Can Caly 3 Damascus pattern be "wiped off?" (Minimized)

[Fanch_Man]

Okay, hopefully this won't be sacrilege. I LOVE the looks of the Caly 3 Damasucs...except for the Damascus. I know I'm not alone in this, but I'm probably in the minority. That said, does anyone know if there is a way to minimize the starkness of the contrast? I'm not super familiar with the creation of Damascus blades, but I'm fairly certain that some kind of liquid wash is applied to the steel to bring out the pattern, and I'm wondering if that can be wiped off or rubbed off somehow such that the blade looks a little more plain. I'm not sure how else to ask, but hopefully you guys are picking up what I'm throwing down.

If there was a way to simply swap the ZDP blade out for the Damascus one, I'd be in hog heaven. Pipe dreams. Even though the Caly 3 ZDP is disco'd, perhaps Spyderco will release another sprint run with bolsters/CF/some other great steel??... :D :spyder:

Thanks, all.

Fanch

[yablanowitz]

I'm pretty sure Flitz or other metal polish will remove the oxide layer that makes the dark pattern.

[bpahk]

im with you on this. not a big fan of the suminagashi pattern but do like bolsters. post a pic if you try it!

[remnar]

I have seen some in which the darker portions have appeared to lighten in color and blend with the other layers. I assume that this could be achieved by polishing the blade.

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

Mine has come off from lubing up the pivot with inox. How do I get it back!?

[Sharp Guy]

Mine has come off from lubing up the pivot with inox. How do I get it back!?

Trade with Fanch_Man :D

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

Sorry forgot to mention mine is a lowly Delica Damascus not the mighty Caly!

[yablanowitz]

The only way I know to get it back is by a fresh acid dip.

[paladin]

Mine has come off from lubing up the pivot with inox. How do I get it back!?

Trade with Fanch_Man :D

Good One! heheheh

And that's what we call the 'ol Spyderco Forums "win / win" , folks!

[Evil D]

I'd imagine if you polish the blade it would make the Damascus lines almost invisible. The problem you're going to have is getting up around the pivot without jacking up the bolsters.

[JAfromMN]

I took it off easy for a fellow forum bro with toilet bowl acid.
I think it loos
Looks bad a**



It could have stayed it the bath longer but it was the first one I did.



PS I'm back



:p

[jstrange]

^

I like that. Nice job!

[SF Native]

I'm really surprised by this. I would not have guessed that you could minimize the Damascus look.
But seeing it, it seems the the blade had an acid bath to patina some layers and not others. Really cool. If you ever want to put it back on, I guess you could cut some lemons and let the acid patina the blade again.

[AlwaysTomboy]

Okay, hopefully this won't be sacrilege. I LOVE the looks of the Caly 3 Damasucs...except for the Damascus.

*gasp* Total sacrilege. . Damascus Caly 3 was my holy grail knife for years until I finally found one and bought it. All the same, I believe in customizing knives to make them exactly what you want so I wish you good luck. :)

Even though the Caly 3 ZDP is disco'd, perhaps Spyderco will release another sprint run with bolsters/CF/some other great steel??... :D :spyder:

I would totally buy that knife in a heartbeat.

[Studey]

I'm really surprised by this. I would not have guessed that you could minimize the Damascus look.
But seeing it, it seems the the blade had an acid bath to patina some layers and not others. Really cool. If you ever want to put it back on, I guess you could cut some lemons and let the acid patina the blade again.

If the blade is/layers are Damascus, you'll have a hard time getting that to effect things enough to really make the pattern pop.

[The Deacon]

I'm really surprised by this. I would not have guessed that you could minimize the Damascus look.
But seeing it, it seems the the blade had an acid bath to patina some layers and not others. Really cool. If you ever want to put it back on, I guess you could cut some lemons and let the acid patina the blade again.

Damascus is made from two steels, one of which takes a patina more easily than the other. But they're both steel, so they're both going to be a very silvery grey before an etchant is applied. The final result depends both on the steels and on the etchant used. Some knifemakers use an etchant the creates a low contrast, others use an etchant that creates a high contrast. Not sure if lemon juice would be strong enough to do anything, Might take something like muriatic acid to do the job.

This Seto VG-10 Damascus kitchen knife is an example of a low contrast etch, which seems to imply that using a high contrast etch on VG-10 damascus is a matter of choice...

Don't know if it was at Spyderco's request or whether, unlike Seto, both their Japanese makers simply do high contrast as a matter of course. Whatever the reason, there are those of us who find the result a bit garish and would prefer something more subtle. Of course nothing works for everyone, so I'm sure there are also those who'd look at the Seto and say "why pay for Damascus if you have to look to see it".