# Project Mizuno



## Dave Martell (Aug 24, 2013)

Talk about a one of a kind! :spiteful:

This is Shane's 270mm Mizuno gyuto with a blue steel core with (I believe) iron cladding that has been thinned, etched, polished, and upgraded to a new Stefan Keller handle. 

The blade was well used so I was asked to do the full spa treatment to clean & thin it up. After grinding on it some I could see the potential for some neat effects if the blade was etched so I ran the idea past Shane and he said go for it. 


Before...








After...












Before...







After...











The handle is African blackwood with a vintage bakelite ferrule & blue mammoth end cap. Nice! 













To get the blade looking the best I could get it meant polishing it pre-etch and then polishing it post-etch as well. Took me 4 attempts before I was satisfied. The result is something that could barely be captured in the pictures, the cladding is a shiny gun metal color while the core steel is a smokey brown/black....looks 100x better in person, you'll have to take my word for that.


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## Paradox (Aug 24, 2013)

Very nice!


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## Crothcipt (Aug 24, 2013)

Wow Dave I can't wait to see it in person. Thx a ton. It turned out better than what you were thinking at one point. Again great job.!!!!


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## Dave Martell (Aug 24, 2013)

Crothcipt said:


> Wow Dave I can't wait to see it in person. Thx a ton. It turned out better than what you were thinking at one point. Again great job.!!!!




I'm glad that you like it Shane. Hopefully it'll please even more when you get it in your hands. Thanks for the chance to do something different!


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## NO ChoP! (Aug 24, 2013)

Really cool; both the thinning and etch job, and the handle.


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## CrisAnderson27 (Aug 24, 2013)

Beautiful Dave! I know the exact colors and effect you mean. In sunlight I bet the 'gunmetal' cladding reflects a microscopic sized rainbow of colors, while the hard edge steel took on a grey/brown/black color. The way you polished it it almost looks like a monosteel blade with a very narrow clay hardening!


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## clayton (Aug 24, 2013)

Wow!


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## berko (Aug 24, 2013)

beauty!


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## Mrmnms (Aug 24, 2013)

Killer job Dave. Was any of the polishing done on wheels, or all by hand ?


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## Dave Martell (Aug 24, 2013)

Mrmnms said:


> Killer job Dave. Was any of the polishing done on wheels, or all by hand ?



It was done on belts first and then after etch was done on wheels.


Thanks for the kind words everyone.


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## EdipisReks (Aug 24, 2013)

That looks really nice!


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## cookinstuff (Aug 25, 2013)

Dave, that is just incredible, looks so good. I thought it was going to a coworker for a second, I work with a guy named Shayn, and he has a 270 mizuno which has had a ton of action, got a little excited until I saw it was going to Crothcipt. Good taste Shane, that's one of the nicest Mizunos I have seen. Great handle as well Stefan, I gotta get me some bakelite one day, looks fantastic.


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## spaceconvoy (Aug 25, 2013)

Dayum, that looks amazing... And judging by the kanji, looks like a serious thinning job too


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## Justin0505 (Aug 25, 2013)

That turned out really well. I could look at before and after pics like that all day. 
I love the transition area between the cladding and the core. 

Stephan's handles always seem to have a really unique and individual personality. 
It's crazy how well the bakelite matches the mammoth tooth.


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## Erilyn75 (Aug 26, 2013)

Beautiful!


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## edredlee (Aug 26, 2013)

Wow, just wow!


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## Johnny.B.Good (Aug 26, 2013)

Awesome.

What a transformation!


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## ThEoRy (Aug 26, 2013)

Soooo cool! Nice job once again Dave and Stefan.


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## cheflarge (Aug 26, 2013)

Frickin awesome.


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## Miles (Sep 1, 2013)

Wow! Makes me start to think about my Mizuno...


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## ChuckTheButcher (Sep 1, 2013)

Great choice on the blue mammoth. I knew that was going to come out stunning. Really beautiful.


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## Crothcipt (Sep 1, 2013)

I got this on Thursday, and I am just speechless. I am now the proud owner of a knife to pretty to use. Well it will take me a few weeks to get my nerve up to use it. When Dave says it's even more stunning in person he wasn't lying.


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2013)

Crothcipt said:


> I got this on Thursday, and I am just speechless. I am now the proud owner of a knife to pretty to use. Well it will take me a few weeks to get my nerve up to use it. When Dave says it's even more stunning in person he wasn't lying.



You got it AND you like it! :doublethumbsup:


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2013)

ChuckTheButcher said:


> Great choice on the blue mammoth. I knew that was going to come out stunning. Really beautiful.



I think that when you saw the knife (here) it was super blacked out and all orange peel looking wasn't it?


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## Crothcipt (Sep 1, 2013)

Dave Martell said:


> You got it AND you like it! :doublethumbsup:



Nope. LOVE IT.


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2013)

Dave Martell said:


> You got it AND you like it! :doublethumbsup:






Crothcipt said:


> Nope. LOVE IT.




Even better!:happy1:


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