Help me kasumi!

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ssend said:
ok... more questions. So what exactly is HAPPENING when making kasumi? Is it just a fine abrasive working in short enough strokes that it leaves no visible scratches?
Or is there something else happening? What is the quality of the abrasive that allows it to leave no lines behind? Just particle size? i.e. really small?
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As other members mentionned it, kasumi is generally the art of making metal look matte.
Many ways lead to Rome..
If your geometry is top notch and your strokes on synth are totally harmonious it could be enough to make the blade looks nice on synth. Unfortunately you will need top skills for this.
Coarse synthetic stones may work but the surface will look scratchy and very fine ones will look too shiny. You can go this way but it will be full of trade off.
Jnats are definitely the most comfortable way to get the best results. It looks like you're not ready to go this way yet.
 
ok. First, thank you all. This is fantastic.
I still don't know what I'm doing.. but I'm getting some ideas.
here are some rough pics of what I have so far. Sorry about the lighting, and the patina.
The finish is more like poor-quality mirror than kasumi.
There is some nice detail in the cladding that is still pretty hidden.
I brought it up to about 3k, then to my jnat, then some worn-out 2k sandpaper loaded with jnat juice.
That last bit did a lot to even things out, but kasumi? I wouldn't say so.
Am I correct that I should be using short strokes and light pressure?

In any case, there it is.. I'll keep after it.

Thanks again!
S
kasumi 2.jpg
early kasumi 1.jpg
kasumi 3.jpg
kasumi 4.jpg
 
ssend said:
ok. First, thank you all. This is fantastic.
I still don't know what I'm doing.. but I'm getting some ideas.
here are some rough pics of what I have so far. Sorry about the lighting, and the patina.
The finish is more like poor-quality mirror than kasumi.
There is some nice detail in the cladding that is still pretty hidden.
I brought it up to about 3k, then to my jnat, then some worn-out 2k sandpaper loaded with jnat juice.
That last bit did a lot to even things out, but kasumi? I wouldn't say so.
Am I correct that I should be using short strokes and light pressure?

In any case, there it is.. I'll keep after it.

Thanks again!
SView attachment 300088View attachment 300087View attachment 300089View attachment 300090
Click to expand...

What did it look like after you finished it on your jnat? I personally have not had luck with sandpaper even if loaded with mud and find that it’s consistent grit ends up clearing up the hazy finish on the soft cladding. I have only found and semblance of success with light pressure and dulled 3m fine sanding sponges with stone mud I think because it absorbs more of the mud and essentially becomes a soft pliable fingerstone.
 
It looked like some patches of nice haze marred by scratched areas. I did the sandpaper, jnat loaded, and then I turned the paper over, so I was just using the paper side.. loaded.
It is also possible that I simply didn't do any of it enough! I def did not do it for FIVE HOURS!
And.. the knife is somewhat convex, so that was likely adding to the challenge.
 
Blumbo said:
What did it look like after you finished it on your jnat? I personally have not had luck with sandpaper even if loaded with mud and find that it’s consistent grit ends up clearing up the hazy finish on the soft cladding. I have only found and semblance of success with light pressure and dulled 3m fine sanding sponges with stone mud I think because it absorbs more of the mud and essentially becomes a soft pliable fingerstone.
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Do you have an Amazon link for the sanding sponges you use?
 
KasumiJLA said:
@ssend reach me out in DM and I can send you a little piece of uchigumori so you can try it for free. I have 10 uchigumori koppa sleeping here.

I know your feeling and when I started I managed on my own and it's not easy to navigate. It is also an endless rabbit hole. If I can save you from unnecessary purchases it will be a mission success 😉
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Super nice of you Julien.
 
Blumbo said:
If you don’t want to spend hours flattening bevels, changing blade geometry, and finding the right stone progression and the right stone for the right steel to finish (which is a lot of the fun for some people here and really kind of the art of it all) - I’d recommend just working up on a sandpaper progression to ~3k, and use mud from king 1000 and a dulled 3m sanding sponge for a workable kasumi with decent contrast and maybe some less detail and less shiny core steel.

These are some pics of knives I’ve done this on. I find on iron clad knives you get a darker haze and stainless clad knives in general are more like mist.

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Gotta say, these blades look great!
I want that!
 
KasumiJLA said:
This one was done all on bench stone and I used finger stone to blend everything for a homogeneous result.
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That middle one was so clean it made me want to throw my stones into the sea and give up, nice work.
 
ssend said:
Gotta say, these blades look great!
I want that!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I think the process is definitely a cheap and easy and quick way to get a functional and decent kasumi in pinch - but the results do really pale in comparison to what some of the folks on the forum are able to achieve!

I personally just haven’t found the time in my life to properly flatten bevels and work on my polishing skills. I also don’t particularly like flattening nice convex bevels that smiths and sharpeners work hard to achieve for the sake of kasumi since the rare low spot doesn’t affect performance.

It doesn’t help that whenever I have enough money for a nice jnat I end up buying a knife instead.
 
I had a few questions and requests for advice in my DMs and I remembered that I made a video on how I use finger stones on my projects.

So here is the video in question for a well contrasted kasumi. Obviously this is my way of doing things and there is no right or wrong way. The ideal is to experiment and above all to have fun doing it.

 
I’m going to read through this entire thread later, so much useful wisdom.

Where does one acquire finger stones from, and to avoid expensive shipping, any vendors in Australia? Can they be obtained in expensively?
 
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