Repairing a TF Marboroshi

[Johnsmyname]

I recently acquired saved this knife from the back of a kitchen drawer. As I understand it, it had been there for a decade unused.

I cleaned it up best I could to see what I was dealing with. Used a white vinegar soaked paper towel wrapped on the blade for an hour then a thorough scrub with soft brush. It has what looks to be light rusting along the blade edge, but I don't think it's too deep.

I am new to working on knives, but feel pretty confident. That said, how hard is this repair for a newbie? My thought is to just keep the blade as flat as possible to the stone and work slowly until I get the rust to disappear, then smooth it out with a finer stone. Is that the correct approach? If yes, should I start with a SG500 then up to Naniwa Pro1000 to finish?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[NickMinton]

The knife looks to be in decent shape, all things considered.

If you have experience polishing on stones, then a Shapton 500 is a great place to start.

If you don’t, start with 400grit sandpaper and hand sand, working up in the grits until you’re at 1-2k

 

[Johnsmyname]

I currently have an SG500 and Chocera Pro 1000 and 3000. The 3k will probably get too shiny though, no?

 

[mengwong]

Maybe slurry the 500 (bottom) and 1000 (top) against each other and let the mud do the work.

3000 entirely for fun, nothing wrong with a nice kasumi.

 

[Johnsmyname]

I love the hazy shinogi, but thought the 3k would start to polish to a shine.

Would the slurry be more beneficial than straight stone? Just softer for lack of better term?

 

[mengwong]

Can always roughen back to 1k if you don’t like it… indeed that is standard practice in some parts: go high then back down.

 

[Heckel7302]

I currently have an SG500 and Chocera Pro 1000 and 3000. The 3k will probably get too shiny though, no?

I find the Chocera 3k to be a very difficult stone to achieve an even finish. 1k should be easier, but really a soft muddy stone will be the easiest route. If you have any interest in picking up a King 800, that will be pretty foolproof.

 

[Johnsmyname]

An excuse for a new stone is never a bad thing! Open to any suggestions.

 

[NickMinton]

An excuse for a new stone is never a bad thing! Open to any suggestions.

JNS 300, King 800, Shapton Glass 500 for Kasumi finishes.

Not in stock but I really really like my JNS 800

 

[Millertime]

Imanishi Arashiyama #1000

 

[aporigine]

I love the hazy shinogi, but thought the 3k would start to polish to a shine.

Would the slurry be more beneficial than straight stone? Just softer for lack of better term?

My Chosera 3k develops a dark kasumi on my blades, both carbon and stainless. As Heckel has observed, it’s not easy. It takes me multiple tries and lotsa mud to get one with few streaks.

It seems to me that this knife would look great after a combination of blade road cleanup and thinning behind the edge. A near-zero bevel works wonders for a knife that won’t see hard use, like bone-in protein or hard veg.

 

[Johnsmyname]

It seems to me that this knife would look great after a combination of blade road cleanup and thinning behind the edge. A near-zero bevel works wonders for a knife that won’t see hard use, like bone-in protein or hard veg.

This is exactly what I am after for this knife.

 

[aporigine]

This is exactly what I am after for this knife.

That Maboroshi white steel is reputed to be harder than a monk in a strip joint. I’d start with a very coarse stone like my SP120. Coarse stones are very quick to dish, so be prepared to flatten it often, say with a very coarse diamond plate. I’ve used a cinderblock with 60ish-grit carbide (the cheapo stuff sold for rock tumbling) to knock off the high parts, leaving very little work for my diamond plate.

Though if the dishing is even, you might use the stone to impart a hint of convexity to the blade road, which might improve food release.

 

[Johnsmyname]

All good thoughts and tips @aporigine , thanks. I have an Atoma 140 for flattening. Never thought the dishing could help with a convex, I'll need to wrap my head around that in actual practice.

