The Old Black stuff

[Seagull]

Am presenly on an all-stop with my handle making job.
Need a bit of input, please, from you knowledgable lot!

My blade is quite rough with the marks of effort and manufacture, specifically a rough black texture (scale or pitting?), on the blade flats.

I do quite like the primitive, "wabi-sabi", effect and want to keep it that way, if poss..

But, is it asking for trouble from rust?

Do I need to skim it off? or can it be made safe, or what?

Regs to all,
Ceeg

 

[bikething]

Can't answer your question i'm afraid, Seagull but have you tried a search over on British Blades?

http://www.britishblades.com/home/

cheers
Steve

 

[jason01]

Ceeg

Its normal to have some forge scale on the blade after forging, most people would remove it but it can be fairly tough to get it off, particularly if you oil qeunch, water quenching has the advantage of loosening it so that it can be scrubbed off quite easily with a wire wheel in a power drill (but as there are a host of other difficulties asociated with water quenching I wouldnt reccomend it just for easier scale removal unless you want to go that route anyway). Another option to try is dipping the face of your hammer in water as youre finishing the blade, some of it should fly off and you get a nice "pop" into the bargain!

You can try a wire wheel on it anyway, the beauty of using a wire wheel is it will still preserve a nice forged finish under the scale, if you try to grind it off you'll lose your forged finish. If it still wont come off you could try soaking the blade in vinegar or lemon juice overnight and then try the wire weel gain.

Or you could just leave it on if you want to

 

[Seagull]

Thanks for the pointer, Bt.

Yeah , I did try on BB and got lost in a plethora of divertimentia, which I have not a hope of understanding.

Doubtless, its all very good stuff, over there but, I feel its all a bit too technical for me.
I just dunno what theyre talking about

Tks anyway

Ceeg

 

[Seagull]

Ta, muchly, J01.

So, if indeed, its safe to leave it without any bad side effects , then thats what I will do,

Thou ar,t a Gent, Scholar and fine judge of horseflesh.

Ceeg

 

[jason01]

No worries mate, it shouldnt cause any problems if you leave it, might even protect the blade somewhat.

Probably worth saying.... using any kind of spinning wheel on a blade should be done with extreme care, wire wheels are not as inclined to snatch as buffers but they can still propel a blade at a hell of a speed into your soft flesh

 

[Motorbike Man]

Thanks for the pointer, Bt.

Yeah , I did try on BB and got lost in a plethora of divertimentia, which I have not a hope of understanding.

Doubtless, its all very good stuff, over there but, I feel its all a bit too technical for me.
I just dunno what theyre talking about

Tks anyway

Ceeg

You could always post and just ask someone over there

 

[bushtuckerman]

yeah i agree with you Jason, in my experience it does seem to protect metal from rust if you leave the black stuff there. and it looks nice too.

-ian