Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
- Jeff B
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Very cool Dan!
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
- pd7077
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Nice work, Dan! Welcome to the dark sideAltadan wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 11:33 pm Tonight, on a complete whim, I finally decided to put my hands to this etching business. I turned to Steve with a few queries, all of which he very kindly answered, to my huge benefit.
In brief, I took my Tanaka B#2 from a patina'd mirror, to a 500 grit polish, followed by 800, and then dipped it in a 10% FeCl solution for three sessions of about 5-7 minutes each.
I proudly post them here in tribute to Steve who both inspired and encouraged the process
Don’t forget to scrub off the oxides after each round of etching. I do it using 0000 steel wool and my neutralizing solution. After neutralizing, I’ll usually do a few passes using the last grit (or one step finer) I used prior to etching. This should help you to get a cleaner and more uniform etch. Great results for your first attempt man. It definitely looks better than my first go at it!!!
--- Steve
Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Thanks so much for the kind words. Getting better results than you did on your first attempt must have something to do with having you as a guidepd7077 wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 7:55 amNice work, Dan! Welcome to the dark sideAltadan wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 11:33 pm Tonight, on a complete whim, I finally decided to put my hands to this etching business. I turned to Steve with a few queries, all of which he very kindly answered, to my huge benefit.
In brief, I took my Tanaka B#2 from a patina'd mirror, to a 500 grit polish, followed by 800, and then dipped it in a 10% FeCl solution for three sessions of about 5-7 minutes each.
I proudly post them here in tribute to Steve who both inspired and encouraged the process
Don’t forget to scrub off the oxides after each round of etching. I do it using 0000 steel wool and my neutralizing solution. After neutralizing, I’ll usually do a few passes using the last grit (or one step finer) I used prior to etching. This should help you to get a cleaner and more uniform etch. Great results for your first attempt man. It definitely looks better than my first go at it!!!
Once I experience the new polish and its effect on stickage (which was severe with the mirror polish) I'll start thinking about a sequel to last night's first attempt
“If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
― François de La Rochefoucauld
― François de La Rochefoucauld
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Whoa, check that out. Nicely done Dan!Altadan wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 11:33 pm Tonight, on a complete whim, I finally decided to put my hands to this etching business. I turned to Steve with a few queries, all of which he very kindly answered, to my huge benefit.
In brief, I took my Tanaka B#2 from a patina'd mirror, to a 500 grit polish, followed by 800, and then dipped it in a 10% FeCl solution for three sessions of about 5-7 minutes each.
I proudly post them here in tribute to Steve who both inspired and encouraged the process
~
[Click for full resolution]
[Tanaka Blue#2 ETCH]-0372.jpg[Tanaka Blue#2 ETCH]-0374.jpg[Tanaka Blue#2 ETCH]-0383.jpg[Tanaka Blue#2 ETCH]-0382.jpg
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
- Drewski
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Awesome!Altadan wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 11:33 pm Tonight, on a complete whim, I finally decided to put my hands to this etching business. I turned to Steve with a few queries, all of which he very kindly answered, to my huge benefit.
In brief, I took my Tanaka B#2 from a patina'd mirror, to a 500 grit polish, followed by 800, and then dipped it in a 10% FeCl solution for three sessions of about 5-7 minutes each.
I proudly post them here in tribute to Steve who both inspired and encouraged the process
~
Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Thanks guys for the kind words.
Though really cool looking, it came out a little blotchy (though not in bad way), and with more friction than I'd care for; kinda reminiscent of the Yoshimi Kato R2, as some of you may recall from the passaround.
In some ways, etching is as easy as anything. But truly truly I say unto you, Steve makes this stuff look easy!
The pictures he posts - composition, lighting, and general photography #skillz aside - reflect highly refined work, and lots of attention to detail!
To remedy the friction I applied a 1200 grit to it, and... then re-etched it again, with a weaker solution, and only for 6 minutes, to get some contrast (blotches came out different, and not as cool ). We'll see how she behaves on onions tomorrow.
Question:
with etched steel/iron, what should I expect by way of patina from regular kitchen work?
Thanks!
Though really cool looking, it came out a little blotchy (though not in bad way), and with more friction than I'd care for; kinda reminiscent of the Yoshimi Kato R2, as some of you may recall from the passaround.
In some ways, etching is as easy as anything. But truly truly I say unto you, Steve makes this stuff look easy!
The pictures he posts - composition, lighting, and general photography #skillz aside - reflect highly refined work, and lots of attention to detail!
