How to: Stippling/texturing guards and spacers?

Shaw Blades

Shaw Blades

Joined
May 18, 2009
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Hello all,

I was wondering if someone could help me with this. How do you achieve this look? I've tried something similar with a flattened center punch but it didn't work very well. Is maybe using a bunch of different sized center punches? On this knife the same texture is also on the top of the guard. I really appreciate any feedback given.

orig.jpg
 
You can do it with a Dremel tool.

But practice makes perfect.
 
Yup, a Dremel is the way to go. A few years back Dave(whos work I greatly admire) posted a tutorial on how he did the texture and he used a rotary tool.

I've done a few myself using a ball point tungsten carbide burr then buffing it over to round the jaggedness off.
 
ecos said:
Yup, a Dremel is the way to go. A few years back Dave(whos work I greatly admire) posted a tutorial on how he did the texture and he used a rotary tool.

I've done a few myself using a ball point tungsten carbide burr then buffing it over to round the jaggedness off.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I searched and found his old post. Here it is for all to see, good stuff:


After profiling the bolsters and scales I contour and shape them close to finish up to about 600 grit, remove the bolsters and place them on a secure surface, I have a piece of 3/8 x 1 1/2 x 6 micarta that I put in my bench vise and I use double sided tape to hold the bolster secure.
Before actually texturing the bolster, practice your pattern on a piece of scrap of the SAME material, copper is soft and will machine easier than steel. On this one I did kind of a V shaped layout but get creative and do straight, random, patterns, whatever.
Once you have your pattern draw it on the bolster with a marker, pencil or color the whole bolster with ink and use a scribe. I used a small round burr in a flex shaft dremil with adjustable speed. If you want highs and lows just apply more downward pressure in some areas, be careful towards the edges as the burr wants to roam so hang on tight, use short strokes with the burr then overlap and blend as you work your way down the bolster
Once you finish texturing with the burr take a small dremil wire wheel I use brass wire on this one and wire wheel the entire textured area. I then reattach the bolster to the frame with scales and I sand with the same 600 grit to blend the bolster / scale joint and you can apply more sanding pressure to the texturing to flatten the highs some, depends on the look you're trying to achieve.
Take the bolster back off and put it back on you're steady rest, now you can apply different patina's, on this one I used a browning patina over the whole area. Once you achieve the color you want stop and rinse it off with hot water and LIGHTLY 4 / O steel wool the texture. Dry it off and I did an oil rub on this one to give it a more soft burnished look. I used gun oil and a stiff backed very fine sanding cloth and rub it until you are happy with the results. I finished with a couple of coats of ren wax.
That's it, hope it helps and have fun trying different methods, Dave
 
Cool stuff! Can you post a link to the thread you're quoting from?

Have you seen any of Dave Kelly's knives with multiple layers of liners? He uses texture on the rims of the liners in another effective way. I just included some images and a link to one in the current thread on liners.
 
Thanks Count. From the write up, I was thinking it was going to be a different textural look...and a very cool one it is!

I believe you may be right about the OP texture. That kind of stippling could be achieve with a punch/stamp. I round out the tip of the punch though, not flatten it. That way you can get different size circles depending on how hard/deep you hit it. It just takes a little practice to achieve the random look.
 
I do a fair bit of that texture, and I use a 3mm medium cut carbide ball burr running at 15K RPM. The various shapes and sizes are determined by poking, scooping, wiggling, etc. of the burr. Once you get the process down, it takes only a few minutes to do an entire piece.

You start with random marks placed every 1/4" or so around the piece, and then fill in between them as needed to get the desired look. Once finished, the piece is blackened/patinated and then sanded. Touch ups with the burr may be needed after sanding, as well as the patina restored.



For hammer worked finish, I take a small ball peen hammer. I have several for different materials, but a 2oz. and a 4oz. with a polished ball and face are the most used. I also have a 6oz. that I ground the ball down to a round end cone. It make a smaller dimple with more force. It is great for working steel, while the lighter hammers are used for copper, nickel, and silver.
Work on a smooth and hard surface. A polished 6" round or square of 1-2" thick steel works perfect. Don't pad the underside unless you are trying to raise a shape.

Everything starts clean and smooth. Hammering a rough surface will give you rough surfaced dimples. Similarly, hammering with a rough faced hammer gives you rough dimples. Polish the hammer ball/face, and sand the surface smooth and clean of all scratches. 400 grit works fine.
Start with lighter taps and randomly let them fall as you get a rhythm going. keep the hammer moving, and don't try too hard to "place" the blows. work the surface back and forth in sections filling in the empty spots. Don't try for a complete fill the first pass. Continue around/across the object and go over it again, evening up the spacing and filling in the bare spots. When it looks good, give it a quick sand with 400 grit and see if any spots show up as needing a few more taps. When done, give the surface a light sanding with 400-1000 grit.
If a contrast/patina is wanted, use your favorite method and patina the metal. Rubbing/buffing the surface after the patina is deep enough will bring out the contrast.

A note on hammer finish:
It is a process that moves metal, so start with fully annealed metal. As you work it ,it re-hardens.....so anneal it as often as needed.
The process moves the metal in several directions, and will change the shape of the object, so allow extra to be filed and trimmed away after the surface is worked. A sheet of metal will start to curl as it is worked. Flip over and hammer flat with a rawhide mallet as you go. Annealing is needed if the sheet resists re-flattening too much.
Hollow objects, like rings, bracelets will stretch as you work the surface, becoming larger in circumference. A size 8 wedding band may end up a size ten by the time you finish hammer working it. On thicker objects and bolsters this isn't as big a problem, but be aware that the tang hole will change size and need re-fitting after hammering a guard, and even a bolster may end up a little different size than it started out as.
 
I see folks doing a similar stippled texture on the wood of the handle as well. Is this usually done with the Dremel too, or something else?

Pertinent and timely post fellas; a stippled guard/handle is something I'm considering for one of my next knives.
 
Yes. A lot of the stippling is done with a dremel type tool. It takes some practice to do this and a firm, steady hand. Anything done in zytel, or a polymer is done with a soldering iron.
 
OK, this may sound dumb as dirt, and will obviously work best on flat or nearly-flat surfaces like the front of a guard or end of a butt-cap... but you can get a pretty cool-looking semi-random "stipple" by laying your workpiece on rough concrete or brick and thumping it with a rubber mallet.
 
James, that is actually a great idea. The last and only time I've tried this, I kept getting great efect on the hammer side but the anvil side would flatten. This drove me crazy because I could never get it even from side to side. I'll try the concrete method next time.
 
shesh you blokes come up with some great ideas, james i like the sound of your idea mate on the concrete, gonna have to give that one a try also
 
The funny part is, I learned that "trick" by accident several years ago, trying to flatten/true up a nickel/silver guard without a proper anvil :o
 
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