Tool marks

Madranchtx

Madranchtx

Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
280
I just received a fixed blade knife that is highly regarded here. I have never seen one in person and purchased from the manufacturer website. Knife is much as expected overall very nice. Toolmarks along the spine seem excessive, very excessive. I started looking closely at videos and it seems to be normal for this model. I could return it but like everything about it except the toolmarks and it is purely a cosmetic issue. The steel is 3v. Is it possible smooth out? Not something I would attempt myself but I would be willing to invest a little more to have it fixed. Looking for recommendations.
 
Pictures would help to form an opinion and offer advice.
 
That’s the kind of repair that requires elbow grease. Elbow grease is free if it’s yours, but cost a lot if it’s someone else’s.

My point is you are best off doing it your self. Sand paper and a plate of glass or some other flat hard surface. Work on it a little at a time progress from coarse to smooth grit. Be careful to keep the lines crisp.
 
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Don't be afraid to try to fix it yourself as eveled suggested. It's a knife, not a space shuttle - you aren't really getting into anything over your head here.

Get some various grit emery paper. Start with 200 grit. Then 400. Finish with whatever grit you want to give you the shine and finish you desire (600, 1000, 1500 grit etc.)

Take your time and you'll be proud of yourself and the knife will be a little more "yours".

Is the blade coated? That changes things a bit, as you will obviously remove the coating on the spine when you start sanding...

You need a pic hosting site to upload your images to - Imgur is good. Load your pic there, then copy the hyperlink for that pic and insert it into your post here. Easy-peasy.
 
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If the marks are deep you could be hand-sanding for a long time trying to get them out. After all, since it's a finished knife blade I assume we are talking about hardened steel.

It might require a belt sander. Or maybe some diamond files.
 
What price range is the knife you are talking about? If it was lower end, I wouldn't care, but it it cost $500, I might gripe.
Also, do you plan on using it, or is it one for the collection? Will tool marks on the spine affect the performance of the blade in any manner? Like the other comments, I'd just polish it myself it it really bothered me, easiest thing to do on a knife.
 
Send it back if it bugs you that much. Pretty sure I know the knife, they all have some light tooling marks. Heckuva knife though, I would just use it.
 
Madranchtx said:
Not sure how to add pic and I'm trying not to be manufacturer specific.
Click to expand...

Why are you reluctant to show or name the mfg. ?

Your impressions of the knife seem to be positive except for a single aspect, it’s not like you are here bashing the company. This could be an informative thread for others pre-purchase as a representation of what they will receive and post-purchase of how to clean up what they receive if they wish.
 
It sounds like it’s within their acceptable quality. So no reason not to post their name.
Good point CWL CWL makes about the cost. It’s fun to buy a cheaper knife and put the effort into it to bring it to the next level. If you paid for next level quality you should get what you paid for.
 
It's tough to appreciate your concern without photos and the name of the manufacturer.
 
Madranchtx said:
~$200 so not super expensive but nothing to sneeze at either. It will be a user, again it will not effect function it is strictly cosmetic. Being 3V not sure how far I would get with sandpaper.

Click to expand...
that is easier to fix, than on the face of the blade.

I've fixed lots of spine grinder marks with a Cheap diamond file (mine has a half round i use for choils) I got it at the Big River.
 
That's a bit odd. Those aren't what I'd call tool marks, but simply that the profile was only cleaned up with 36 or 60 grit and just left that way. Using EDM stones and a few grits of paper I would have all the spine and tang areas polished in about 20 minutes, but it would be more of a pain if you haven't done it before and don't have the supplies. For me I would look closely at the whole thing before deciding what is worth doing.
 
Pretty unimpressive level of finish.

Please post the manufacturer and model name. People can give you all kinds of advice about sandpaper and cleaning it up yourself, but there’s no excuse for why that should be necessary on a brand new $200 knife. It would be helpful to know who/ what to avoid.
 
The tang not being flush with the butt of the scales is more of a concern for me than the level of finish on the tang profile.
 
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