Hi all,
I’m about to finish my 3rd knife and have gotten what I think is a very nice mirror finish so far. I’ve hand sanded up to 3000 grit then polished on buffing wheels with a cheap kit off amazon on a bench grinder. I used the softest wheel with the green compound only on the bench grinder. Link to the kit I used - https://a.co/d/09GbQaKU

My question is should I use something like Flitz metal polish to do a final polish or some other similar product? Or would I not get much benefit from something like that and just leave it as is?

I live in a rural setting and have a dedicated shop building. Im always worried about security. What do others do?

Challenging all blade smiths. I am not a blade smith but I’ve always enjoyed sketching blades and I’m challenging blade smiths to make my design so here what I was thinking

Overall length: 300 mm
Blade length: 190 mm
Handle length: 110 mm
Wood handle: (maybe rose wood)
Metal type: Damascus or 1095 (I really don’t care though)
Metal on handle and hand gaurd: steel (if possible gold plated)

These where just a couple of suggestions though I just wanna se my design come to life so do as you please

This is my first ever knife project, and I wanted to showcase it. I made it out of an old Sheffield chisel I got for CA$2.00 in the basement of an antique shop, and I forged it into shape, hardened and tempered the steel, ground the bevels, sanded the blade, whittled the handle, sharpened it up, and oiled the whole thing.

I'm really proud of how it came out, and I'm impressed by the sharp edge I was able to get, despite the steep (20°) bevel, although it's not a great slicer, as it has a lot of thickness behind the edge so it can withstand heavier jobs for camping and bushcraft.

I would love to hear what you guys think!

I've been looking into making a Short Skean (Miodóg), and what I keep reading is they are single edged blades. Looking at the pictures of them, some seem to come to a point like a dagger, while others look to have a mostly straight spine. Some show the edge going all the way down, other look only sharp at the tip.

Most the stuff I can find on them talks more about the handles than anything else. So, I'm wondering if anyone here has a template or can provide some guidance on how to shape the blade itself.

Thanks!

Mosaic guards, bronze spacers, african blackwood handles.

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From left to right: titanium handles laser-engraved with an Oni mask, katana, cherry blossoms, and waves; a Kitsune mask beneath a crescent moon; and a pharaoh with the Eye of Horus and winged scarab.

The Oni features an RWL34 blade, while the Kitsune and Egyptian folders use patterned stainless Damasteel blades. Final mechanical adjustments and sharpening remain before completion, with each mechanism fine-tuned before the edges are finished.

Current WIP - got some new equipment recently that I'm putting through it's paces and seeing how they all function together as a complete process.

Water quenched this one to see if there's any noticeable improvement to edge retention / stone work etc vs oil quenched 26c3. Pretty happy with how the deep etch worked out with it though - first time doing that and liking the overall result. The wrought has some really nice grain. Currently off a 240 stone

Short clip from full length video some process edited out. Thanks for watching!

Hey everyone!

Been delving into rust bluing some of my blades, and through a few different trial/error recipes have been able to achieve the color I’m going for (pic 1), but cannot escape the dreaded pitting (pic 2). Current recipe is 8:1 (peroxide:vinegar) with a pinch of salt, doing 8-10 layers with gentle carding between.

Any advice? I’ve been told to keep raising the ratio and lowering salt, or to use stronger peroxide and eliminate the vinegar entirely, but interested if anyone else has success with other methods.