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Tigerman
412
Nov 29, 2017
I wanted an end game flipper. I'm still trying to work out whether this is it.
Technically it's close to perfect. Great steel, titanium, ceramic detent ball and bearings... no weak points. And the machining on this thing is INSANE. I've never held such a perfectly machined object. If you look at any edge you'll see perfect, even chamfers. If you gave your knife design to god, you wouldn't expect any better. I'm actually not exaggerating. I can not find a single flaw.
But that doesn't make me love it. The blade feels a little too wide compared to the handle, and it flips heavily with a clunk rather than a click. And the knife's perfection... it's a cold, brutal perfection. It gives the feeling of being made by an unfeeling alien race of soulless beings rather than someone with passion. I thought I was being too fussy about this, until I handed it to my wife and she said "yuck" as soon as she touched it. It's the blasted finish on the handle - it feels awful and polarises everything about the knife.
I'd wanted something to replace my Spyderco Southard, which was a bit too much "you either love it or hate it". But when I go back to it, it's all cool and quirky where the Crux is boring. I've often looked at the Southard and wondered what Brad Southard was thinking, usually in a positive way. The Crux is inscrutable.
Conclusion? Not yet! I stonewashed the handle, and now, a week later, I like it! This is the shortest time I've ever waited before taking a knife apart. Now that the blasted finish is gone, I seem to have forgiven or forgotten about the other flaws. Maybe they weren't actually flaws - maybe the blasted finish was the whole problem. Now it just feels tight and solid. So finally the conclusion: I think the finish on the handle is terrible, but the rest is awesome! There are two other things that I haven't mentioned: the sculpted pocket clip is obviously not as good as a stamped one, but I assume you know what you're getting into with that; and the handle is not especially rounded, it's a little flat compared to some handles. I don't really mean this to be a knife review though, more a massdrop product review, so judge those points for yourself.
Tigerman
412
Nov 29, 2017
TigermanBest edges ever.
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Tigerman
412
Nov 29, 2017
TigermanStonewashed with stones from the railway tracks.
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Bflying
1105
Nov 29, 2017
TigermanYour stonewash looks amazing. I tried to do that to my Falcon in the beginning because the original finish simply freaked me out. Couldn't stand to touch it. But it didn't come out looking even close to what yours looks like, or I would have just stopped there. I ran it for almost two days in my reloading vibrating tumbler. It felt a little better to the touch, but still was a bit weird, so I went to work with sandpaper, then anodized.
Tigerman
412
Nov 29, 2017
BflyingSounds like we had the same reaction to the handle finish! It's sad, because I've never seen such flawless bead-blasting. I used stones gathered from the railway tracks, approx. 2~5 cm size, in a 2 litre plastic tub with water and soap. I used tape and nail polish to protect the backs and holes of the handles, then shook them by hand for about 20 minutes. Luckily it worked OK! I think it's actually more of a "scratch finish" relying on the old dark surface, compared to a proper stone wash that textures the metal itself. Do you have any photos of your Falcon at any stage?
Bflying
1105
Nov 29, 2017
TigermanThis is what it looked like when I pulled it out of the tumbler. Mostly just smoothed it out.

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But now it looks like this.

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Tigerman
412
Nov 29, 2017
BflyingPhwoo, nice anodising! Perhaps the original dark surface is quite hard, and needs an aggressive tumbling media to cut through it.
Bflying
1105
Nov 29, 2017
TigermanThanks. Yeah, I've heard people say that the blasting on these is just too light. But I think just the opposite based on what it took to get it off. If there was no finish or hardened layer, then I would guess that it was actually a very deep and effective blasting job. And possibly with much finer media than I'm used to with ZT, Spiderco and such. I think it was a very solid and even job. And if the texture didn't affect me the way it did, (think nails on chalkboard), I would most likely have left it and enjoyed it until very worn. But the crazy effect my body had when it touched my skin is what pushed me off my butt to try changing it up a bit.
I'm really kind of happy it did, because I've had fun working on them. Not to mention learning a little more about finishings. I think I now have the confidence to work on some of my $300-$400 knives.
Bflying
1105
Dec 1, 2017
TigermanOk, I'm just spit ballin' here. But..... There is someone over on the Falcon discussion that tried electro ano over the original finish, with no success. But now with your stonewash baring the raw Ti randomly with scratches, would an ano attempt now just lay down color in the scratches?
I don't have the original finish to any extent left on either of my knives or I would try it. But I think a nice low voltage bronze, purple, or blue would look absolutely amazing in those scratch lines if my theory played out. 👌🏻😎 And if not, I'd guess that another stonewash and/or Scotchbrite pad would bring it right back off. I just keep looking at your stonewash pics above and visualizing a lightning strike style of color peeking through that heavy original finish. Maybe it's just me, but I think it would be stunning if it ended up anywhere close to the vision in my mind.
Tigerman
412
Dec 1, 2017
BflyingThat sounds cool! Do people usually do anodising themselves, or take it to the pros?
Bflying
1105
Dec 1, 2017
TigermanI did my own with 9 volt batteries, and Coca Cola. 👍🏻 It's kind of fun. On my knives above, 27 volts gave me that bronze on the Falcon, 36 for a purple, and 45 for that blue on my Crux.
Give it a try. You've already shown the ingenuity needed with that really effective stone wash.
TylerDurden333
95
Dec 1, 2017
BflyingYou did that with batteries and coke? I would love to this. Looks great.
Tigerman
412
Dec 1, 2017
BflyingWhaaaat?? Really?!? Ok, gotta go, need to buy some coke...
Bflying
1105
Dec 1, 2017
TigermanThis is a pretty good video showing the basics of small part anodizing, including full stripping and re-ano. He is getting similar colors as I am getting on the low end of the scale, but with 2 less batteries for each color. My batts could be run down.
Also, I have been using cola instead of baking soda. For some reason I had hit and miss results with baking soda. Not sure what I did wrong. But one tutorial I read suggested using Coke or fertilizer. The Coke seemed less toxic to use in the house, so I stuck with it. And I have been using aluminum wire instead of titanium. That could affect my results also. But it is what I had on hand....and it worked. I've never stripped anything yet, but plan on finding some Wink to try it.
https://youtu.be/8R3ebqKDPkU
Tigerman
412
Dec 1, 2017
BflyingThanks for that! It's good to know where to start.
BflyingThose came out great. That's a finish I never would have though of to do on the Falcon and Crux. It looks like you've caught the anodizing bug. I know the symptoms very intimately and have refinished my Falcons a few times each. How long will these finishes last before you decide to change it up again? I've refinished my Falcons a couple time each.
Bflying
1105
Dec 6, 2017
FerrumForgeThank you. 👊🏻 Not sure how long it will last. I've got a pretty short attention span. 😁 But also have some ZT's that I wanted to try out some flair on.
The Crux is on the second finish. My first go on that one ended up looking like scorched metal. Though it probably has as much to do with the random dremel finish I gave the flats.
Bflying
1105
Jan 1, 2018
FerrumForgeNot long. 😁

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