# Polishing a Turd..Before/After



## RRLOVER (Aug 20, 2011)

So I always wondered what a 217$ blue #1 honyaki would be like and I did need a rainy day project. I was expecting a chubby blade but that's not the case.I would describe this blade as Thin,Rough,and HARD! It was seriously over hammered in the middle so I was limited to what I could do to her.I only thinned the shoulder and the tip,I hardly removed any metal.I am going to say that this blade is by far the hardest thing I have ever sanded.She would not let go of a scratch for nothing,she's still very scratchy.I will have to do a review when she gets a handle and a good sharpening.


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## Eamon Burke (Aug 21, 2011)

:jawdrop:My word, please don't tell me you did that entirely by hand!

The Mythbusters actually polished turds. fftopic:


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> :jawdrop:My word, please don't tell me you did that entirely by hand!
> 
> The Mythbusters actually polished turds. fftopic:


 
My hands were holding it up to a belt grinder:biggrin:I do go to hand sanding at 400,but this blade was just laughing at my sandpaper.


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## PierreRodrigue (Aug 21, 2011)

I'm missing skin on 5 fingers from trying to hand rub S35VN, I beleive it is easier to pull your teeth through your a$$, then it is to hand rub this stuff! This wasn't laughing at my paper, it was laughing, pointing, and whispering nasty things!


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## Eamon Burke (Aug 21, 2011)

Yeah, I've never been so motivated to go buy a power tool than when sandpaper stopped working, and I noticed the steel I was rubbing actually took the grit entirely off the paper.

That is a great job cleaning it up! You gonna handle it next?


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

I have some ringed gidgee and buffalo horn epoxied up.


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## jmforge (Aug 21, 2011)

A major improvement! From what little I have read about blue steel, I am wondering if it is the carbides more than the RC hardness that makes it scoff at your sandpaper? Doesn't that steel have some carbide forming elements in it like vanadium or tungsten?


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## tk59 (Aug 21, 2011)

Yup. Tungsten.


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## jmforge (Aug 21, 2011)

Isn't that the steel that also has 1.5% carbon content/ If so, I would think that you would have as much of the carbon locked up in carbides as you do in the iron. If so, hat would make for a fun hand sanding experience......NOT!!!:biggrin:


tk59 said:


> Yup. Tungsten.


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## Rottman (Aug 21, 2011)

Regular Blue 1 has 1.25-1.35 C, .3-.5 Cr and 1.5-2.0 W.

Btw. Mario, where you got that turd from?


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

It's a Takagi from JWW and calling it a turd is kinda harsh on my part,but I have such a strong hatred for a rustic finish.For 217$ shipped it's a steal.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Aug 21, 2011)

Do you need to spend as much sharpening it as you spent thinning and refinishing?


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

Takagi use's clay on the HT/quench process but there is no hamon.Do you think I should give it a quick etch to see if it brings it out??


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## Marko Tsourkan (Aug 21, 2011)

It won't hurt.


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

Marko Tsourkan said:


> Do you need to spend as much sharpening it as you spent thinning and refinishing?


 
After all the abuse on the edge this blade is still crazy sharp:thumbsup:


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

This is one odd looking differential HT,if that's what it is.


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## JBroida (Aug 21, 2011)

takagi's "hamon" is always pretty darn close to the edge as I recall


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## tk59 (Aug 21, 2011)

Very interesting thread. Thanks, Mario.


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## Dave Martell (Aug 21, 2011)

Could that be the core popping through?


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## Rottman (Aug 21, 2011)

Dave Martell said:


> Could that be the core popping through?


 
Core on a honyaki?


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## Dave Martell (Aug 21, 2011)

Dave Martell said:


> Could that be the core popping through?


 


Rottman said:


> Core on a honyaki?


 

Good question.....ignore me....carry on!


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## Dave Martell (Aug 21, 2011)

I'll change my question..... 

Could that be good steel popping through forge scale?


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

Dave Martell said:


> I'll change my question.....
> 
> Could that be good steel popping through forge scale?


 
I hope so,that was my goal:lol2:


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## G-rat (Aug 21, 2011)

JBroida said:


> takagi's "hamon" is always pretty darn close to the edge as I recall


 I've read this too and was confused by this Jon.
So newbie question: wouldn't placing your Hamon line so close to the edge make for lots of soft steel close to the edge of the knife? Why then is this blade so hard it destroys sandpaper? Maybe I'm confused though.


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## RRLOVER (Aug 21, 2011)

G-rat said:


> I've read this too and was confused by this Jon.
> So newbie question: wouldn't placing your Hamon line so close to the edge make for lots of soft steel close to the edge of the knife? Why then is this blade so hard it destroys sandpaper? Maybe I'm confused though.


 
It was pointed out earlier in the thread that steel comp is making it hard to sand not RC.I have no idea why the clay was placed the way it is on this blade.I do know that in my life time I won't sharpen the blade enough to worry about it.


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## James (Aug 21, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> :jawdrop:My word, please don't tell me you did that entirely by hand!
> 
> The Mythbusters actually polished turds. fftopic:


 
I was just thinking about when they did that; I think the lion one was the easiest to polish! haha with regard to the topic, I was hoping someone would do this and post about it; I've been thinking about this knife for a while


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## jmforge (Aug 21, 2011)

One of the guys who posts on Blade Forums built a big water cooled aluminum horizontal platen that sets up high on his KMG. It has a pump to circulate water though the block. The bad news is that he never made plans for it. He just built it. Something like that would be pretty sweet for jobs like this.


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## chazmtb (Aug 23, 2011)

So the final question is, is it worth it to spend 700 in a masamoto honyaki or 200 on the Tatagi and go through the time and pain to fix her up.


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## SpikeC (Aug 23, 2011)

For some of us the fixing is reason enough. For others, not so much!


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## Lefty (Aug 24, 2011)

Well said, Spike


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## RRLOVER (Aug 25, 2011)

Some ringed gidgee and box elder burl.I had a horn ferrule on it but had multiple failures:slaphead:


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## jmforge (Aug 25, 2011)

Nice work. haveyou discovered that the chance of failure increases as the cost of the material does? :biggrin:



RRLOVER said:


> Some ringed gidgee and box elder burl.I had a horn ferrule on it but had multiple failures:slaphead:


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## Dave Martell (Aug 25, 2011)

Nice work Mario, very creative!


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## RRLOVER (Aug 25, 2011)

Dave Martell said:


> Nice work Mario, very creative!


 
Thanx........I creatively copied the handle on my sanetsu ZDP189:angel2:


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## Marko Tsourkan (Aug 26, 2011)

RRLOVER said:


> Thanx........I creatively copied the handle on my sanetsu ZDP189:angel2:


 
There is a saying, "The Greeks didn't invent anything, but everything they copied, they improved upon". 

M


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## Mike Davis (Aug 28, 2011)

That looks amazing! Great job on the handle!


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## kalaeb (Aug 28, 2011)

The knife may have been a turd, but the handle is great. Well done!


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## ecchef (Aug 28, 2011)

The handle shape is kinda growing on me. Reminds me of the way we used to pinch those 'special cigarettes' when when I was young. :O


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## RRLOVER (Nov 26, 2013)

Bump....may answer question in another thread


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## ChuckTheButcher (Nov 26, 2013)

I love that handle.


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