- Joined
- Dec 4, 2002
- Messages
- 1,346
I recently heard about the SOG Midnight Tiger which was their Tigershark with a blued SK-5 blade. Having recently purchased a first generation Tigershark with the SK-5 blade, and with some encouragement from a certain moderator, I went crazy and bought a small bottle of Birchwood Caseys Super Blue gun blue liquid.
Arriving home I actually read the directions before beginning and then cleaned the blade several times with denatured alcohol. I doubled-up a large piece of aluminum foil to create a small catch basin and placed this on the workbench and the Tigershark within. Taking two big gulps of Guinness then several deep deep breaths and wearing rubber gloves I began to swab the gun blue over the blade with a small cotton rag. Instant blotching, but I kept going, really rubbing the liquid into the steel. The instructions said let soak for 30 seconds but I kept swabbing with new liquid for 2 or 3 minutes and rubbing it in.
I took the knife into the kitchen and put it under the faucet to rinse (per instructions), then dried it with a soft towel. What a mess. Since the directions said steel wool I found some super-fine in my junk box and very gently buffed..... wow, what a difference, now the blade really began to look great, the blotchies went away.
So I alcohol cleaned it again and swabbed again, then rinsed and dried and steel wooled. WOW, lookin good !! About this time a pal called and said, Zumayas, 20 minutes, be there. If you know anything about Uptown Whittier, CA you know that is a call which must be obeyed.
Two hours later Im again alcohol cleaning the blade, swabbing, rinsing, drying, and steel wooling. WOW, LOOKIN GOOD !! The directions say to use some kind of oil, so I get out the DuraLube and soak the blade for awhile, then gently steel wool it, wipe it, and again give it a DuraLube soak. Then The Simpsons gave me another reason to pause.
A great Friday afternoon/evening project with excellent success. The worst part is that I dont have a digital camera to take any pictures. Im thinking it would take some someone with good equipment and much skill, neither of which I have.
Well, thats it. The blade looks great, a deep non-shiny blue. It doesnt have the lustrous shine of the SOG Bowie but this Tigersharks new bluing is nice and even, not splotchy at all. And with a little DuraLube on the blade there is even a dash of irridescence. It looks as good as Id hoped it would.
Cheers,
Carl
Arriving home I actually read the directions before beginning and then cleaned the blade several times with denatured alcohol. I doubled-up a large piece of aluminum foil to create a small catch basin and placed this on the workbench and the Tigershark within. Taking two big gulps of Guinness then several deep deep breaths and wearing rubber gloves I began to swab the gun blue over the blade with a small cotton rag. Instant blotching, but I kept going, really rubbing the liquid into the steel. The instructions said let soak for 30 seconds but I kept swabbing with new liquid for 2 or 3 minutes and rubbing it in.
I took the knife into the kitchen and put it under the faucet to rinse (per instructions), then dried it with a soft towel. What a mess. Since the directions said steel wool I found some super-fine in my junk box and very gently buffed..... wow, what a difference, now the blade really began to look great, the blotchies went away.
So I alcohol cleaned it again and swabbed again, then rinsed and dried and steel wooled. WOW, lookin good !! About this time a pal called and said, Zumayas, 20 minutes, be there. If you know anything about Uptown Whittier, CA you know that is a call which must be obeyed.
Two hours later Im again alcohol cleaning the blade, swabbing, rinsing, drying, and steel wooling. WOW, LOOKIN GOOD !! The directions say to use some kind of oil, so I get out the DuraLube and soak the blade for awhile, then gently steel wool it, wipe it, and again give it a DuraLube soak. Then The Simpsons gave me another reason to pause.
A great Friday afternoon/evening project with excellent success. The worst part is that I dont have a digital camera to take any pictures. Im thinking it would take some someone with good equipment and much skill, neither of which I have.
Well, thats it. The blade looks great, a deep non-shiny blue. It doesnt have the lustrous shine of the SOG Bowie but this Tigersharks new bluing is nice and even, not splotchy at all. And with a little DuraLube on the blade there is even a dash of irridescence. It looks as good as Id hoped it would.
Cheers,
Carl
