Knife porn thread

I've got a dremel, which I've not used yet.

Not that

Good catch! What about sandpaper? I already have some of the grey kind.

Have you got a picture? How deep is the pitting? Might need to start with a moderately coarse stone and then work up to a finer one.

thank you @tertius for bringing the yellow Barker round today - good trade.

A pleasure … was a good ride, though a bit wet on the way home!

Here you go. There's also the challenge of trying to keep the maker's markings.

Hmm. That looks fairly deep. Not sure you can both remove the pitting and not substantially remove the maker’s mark.

Don’t think that is a home-without-a-workspace job really.

I've just had a go at it with some 600 paper. It's more effective than the wire wool, but not a lot. The pitted areas are about six times bigger than the bit in the photo. The best bit about the blade is the complicated profile with lots of angles. If I softened the angles it would ruin it.

Looks like a pretty rough forging. Are you sure that's not supposed to be there?

You mean the pitting? No.

That blade doesn't look like it's ever been polished smooth, as Grumpy Git says. I don't think you'll be able to remove the pitting without changing the blade significantly. I suggest cleaning it as best you can, sharpening it and enjoying the 'patina'.

This ^. It’s only new once. Everything else is the history of the thing. Getting rid of that would be a shame.

I’ve got a really old lawn mower. I was tempted to pull it apart, repaint etc etc, but I think I would have ruined it.

Brass scaled SAK that I'm not using. Its in fantastic condition like new.

£30.00

Are you both saying the knife was pitted when it was made? It's from the '70s, Spanish army issue. Wouldn't they have made it smooth? I don't mean polished, just smooth. Here's another one https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/spanish-military-special-forces-1882691780

Not pitted, but also not polished flat. Military knives especially are function > form, equally it's not a modern CNC machine made blade so there will always have been some imperfections.
I guess the important point is what are you trying to achieve? Useability? Increase in value?

I've never heard of a miltary blade being made with so many imperfections! Here's another one https://www.fieldserviceantiquearms.co.uk/rare-spanish-coes-commando-survival-knife--refd1803-2030-p.asp I plan to use it, not trade it. It's not worth much. I would prefer it to be smooth and shiny, just for looks really. It's such a good design. I want it to be well maintained, regardless of its history. I doubt it's ever been used for anything more significant than camping!

I’d be surprised if it were pitted like that from new. However, the pitting is so deep that removing it (belt sander probably needed) would substantially change the profile of the blade, it’ll probably end up noticeably thinner and would remove the bulk of the makers mark, if not all of it.

You could try some coarse wet and dry sandpaper and see if you can remove just enough to look nicer but not go too far. Then move on to medium and fine paper to get a good finish.

Because of the shape and profile of the blade I’d see if I could secure the sandpaper to a slightly convex surface and work the blade over it, rather than the other way around.

Work slowly - you can always take more off but can’t add any material back on!

Weld the pits, sand it back down, heat treat it again, sharpen.

Spend eternity removing warping in the blade from localised heatspots?

Forge your own blade.

I think I'll just use wire wool in spare moments. In 10 years it may be smoother. In the meantime I'll get it sharp. It's a really versatile design. And made in Toledo, which has quite the history of swordmaking.

Not sure if flatwear is acceptable but here is a lovely streak knife from Huitre Brûlée (Honfleur) would highly recommend.

I didn’t get to try it as I had fish.

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I got to try out a Tina grafting knife yesterday, nice bit of kit, pricey.

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Anyone else dishwasher their nice knives?? 😭

Best japanese style kitchen knife (santoku?) for 20-30 pounds quid?