knife finish question

[Brian Hochstrat]

One thing I have run into on my knife engraving, that I am not 100% sure on is the metal finish after doing the inlay. If I remember correctly Sam said 600 grit was as far as he would take it, David Broadwell also requests that stainless be taken no more than 600 to avoid getting a glare off of the metal. So the part that confuses me is that the interframes I have been doing are finished to 2000 grit. So my question is, how do you blend the two finishes? Do you allow the sides of the knife to have the 600 grit scratches and leave the top and bottom sides 2000? I guess what I am trying to find out is what is the right way to finish the metal?, to what grit?, and the best way to go about it? Brian

 

[ED DELORGE]

Hello Brian, There is not any thing wrong with engraving that is finished with a mirrow finish. I am not sure what kind of an inlay you mean , of course the glair is a bit of a problem. If your inlay is only a gold border they look nice polished to a high gloss. If you did not make the knife of course you have no control over the internals of the knife. But I would try to match the sides with the edges. There are plenty of Colt single actions that were engraved, polished to a high gloss then plated,that look beautiful. There is a good picture in the book Colt Engraving of a python engraved with bright nickle plating that is lovely. You might have to taylor what you put on the sides according to the polish that already exists.

Good Luck

Ed DeLorge

 

[Mike Cirelli]

My thoughts are if someone gave it to you to engrave they trust your judgement. You are the last to touch it and it's up to you to decide how it should be finished. If you think the finish put on by the maker is what you like, want or need then so be it, if not change it.

 

[Andy]

Brian,
I use a host of different finishes. Sometimes all on the same knife. The different finishes add textural contrast to the piece. On interframes I will often have a near mirror polish on the spine of the knife while utilizing a bead blast finish in some areas of the engraving and usually no more than 600 grit on the scroll areas. I've even used as coarse as a 400 grit on the scroll areas. If you've ever covered your engraving with a frosted tape you will see the engraving with less contrast and it will usually look rather good. The higher the finish the more contrast you will create between light and dark and the less appealing in my opinion. Ron Smith etches his scroll work with Ferric Chloride for an even duller contrast. It takes some experimenting do do well. I know Steve Lindsay will go to a real high finish and then bead blast the engraving with a real low pressure like 1 psi to knock the shine off. I've seen his engraving up close and I can tell you it looks great