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I picked this 270 wrought clad Milan up last year which had been refinished with sandpaper.
It seemed like a bit of a job to get it back towards the original finish, but here’s where we’re at.
Start point:
After benchstones to remove as many visible scratches as possible:
After fingerstones:
The core steel now looks nicely pearlescent and scratch free, and the wrought cladding is now largely scratch-free too, with streaking from benchstones reduced (but not removed completely, and I can see a handful of annoying minor marks from the blade guard - doh).
Will this benefit from an etch to increase the contrast between the core steel and cladding, and how should I go about doing that at home?
Any finishing tips from more experienced members?
Ed, you can’t just post your full kasumi after someone else posts their full kasumi, it’s not fairIn my experience contrast between core and clad is more something inherent to the materials than the process or stone choice. In general, softer coarser stones will leave more contrast all else equal though.
Having just done it, getting an even finish on a surface that large is… challenging to say the least.
An etch would help even things out and bring out some more contrast and detail. This comes at the cost of the color natural stones create on steel, however. Multiple cycles of etch followed by fingerstone / powder are better than one deeper etch cycle. If you want to go this route, I’d suggest a strong blend citric / ascorbic acid as I find the color trade off if much less than something like ferric.
Alternatively just keep at it with finger-stones and your bench stone(s).
All depends on your final goal and preferences really.
Bonus, deep patina setting in will do something similar to etching bringing out more contrast and detail. Using finger stones to remove a strong patina will give a great finish.Ed, you can’t just post your full kasumi after someone else posts their full kasumi, it’s not fair
It’s not the highest contrast, but I might leave the etch for now and get some use out of it for a while - I’m quite happy with how the core steel in particular looks after all that bench stone work.
Contrast is overrated - color and detail are the bestIt’s not the highest contrast
Already gotten 3 PMs about this, so laying it out here too.I’d suggest a strong blend citric / ascorbic acid as I find the color trade off if much less than something like ferric.
It hurts taking something with as pretty a stock finish as this to the stones, but at the end of the day, utility is everything.As Gandalf said, “Things have been set in motion that cannot be undone.”
My secondhand 240 Ginsan Takada has been in need of thinning for quite some time. It’s still thin but it wedges like hell and doesn’t have that Takada magic anymore. My polishing has gotten better but I haven’t actually thinned a blade in a very long time let alone alter the geometry . Welp, ripped the bandaid off tonight and said goodbye to the Suiboku finish
2.5 hours in on an SG 220 on just the right profile of the blade and we’re down 3.5 grams. Praise be the name of Takada-San because there were no low spots save for the makers stamp!! There is a slight convexity that I am trying desperately to not flatten and so far so good (I think?)
Not sure what I’m gonna do with the final polish. Maybe full stone shape & polish? Maybe stop at 3K and then move to sandpaper and paste and go full mirror? Try out some etchants? I’ve never worked with ginsan before so I have no idea what to expect. Currently at 112.7 grams
Thick as hell!
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So far!
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Convex!
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Slightly off-topic, but this is easily the most reactive finish I’ve personally ever experienced.Bonus, deep patina setting in will do something similar to etching bringing out more contrast and detail.
Yep… very typical problem. Usually not worth chasing out and never worth creating a new overgrind to fix a small overgrind. Only way to handle it properly is the push the high spot (most of the blade road) down to that level. If it’s the tip of the heel sometimes you can sacrifice half a mm or so in height and add some extra convexity and fix it too. Or just grind away from the choil until it’s gone if you want to handle it how a knife maker wouldAlso, f overground heels. I don’t think I’ve polished a knife that wasn’t. Don’t always trust the choil shots guys. Always a debate, make it look nice by making the over grind worse, or leave it and let it come out naturally with future bevel work. I’m certainly not grinding down the whole bevel to meet it.
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I’ve grown to love working with hard synthetics and no slurry for this reason - no surprises when you get to naturals. You get clear honest feedback at each stage with nothing hidden.NP3000 reveals all sins. Hard to see, but couple of low spots were hidden by the softer stones.
Yeah, nothing worse than getting all the way up to a hard fine finishing natural and discovering you should have worked out a low spot a bunch of stones earlier.I’ve grown to love working with hard synthetics and no slurry for this reason - no surprises when you get to naturals. You get clear honest feedback at each stage with nothing hidden.
Yeah, nothing worse than getting all the way up to hard fine finishing natural and discovering you should have worked out a low spot a bunch of stones earlier.
NP3000 reveals all sins. Hard to see, but couple of low spots were hidden by the softer stones. In the cladding, so maybe I’ll still move to jnats, but start with a coarser one than I normally would.
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Also, f overground heels. I don’t think I’ve polished a knife that wasn’t. Don’t always trust the choil shots guys. Always a debate, make it look nice by making the over grind worse, or leave it and let it come out naturally with future bevel work. I’m certainly not grinding down the whole bevel to meet it.
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Yea I've had my fair share that produced beautiful choil shots, but were complete chonks where it mattered. And to add insult to injury, they don't even allow for a dramatic before & after pic to show for all the work you end up putting in to fix it.Yep… very typical problem. Usually not worth chasing out and never worth creating a new overgrind to fix a small overgrind. Only way to handle it properly is the push the high spot (most of the blade road) down to that level. If it’s the tip of the heel sometimes you can sacrifice half a mm or so in height and add some extra convexity and fix it too. Or just grind away from the choil until it’s gone if you want to handle it how a knife maker would![]()
Hi there,
I am afraid this video may look pedantic to you..
And it was a great excuse to polish and play with an analog camera.
It shows indeed different levels of a kasumi polish on a Watanabe kinatro ame (damascus) petty.
You can see different flavors of kasumi. The higher the number, the longer it takes to be reached. And tools need to be more specific in order to match what the blade can offer and your vision of the finish.
@ Level 1, there is loads of macro contrast and quite hazy structure.
@ Level 2, you can see the surface becoming finer and micro contrast appearing.
@ Level 3, sky is the limit.
All the pictures were shot on Fujifilm Provia & Velvia 35mm slide film.
The pictures are original straight from my beloved Nikon film scanner. No crop or Photoshop after this.
@nutmeg thanks for the video and pics. I cant even imagine how much time it took you to put it all together
Something caught me eye and I was hoping you could explain a bit more about the technique you employed here which seemed foreign to me. In the pic below it seems like you almost pivoting about in a circular motion (or maybe that was just the editing in the video). I was just curious if that was the case and if so why would one employ that technique?
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