Best method to polish folded steel/damascus?

[urbansurfer]

I recently got a pair of butterfly swords in the mail. Ordered them from China for martial arts practice. I got them because of the folded steel pattern and think its absolutely gorgeous.

The problem is these swords aren't as shiny/polished as I would like and there isn't as much contrast in the folded steel as I was hoping to get. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can bring out the contrast and shine in these blades?

Thanks!
http://www.zhisword.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45_68&products_id=518&zenid=425c234d907560e21c2af66e2682c98e

 

[Hesparus]

First, you'd have to be absolutely certain that what you have is REAL damascus. A lot of fake damascus comes out of china, and for only $200 I'd be pretty skeptical that you got the real deal. If what you have is not real damascus, anything to do to bring out the etch will just make your blades look like crap.
But if you're completely certain, there's a pretty good tutorial here: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/798351/
It's also worth pointing out that this is not as easy as it may seem — it's pretty easy to screw this up if you don't know what you're doing. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have some experience making knives or can enlist the help of someone who does.

- Chris

 

[urbansurfer]

Thanks for the tutorial Hesparus! They definitely are folded steel blades, but they do cheap out on the fittings (not well ground, but still solid brass at least) and the sheath is definitely cheap. The blades themselves are reasonable though and they engrave free of charge. For the purposes of training and demos they're the best bang for your buck in my opinion.

I did manage to bring out some more shine by taking some 1000grit sandpaper to them followed by a thin coat of mineral oil.

I'll give that etch process a shot once i've used and abused these guys a bit.