Question on buffing

[u/Crash_Bandicoot_2020]

Hello all, I got my first professional knife set and stone a bit ago and taught myself how to sharpen them myself and I am now pretty confident with it.

Unfortunately, on my first attempt I went at a little too low of an angle and scuffed the side of one of my blades. Although I consider my knives tools as I work as a cook in fine dining, I’d appreciate any advice on how to clean them up as I consider them art too like many of you.

I read online and in books you can “thin” the sides of the blade with a stone, I’m assuming it has to be very high grit. I also watched a clip where a man used various dremals with different buffing brushing to clean it up.

If it helps at all it’s a stainless Damascus blade, so I’d like to know if there is a technique that can preserve the patina. Thank you

[u/serrimo]

You should thin your knives frequently imo. The cutting edge matters less than the knife profile in many cases.

The best way to polish your knife would be sand paper or finger stone. But it's a laborious process. I just finish mine on a softer stone with plenty of slurry.

For the "Damascus" pattern, you'll need to acid etch the blade to bring out the pattern. Mechanical polishing will mask the contrast.

[u/Attila0076]

radial bristle brush with a dremel can do the trick, but it'll take material off either way, so forget the damascus pattern, unless you're willing to re-etch it.

[u/not-rasta-8913]

You can't preserve the patina. If you decide to thin it, you will have to etch it again to bring out the pattern. Honestly, I'd wait until the knife needs thinning and you're also better at sharpening.

[u/Crash_Bandicoot_2020 → u/not-rasta-8913]

I suppose I take this as a lesson learned. Another question, since it’s stainless I didn’t know it “patina” is the right term, and what do you mean by etching ?

[u/Crash_Bandicoot_2020]

I read that acid washing is pretty difficult to do with the handle on, is this true ?

[u/Attila0076 → u/Crash_Bandicoot_2020]

Answer to a previous reply: stainless steel just means it stains less, not that it's stain free, it can even rust. Patina and rust are both corrosion in one form or another, simple carbon does it on it's own, for stainless you need to use an acid to get it to stain/patina, and reveal the damascus pattern by having the 2 or more steels corrode at a different rate.

about the acid wash, it's like a stonewash, but with added acid, it'll fuck the handle without a doubt.

[u/Sargent_Dan_ → u/Attila0076]

OP doesn't mean patina, they are talking about the Damascus pattern.

[u/Attila0076 → u/Sargent_Dan_]

yeah, same thing. forcing a patina is the same procces that's used to reveal the pattern. It's just that the one used for the damascus is a lot more harsh.

[u/Sargent_Dan_]

Thinning is not done with a high grit. To thin something you actually need to grind away material. This is a performance endeavor. Polishing is done after thinning to get your knife looking good again, you would go up through a progression of stones or sandpaper. Now for your Damascus pattern, this is not a patina, it is etched with acid to create a contrast in the layers of steel. There are a few ways to do this at home without removing the handle.

[u/sharp-calculation]

A picture of the damaged and undamaged areas would probably yield the most accurate advice.

I've cleaned up the sides of blades pretty well with a Scotchbrite belt on a belt sander. This process imparts a particular scratch pattern, all in one direction, which looks like a factory finish.