polished or not?

[Everything Mac]

Hi all - just been working on an old friend, my first 01 knife, and it got me thinking.

Do you keep your blades polished? - this one as seen a lot of use and I attacked it with a grinder over the summer to thin the profile a little. - now it is scratched to buggery and I was in the process of cleaning it up a bit.

So are your blades super dooper shiny - or scratched and dull with use.

I don't mean the sharp edge - more the body of the blade. (I try and keep the edge as smooth as possible)

Andy

 

[JAG009]

As long as its sharp i dont realy care to much how the blade looks, i clean it every so often. After all its just a tool to do a job

Jason

 

[lannyman8]

rough and ready, not abused, but some sign of a good hard working life.........

how it should be..... IMO.......

 

[sam_acw]

It's worth doing something to help stop the blade rusting. You could either help start a patina on it or polish it both of which will slow corrossion. If it's stainless steel then it's only really cosmetic though

 

[Retired Member southey]

I only ever polish a knife if it's for someone. other than that, clean and sharp is all I want.

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

I like my kit to show wear and use, my blade has a forge finish which is beautiful on it's own but I allow it to tarnish with tannins etc aslong as the cutting edge is in good condition and there is no rust it's good, the same with my cookware, I like the blackened & burnt look; I think it tells a story and gives the kit a character.

 

[John Fenna]

I hate a polished finish!
Even with brand new carbon blades on knives I am selling I acid patinate them to take off the shine!
It also helps prevent corrosion if the blade is patinated.

 

[Tilia]

polished is better but i keep a patina on my blades

polished does not only prevent rust but also slices easyer trough whatever you ar cutting

les resistance

 

[Siberianfury]

not realy bothered, as long as i can shave hair and the edge is the same after whittling and feathering dry wood then im happy, has to have a nice high grind and microbevel though.

 

[Stew]

My favourite knife is still my Claycomb custom - Chris gave it a heavy vinegar patina. It works!

 

[ickyan]

the actual edge shoul be polished otherwise it makes no difference.
However if some parts of the blade dont have a smooth texture, carving will be less efficient because of friction.

 

[Stew]

the actual edge shoul be polished otherwise it makes no difference.
However if some parts of the blade dont have a smooth texture, carving will be less efficient because of friction.

You're contradicting yourself a little.

The flats being polished does make a difference because of friction, as you say. It may not really make a noticeable difference to us, but it does make a difference.

 

[JAG009]

My favourite knife is still my Claycomb custom - Chris gave it a heavy vinegar patina. It works!

So what does the vinegar do to the blade then ? and how do you do it ?

 

[Everything Mac]

I gave a blade a dip in vinegar- looked pretty good but it was uneven so I tried it again and it didn't work half as well.

Fair enough guys - I always try for a shiny edge if I can but never really thought about the rest of the blade until I started working on it the other day!

Andy

 

[Tilia]

So what does the vinegar do to the blade then ? and how do you do it ?

wrap your blade in a cotton rag (old bed sheet)
pour vinegar on it til its soaked, leave for a hour or 2 then rinse of and wipe clean

this will prevent further oxidation

 

[John Fenna]

I wrap the blade in loo paper (unused) and then soak the paper in vinegar and leave it overnight ...uneven is good in my eyes as it adds character
You can also draw designs in wax on the blade as a resist to the acid and you get a controlled pattern.

 

[JAG009]

Cheers guys going to give this a try

Jason

 

[Barn Owl]

I wrap the blade in loo paper (unused) and then soak the paper in vinegar and leave it overnight ...uneven is good in my eyes as it adds character
You can also draw designs in wax on the blade as a resist to the acid and you get a controlled pattern.

Or draw your pattern on the polished blade with ketchup or mustard to have a bit of fun.

 

[hobo2]

i like a shiny blade. it just seams easier to keep clean. but if working in full sun it can be blinding and a pain!

 

[ged]

I must admit I like things to have a lived-in look but for whatever reason I don't seem to apply that to blades. Call me inconsistent. Most of my blades are stainless and fairly highly polished or at least a brushed finish. I usually keep small blades which aren't stainless shiny too. I suppose it's just what I'm used to. Except for an Opinel which lives on the kitchen table (and which is slowly getting a patina in spite of all my efforts, because I'm not the only one who uses it!) I only use stainless ones for food and cooking. It helps me believe that they're cleaner but that's probably nonsense. For larger blades I don't really bother, I have both stainless and non-stainless ones and they all tend to get pretty stained in use. That's probably because they're in continuous use for longer periods than the smaller blades, so aggressive things like plant juices get more chance to take their toll. When I've finished with them I just give the blades a wipe and a spray with WD40 or something like that. My favourite machete is a bit rusty if I'm honest. My favourite parang is pretty well patinated, and at the moment probably still covered in Jonathan's blood...:yikes: