Polishing finish definitions+photo examples thread

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labor of love

labor of love

Cowboys from Hell
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Even though I've been a jknife dork for several years now I've never been able to grasp a basic 101 of polishing. About 3 years ago I picked up a king 800 and have found it to be a great starting point(and super easy to use).... But if I'm being honest I'm not quite sure what people mean when they say things like "frosted","hazy" or even "Kasumi"finish. Maybe this would be a good sticky maybe not. Either way, I wanted to ask fellow members with polishing experience if they could post examples of different polishing finishes(photos to demonstrate) so I could visually understand the terminology better.
Thanks guys!
 
I have found different stones or sharpening methods give a different visual finish.
 
I will show you what a shapton 12k stone does on o-1 when I get home.
 
this is as good as I can find. shapton 12k stone 0-1 tool steel.
 
LOLOL

We need Xoomg to contribute to this thread...

here's a 320 Cerax finish, sticks a bit to food...

20161212_230939_zpsinses7mp.jpg


This feels much nicer...blue aoto (not shown) with about 5 minutes work:

20170101_220836_zpsw39bciwc.jpg
 
Yeah, I feel a bit inadequate posting when I know Xoomg is both a better photographer and polisher than I am. But in the spirit of things and the post above. A good foundation is key, this is part way through thinning refinishing a syousin Chiku migaki. Naniwa superstone 220 leaves a remarkably nice finish and quite an edge too:



https://youtu.be/imzEtnTzaCY

Here is where it ended up as a first draft before I knocked off the handle to finish is properly

Naniwa 220 > bester 400 > King 800 > Chosera 1k > Chosera 3k > Aoto > Takenoko > mizukihara









Wet & dry to blend and I'll update once I've put the finishing touches on

 
Also, I'd see if @nutmeg has some photos to hand. And @matus is doing amazing finishes and @cheflivengood
 
I don't want to hijack the tread but I have a more genral question about polishing knives, when you go through the stone progression you just lay the knife flat and start working on it on the stone just like sharpening? Do you change directions of the blade to change the direction of the scratch marks? When and why in the process do you use finger stones?
 
Kingkor said:
I don't want to hijack the tread but I have a more genral question about polishing knives, when you go through the stone progression you just lay the knife flat and start working on it on the stone just like sharpening? Do you change directions of the blade to change the direction of the scratch marks? When and why in the process do you use finger stones?
Click to expand...
Ideally, with the compound geometry knives with a distinct bevel and flat, yes you lie the blade flat on the stone. Alternating directions is a good idea, but I don't do it all the time and the contortion it can force might be counterproductive sometimes. Fingerstones are best used when the effective geometry is set and most of the scratches are gone. Depending on the kind of stones, you may want to have the edge steel at a high finish before jumping to fingerstones. They will, by virtue of their small surface area, conform more easily to the bevel surface and produce a finish with generally fewer streaks and sometimes a stronger contrast between cladding and core.
 
Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert, I just want to share because I find the discussion interesting.

Here are some pic of a TF nakiri that I thinned some time ago. I did more or less the following:
400 atoma + thai natural coarse (~600?) + 1000 JNS + natural Binsu + Khao Men + Unknown Suita + kitta finger stones (from JNS).

I did not alternate the direction on the of the scratches: they were always at 45 deg. Knife was flat on the bevel and I tried to convex a bit.

DSC_1362.jpg


DSC_1363.jpg
 
Sorry for my earlier grammar mistakes (lie/lay, &c.).
labor of love said:
Even though I've been a jknife dork for several years now I've never been able to grasp a basic 101 of polishing. About 3 years ago I picked up a king 800 and have found it to be a great starting point(and super easy to use).... But if I'm being honest I'm not quite sure what people mean when they say things like "frosted","hazy" or even "Kasumi"finish. Maybe this would be a good sticky maybe not. Either way, I wanted to ask fellow members with polishing experience if they could post examples of different polishing finishes(photos to demonstrate) so I could visually understand the terminology better.
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
I think other guys have the photos down as well as anything I can show, but to waste a few words and repost a couple pics...

The idea behind kasumi (霞 mist) is that the linear base scratch pattern is obscured by a finer layer of shallow, short random scratches or other textures (such as pitting or dimples) that scatter light.

The vernacular just describes the visual impression relative to perhaps effects on glass.
For example, some finishes have a coarse crystalline appearance reminiscent of frost. This is more likely to be attributed to cheaper finishes like coarse blasting. It is especially obvious in its strong contrast with the semi-mirror edge.
wGZNjTj.jpg


"Misty", to me, is pretty general for anything in this class of finish, but I would probably use it in English to describe a lighter, lower-contrast finish without a very mirrored edge:
UCaMeYG.jpg

Or like the nakiri I posted in another thread:
AxTmHg6.jpg


Hazy seems to suggest a lighter, maybe semi-mirror finish, but then it is just my impression from the word.

In my opinion, these words do not focus on the darker contrasty finish produced by the King 800 or similar.
BlmqFMN.jpg

(sorry old pic)

Which is almost certainly included in the broad descriptions like misty or kasumi.
 
Could we get some more shots of the Carter you refinished please Xoomg?
 
Badgertooth said:
Could we get some more shots of the Carter you refinished please Xoomg?
Click to expand...
The finish that was in the above pic was an early test and the knife went through a few more varied polishes with coticule, synthetics, and other stuff before I sold it. When I sold it, I only took a few pics and it was in only a decent working polish, so probably not worth sharing here when you guys have more interesting knives in more interesting polishes.
 
XooMG said:
Sorry for my earlier grammar mistakes (lie/lay, &c.).

I think other guys have the photos down as well as anything I can show, but to waste a few words and repost a couple pics...

The idea behind kasumi (霞 mist) is that the linear base scratch pattern is obscured by a finer layer of shallow, short random scratches or other textures (such as pitting or dimples) that scatter light.

The vernacular just describes the visual impression relative to perhaps effects on glass.
For example, some finishes have a coarse crystalline appearance reminiscent of frost. This is more likely to be attributed to cheaper finishes like coarse blasting. It is especially obvious in its strong contrast with the semi-mirror edge.
wGZNjTj.jpg


"Misty", to me, is pretty general for anything in this class of finish, but I would probably use it in English to describe a lighter, lower-contrast finish without a very mirrored edge:
UCaMeYG.jpg

Or like the nakiri I posted in another thread:
AxTmHg6.jpg


Hazy seems to suggest a lighter, maybe semi-mirror finish, but then it is just my impression from the word.

In my opinion, these words do not focus on the darker contrasty finish produced by the King 800 or similar.
BlmqFMN.jpg

(sorry old pic)

Which is almost certainly included in the broad descriptions like misty or kasumi.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the input.
 
XooMG said:
The finish that was in the above pic was an early test and the knife went through a few more varied polishes with coticule, synthetics, and other stuff before I sold it. When I sold it, I only took a few pics and it was in only a decent working polish, so probably not worth sharing here when you guys have more interesting knives in more interesting polishes.
Click to expand...

I think anything which shows different progressions, especially if incomplete, has value. We're learning...

(In other words, nope - I disagree - more pictures please!);)
 
I believe this was after a coticule:
SdSnN0f.jpg


This was my first effort on white suita:
7sWL1ho.jpg

(some reflections and finger smudges visible)

And an earlier one with JNS 300:
1p47k9g.jpg


So not very interesting, sorry.
 
Took a page to get going but all beautiful pics/work on last page. Love to hear more impressions/opinions of what finish yields best performance.
 
Here's a couple I've posted before.

Gesshin Hide blue steel 210mm kamagata usuba.

IMG_20150408_180110.jpg


Itonomon 210mm wa petty.

0619140155h.jpg



Both knives were polished on a king 800 then gesshin jinzo aoto.
 
This is quite helpful. I think one of my pitfalls was/is whether there was a general understanding of the aesthetic to be applied to the core steel
 
T-F stainless clad white #1 finished on Tsushima Nagura 1483572656168.jpg

Iron clad Aogami super finished on same1483572764455.jpg
 
It leaves a much more uniform finish on iron cladding. Produces a pretty nice edge as well.
 
Xoom, so king 800 produces a dark contrasty finish? Labor of love gives me crap cause I don't polish any of my bevels, but if I can get a dark finish i may have to pick one up (king800)
 
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