Add Texture to Your Metal Work

Blacksmith, Bladesmith, pick up a needle scaler. Very easy way to age some age and character to steel. This idea was inspired by Black Bear Forge's channel. He didn't really show the results or how it could work on a knife blade, so I'm made this as sort of a continuance of his idea.
#blacksmith #texture #needlescaler

[@oldworldshopworks]

I used a needle gun, in the navy. Chewing paint off the wall. Lol just to repaint it. Nothing wrong with the old paint.

[@SelfMadeProject]

I was in the Marines, I can relate. We'd polish the same brass pipe everyday, lol.

[@Null_76]

Yes! This is the video I needed. Thanks.

[@adamengland2519]

A great video. Great video quality and love the comparisons. Thanks

[@SelfMadeProject]

Thanks!

[@evaderknives]

Interesting, maybe I'll look into that... Thanks for the tips..

[@SharpWorks]

This was a very interesting tip

[@geneclifford8662]

Pretty neat stuff Anthony, I can't wait to see some of your next style blades. Now what are you going to come up with next. Take care.

[@SelfMadeProject]

Thanks Gene.

[@RileyKnifeandTool]

Heat the needles and you've got an auto stippler 9000 for polymers and plastics. ;)

[@SelfMadeProject]

@@RileyKnifeandTool good idea Drew!

[@64t120r]

That's a real good idea. Look close at the texture made with the unground needles. I think it made the spike look more like it had layers. Do you see that as well? It could be just angles and time to examine the piece.

[@SelfMadeProject]

Yeah, you can see the little half rounds in there. The triangle needles left more straight lines. At an arms length though, you can't really see a difference. I might try putting points on them too.

[@64t120r]

@@SelfMadeProject I wonder what this would look like on knife scales. Maybe experiment with different grains, hardwoods, softwoods. I don't think it would be great as an end grain texture, but a flat sawn piece would work. It might look really good if a section of the handle was outlined and then the texture was added inside the outline. Kind of like crosshatching. The scaler would probably have to be held perpendicular to the wood. It would probably be best to stabilize the wood as well, but I'm not sure. I'm going to get a scaler.

[@SelfMadeProject]

@@64t120r Yeah, I've already been thinking about other things to try too. Like copper, SS bolsters, wood, micarta, G10, etc. I think for handle materials, you might need to soften or dome the pins some so they aren't so aggressive. I'll try some more stuff.

[@savedfaves]

I had some cast iron items sandblasted recently to remove all the paint, but the sandblasting made the texture of the door handles too smooth. Some of the character is lost. I don’t have any of your tools, so I can’t do anything like you’ve done here, and I worry about cracking the cast iron, too. I wonder is there’s an acid we could get to acid etch some texture back into the cast iron?

[@SelfMadeProject]

Hmmm... I doubt acid would do the trick, it would just etch the surface evenly. Maybe a coarser abrasive in the sandblaster would leave a texture. For that grainy cast iron texture, it's just about going to have to be by a mechanical means. If its a small part, hand stippling with a punch or a textured tool might do it. Good luck.

[@SuperHurdman]

How is Tommy Boy doing!?

[@SelfMadeProject]

Well, he would go tom catting around, often for a couple days at a time. One day, he left and never came back. We tried finding him, posted on FB, asked neighbors, etc. Just vanished. :(