyO
9:19 am
NWBA Member
December 27, 2014
Offline
Lovely!
My Youtube channel: Cave of Skarzs
Just having some fun messing around with whatever I have a mind to do.
10:03 pm
May 21, 2015
Offline
I have to agree, I like the look of the blade. Are you wanting more contrast? More pop?
9:37 pm
NWBA Member
July 28, 2010
Offline
How'd you find working with the bloodwood? I used to make some bloodwood knife handles and self nocks for arrows. I kept getting sick (years before taking up blacksmithing and thinking of respirators for exotic woods). Eventually I came to the conclusion that it was the wood making me sick. I was getting upper respiratory infections (or at least symptoms of) every time I worked it. I really loved the looks though. I'd make a single self nock and get sick, make a knife handle and get sick, handle the wood and get sick, etc. Each time worse then the other. A friend has the knife I gave him for 15-20 years now with a bloodwood handle and loves it. Yet the last time I touched the untreated wood I got sick.
8:07 am
NWBA Member
December 27, 2014
Offline
I've worked with bloodwood, and the only problem I had was sneezing due to the fine dust. You're not the only person allergic to woods, though, Rashelle. There was some fellow who was allergic to ebony (which he found out while working with it the first time).
My Youtube channel: Cave of Skarzs
Just having some fun messing around with whatever I have a mind to do.
5:02 pm
NWBA Member
March 22, 2011
Offline
Hi Rashelle, sorry to hear about your troubles, but I didn't notice any problems. To be honest, I don't work with it enough to have any opinions/advice. I was given a few pieces by a friend who obtained them from an uncle who was a luthier IIRC, so all I did was cut a small piece out of some of the thin stock, drilled and filed the hole for the tang, glued it to the ebony, and did the shaping on my grinder, and I have a shop vac hose positioned to suck up a majority of the dust when grinding and was using a good dust mask.respirator. Don't remember any reactions with my fingers, but to be honest didn't
as always
peace and love
billyO
11:03 pm
NWBA Member
July 28, 2010
Offline
Hi BillyO. It was years ago. At a time when I did not give any thought to respirators or anything for working with wood. In spite of work use of them. It never occurred to me to use gloves and dust mask. The knife handles were beautiful though. If I was to work it again it would be with proper PPE. When I worked it before it seemed to be cumulatively worse each time. I think I had something like a 8' 2"x10" that I gave away. Makes very beautiful things. I figured it must be one of the mildy toxic woods and was not for me to mess with any more.
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