To remedy the friction I applied a 1200 grit to it, and... then re-etched it again, with a weaker solution, and only for 6 minutes, to get some contrast (blotches came out different, and not as cool ). We'll see how she behaves on onions tomorrow.
Question:
with etched steel/iron, what should I expect by way of patina from regular kitchen work?
Thanks!
“If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
― François de La Rochefoucauld
― François de La Rochefoucauld
- pd7077
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
I’ve only etched stainless clad knives, but my brain tells me that there should be significantly less reactivity with etched iron cladding. Ferric chloride is a salt, but when dissolved in water it becomes a fairly strong acid. In simple terms (mainly because I forgot a lot of my chemistry), etching is basically forcing a patina.Altadan wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 12:05 am Thanks guys for the kind words.
Though really cool looking, it came out a little blotchy (though not in bad way), and with more friction than I'd care for; kinda reminiscent of the Yoshimi Kato R2, as some of you may recall from the passaround.
In some ways, etching is as easy as anything. But truly truly I say unto you, Steve makes this stuff look easy!
The pictures he posts - composition, lighting, and general photography #skillz aside - reflect highly refined work, and lots of attention to detail!
To remedy the friction I applied a 1200 grit to it, and... then re-etched it again, with a weaker solution, and only for 6 minutes, to get some contrast (blotches came out different, and not as cool ). We'll see how she behaves on onions tomorrow.
Question:
with etched steel/iron, what should I expect by way of patina from regular kitchen work?
Thanks!
In terms of the texture and friction, I’m not sure if the Yoshimi Kato SG2 texture was a result of etching or sandblasting. Maybe it’s both? I remember that knife being very grabby, and it was my only real complaint with that passaround knife. I have found that doing multiple shorter etches will minimize getting that type of texture when etching. I always make sure to scrub off the oxides while neutralizing, and then I will even polish it back a little before going back into the etch. The knife below was finished at 800 grit. I believe that I did a total of five 3-5min etches, and I polished back with 6um diamond emulsion after neutralizing. The surface is super smooth with zero texture. If anything, I think there’s a bit too much shine, but I’m leaving it as is for now.
--- Steve
- Jeff B
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
I could use some emulsions at 6um+. Shoot me a PM on what you use.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
- pd7077
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
I took some time this weekend to work on one of my own knives...a Watanabe Kintaro Ame W#2 cleaver. I had a suspicion that there was a raindrop pattern hiding in there so I did a quick & dirty kasumi polish on it. In truth, it wasn’t very quick. I used 8 different fingerstones on it because I was not sure how the cladding would react to the stones. In the end, I found what I was looking for...
Instagram link (thanks to Ben) for a short video I took:
Now that I know what’s there, it’s time to get a proper polish on it.
Instagram link (thanks to Ben) for a short video I took:
Now that I know what’s there, it’s time to get a proper polish on it.
--- Steve
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Well that’s pretty dang cool, nice hunch you had. Makes me wonder what my Wat cleaver is hiding
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- pd7077
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Life has been busy so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and do a bit of polishing. I got a few new stones in, and I had a bit of downtime over the weekend so I decided to test them out on a kiridashi that a buddy gave me. The bevel was already pristine so I figured that it would be a good canvas to test out the stones on. The differences are very subtle, but it was a fun 30min of zen.
Takinohara Aizu
Iromono (Unknown Mine)
Aiiwatani Tomae
Ohira Renge Suita
Yaginoshima Suita
Takinohara Aizu
Iromono (Unknown Mine)
Aiiwatani Tomae
Ohira Renge Suita
Yaginoshima Suita
--- Steve
- pd7077
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
In terms of feel, the iromono and tomae were probably my favorites. There’s a bit of overlap between the two, but I would say the that tomae is a tad harder and finer. In terms of the kasumi, I would have to give it to the Yagi suita. It’s not quite as hard as the Ohira, but it’s finer and gave a bit more detail/brightness to the suminagashi layers.
--- Steve
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Nice to see an update. One of the best threads on here. Maybe someone should start a j nat thread.
Show us your new knife
Show us your new handle
And show us your new J nat!
Show us your new knife
Show us your new handle
And show us your new J nat!
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Re: Polishing, Kasumi Finish & Etching
Oh my goodness. Beauty at its most beautiful!pd7077 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:49 am Life has been busy so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and do a bit of polishing. I got a few new stones in, and I had a bit of downtime over the weekend so I decided to test them out on a kiridashi that a buddy gave me. The bevel was already pristine so I figured that it would be a good canvas to test out the stones on. The differences are very subtle, but it was a fun 30min of zen.
~J
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.
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