 

[Seemore]

Depending on the depth of the stain, some version of this might work for the localized areas only. I read it in one of the forums here, and just used it today for a different type of maintenance:

-Raise some slurry on a high grit stone with a diamond plate
-Lay the blade of the knife flat on a raised surface, with the handle hanging off (I like to use a brick wrapped in a damp towel on the counter.)
-Dip the flat end of a wine cork in the damp stone dust and work locally at the trouble spots, feathering out to the good areas.

 

[Johnsmyname]

This sounds like a good method. I’ve read that technique used for a kasumi finish too.

 

[Johnsmyname]

Had a free day and started work on cleaning up the TF. Luckily the rust spots were just superficial and came right out no problem. The problem I am having is getting an even finish to move up in stones. I started on the SG500 and it’s a great stone, except the blade road has some serious high and low spots. I’ve been at it for an hour and a half and I can’t get the finish smooth. The blade looks as perfectly straight to my eye.

- Should I be patient and keep at it?
- Run out and get some sand paper?
- Put it on hold and order a lower grit stone?

What would you do?

 

[Corradobrit1]

Welcome to TF overgrind hell. I think you need to start with a much lower grit and then work up. Soft SS is a PITA to work on so a diamond plate is a good place to start. Keep us updated on progress.

 

[Johnsmyname]

I have an Atoma 140, but the thought of putting a blade to it makes me shutter. Should I use that? If yes, very light pressure and keep stokes in a pattern I can work opposite when moving up?

 

[Corradobrit1]

Yes, light pressure and pay careful attention to your angles. Last thing you want to create is a flat bevel blade. Maintain the convexity

 

[Pie]

I remember doing this on TF stainless . I dropped down to 120 to get it mostly evened out..

Round 2 got started then got shelved, im at 400 grit I think.

thanks for reminding me!

 

[pavhav]

I agree with the above sentiment. You appear to have enough thickness left, (judging by your microbevel), to keep thinning. If you're chasing the low spots and it starts getting too thin - that's when I'd switch to sandpaper for aesthetics rather than performance & geometry. Good luck - that stainless cladding is no fun to thin even with coarse diamond stones. Worthy knife for the project though.

 

[Cliff]

It depends what you're after. For regular use, those low spots are not a problem. You can deal with the cosmetics with sandpaper on soft backing and then just be mindful as you sharpen. That's the path of least resistance. If you want to even out the bevels to make it look nice, it is going to take some time and work. You can do it on an Atoma, but that will wear out the Atoma pretty quickly. I have a Debado 180, which is great for heavy lifting. I like it better than the Shapton 120. I would do the bulk of the work on that. You can get those scratches out with the Shapton 500, and then go from there.

 

[M1k3]

I'd drop down coarser. 100-200 range, and then maybe an intermediary stone 200-400ish, before the SG 500.

 

[Johnsmyname]

I just read up on the Debado 180, looks very promising so I ordered one. I really appreciate all the helpful responses, this forum and community is fantastic.

 

[labor of love]

What I do with stainless clad TF:
Have them thinned until it meets the performance I want. Cosmetically speaking just use sandpaper, maybe mud from a jnat if you have one laying around, certainly not necessary.
Stainless just gonna pick up stray scratches anyway from kitchen use. Reapplying a 800 grit sandpaper finish (my preferred sandpaper finisher) before sharpening session periodically.
Even I you want to reduce those spots I like doing it slowly over time. Less aggravating that way.

 

[Johnsmyname]

@labor of love do you use just any old 800 paper or does it need to be automotive? Wet or dry?

 

[labor of love]

@labor of love do you use just any old 800 paper or does it need to be automotive? Wet or dry?

Big fan of 3M brand. Like 180grit-800grit. I have 1200 also. But prefer the feel of the 800 for finishing as I can feel the difference performance wise. 1200 becomes sorta too slippery me.

https://a.co/d/iiuX8zY

 

[Cliff]

I'd drop down coarser. 100-200 range, and then maybe an intermediary stone 200-400ish, before the SG 500.

A 320 will make your life easier here. I have the JNS and Shapton Glass. I go Debado 180 --> 320 -- JNS 800 or Shapton Pro 1K

 

[Johnsmyname]

Which 320 or > 180 < 500 do you guys suggest?