Deer Antler Stained & Filed Knife...Done Deal-Finally Decided on Finish

[tippit]

Just finished forging and fitting this 9 1/2 OAL, 6 1/2 blade knife.  Grind is Scotch Guard finished ready to be quenched, tempered, and final fitting with a hand sanded blade. This one I'll let patina on it's own time rather than stain the blade. I really like the feel of this knife in the hand...tippit

[G. Elsenbeck]

Like the shape of the blade, looks like it would be a good camp knife. 

[tippit]

I just quenched the blade and it is in the oven tempering...But now I'm undecided if I like the gray vs shinny blade?? I would still hand sand the blade once it comes out of the oven and then probably Tea Stain it??

[Greg Pennell]

I like the look of it just like it is, but that’s just me. I’d sharpen it and use the $#@* out of it...it looks like a very versatile blade, especially for food prep chores.

Greg

[smallpatch]

Me too!

[jrb]

nice knife imo from Hershel House era through today. as to before that , we could squable and argue til  the cows come home and probably never be proven right.  with total respect , i'll stay with what archaeology "seems" to show to me.

[Dave Marsh]

Hopefully not stealing your thread but I have a knife in process and have bone scales on it from Crazy Crow.  I have a lot of filing left to do as I just finished a pewter bolster pour.  I have attached a picture.  The dot in the middle of the bolster is an air bubble hole that the filing will take care of.  I was looking for suggestions for staining it and the tea stain comments you have mentioned prompted this post.  How do you do it?  What kind of tea stain is it?  Do you think it will work on my knife?  Opinions wanted.  Thanks.  Dave

[tippit]

Dave
The bone looks pretty shinny.  Is there any finish on it?  If so I'd sand with maybe 320 grit.  Just plain cheap tea.  I usually add 4-5 bags to a quart and leave in the sun.  Put your whole knife in.  The bone will stain, the pewter will dull as well as the blade.  If you want it darker add a little vinegar (apple cider). Keep checking color change every so often until you like it.

[Dave Marsh]

Thanks.  Must be the picture as I have all ready used a file on it but do intend to take it down to 320 grit after I get everything shaped and even.  Think I will try the tea.  Sure sounds easy. 

Dave

[P.W.Berkuta]

Just finished forging and fitting this 9 1/2 OAL, 6 1/2 blade knife.  Grind is Scotch Guard finished ready to be quenched, tempered, and final fitting with a hand sanded blade. This one I'll let patina on it's own time rather than stain the blade. I really like the feel of this knife in the hand...tippit

I like this knife with the shinny blade as it's color contrast the handle MUCH better then the dark color after the oven heat treatment. The over all look of this knife is very appealing to me and the bright blade makes it even better. One question -- what is a Scotch Guard Finish or am I reading it wrong ?

[tippit]

P.W.
I grind my knives with a KMG grinder that uses 2X72 inch belts.  You can get any sanding grit belts plus belts that are like Brillo pads...Scotch Guard.  They will put a scrubbed look on the steel.  They clean up grinding marks quickly. They also make a nice even finish before hand sanding.

[Elnathan]

I used tea to stain a bone bracer and discovered that it got very dark very quickly - it ended up looking like it came out of the La Brea Tar Pits. I didn't like the result end ended up sanding it all off (not to difficult, as it turned out) and just hit it with beeswax, which resulted in a mellow slightly honey-colored off-white rather than a deep brown.

[tippit]

I hand sanded the blade to a nice satin finish.  I'm finally happy with the look of my knife...tippit

[G. Elsenbeck]

Now I like that look!  Good job.

[P.W.Berkuta]

P.W.
I grind my knives with a KMG grinder that uses 2X72 inch belts.  You can get any sanding grit belts plus belts that are like Brillo pads...Scotch Guard.  They will put a scrubbed look on the steel.  They clean up grinding marks quickly. They also make a nice even finish before hand sanding.

I am very familiar with the KMG grinder from Beaumont Metals as I have one also - I must get one of those belts. I use a 2"X72" leather belt loaded with abrasive grit to get the blended look at the moment . I think the term is Scotch Brite not Scotch Guard belt - Scotch-Brite Surface Conditioning Belt, 72" Length x 2" Width, Medium, Maroon - as listed on Amazon

[tippit]

P.W.
My bad...yes you are correct.  I use the maroon and the gray Scotch-Brite belts.  I forge to near finish. Then I'll grind a a forged knife with an aggressive 36 grit-120 grit-220 grit.  Finally I'll use one of the Scotch-Brite belts if I want a quick finish or I'll hand sand 120 grit-280 grit-320 grit.  It takes me about 15 minutes to grind a forged knife.  Much longer to hand sand, that's where the Scotch Brite belts work so well on a working knife...your done grinding in 15 minutes.  My personal working knives don't have handles so I don't need a hand sanded finish. Plus they are easy to bring back a bright finish on a used knife.

Just looked up Scotch Brite belts on Amazon.  They had them priced for $35 ea!  Look up Pops Knife Supply if you are going to buy...$17 ea.

What do you use the leather belt with abrasives for?

[P.W.Berkuta]

P.W.
My bad...yes you are correct.  I use the maroon and the gray Scotch-Brite belts.  I forge to near finish. Then I'll grind a a forged knife with an aggressive 36 grit-120 grit-220 grit.  Finally I'll use one of the Scotch-Brite belts if I want a quick finish or I'll hand sand 120 grit-280 grit-320 grit.  It takes me about 15 minutes to grind a forged knife.  Much longer to hand sand, that's where the Scotch Brite belts work so well on a working knife...your done grinding in 15 minutes.  My personal working knives don't have handles so I don't need a hand sanded finish. Plus they are easy to bring back a bright finish on a used knife.

Just looked up Scotch Brite belts on Amazon.  They had them priced for $35 ea!  Look up Pops Knife Supply if you are going to buy...$17 ea.

What do you use the leather belt with abrasives for?
Thanks for the Scotch-Brite belt info - I will be looking up Pop's Knife Supply for that belt . I use the leather belt for blending and final edge stropping but care must be taken not to round over the edge. I don't use it on all knife edge profiles.

[tippit]

Nice...do you have/use a Rotary Platen Attachment? That's my final shaping for a convex edge.

[P.W.Berkuta]

No - I don't have one of those but I can see where it could be useful especially on thin bladed knives. Most of the knives I make are from 1/8" or thicker steel.

[tippit]

Nice knives...are your blades stock removal? Do you use.pre-formed blank blades? Your grinding looks superb.
My grinding is all free hand. I could never get used to using a table/platform on my KMG. I even have a disc grinder that I never use...tippit

[P.W.Berkuta]

All my blades are made from 0-1 and I use the stock removal method. No preformed blade blanks here. I buy my 0-1 in flat ground stock and cut it out with a metal cutting bandsaw. My first hand made knife was 1/4" thick by 2" wide with a 5" long blade using 0-1 steel in 1968 using a hack saw and files I still have that knife (attached picture - dark spot on blade is a shadow). I made only one blade from 440-C and never again. All my grinding is free hand and I do all my own hardening and tempering in my home built propane forge.