Small Seax – EDC – Stone Washing
- Steel – 3/16” 1095
- Blade 3 1/2”
- Overall – 8”
- Sanded to 320, used deburring wheel, polished
- Etched in Ferric Chloride straight for about 40 minutes
- Scales – Stabilized Spalted beech
Seax is an Old English word for “knife”. Traditionally the seax is a weapon consisting of a curved sword with a notched blade, appearing, for example, in the coats of arms of Essex and the former Middlesex. The Seax was a universally carried knife in Northern Europe. Also known as the Viking dagger, it was carried and used by the Saxons, Angles, Vikings and Germanic tribes. Viking Daggers, use probably dated before the fall of Rome and continues on into the early Middle Ages.
Small Seax – EDC – Stone Washing
It was about this time I decided to build a knife tumbler as a grinder attachment for stonewashing knives.
Stone Washing for Your Knives’ Finish is quite simple. You can actually do it by hand. Just put the knife in a container with media. I used stones I picked up from the side of the road.
The beginning tumbler is pretty simple. I mounted casters to a wood base. I had a cardboard shipping container some metal was shipped in that was about the right size, so I used it.
One end is capped and the other has a block of wood I cut to fit. It’s thick enough that the sides of the frame holds it in place. I used a course belt on the grinder to “drive” or turn the barrel. There is a wooden baffle to “flip” the media. The block of 2 x 4 in front was to keep it from possibly jumping off, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. The base is just clamped to grinder table.
You can also use a purchased tumbler. I’ve heard the vibrating type used for reloading or some that are used in polishing.
After just a few minutes in the tumbler this is the way the knife looks.
Design note for stone washing. In order to finish the scales, it’s nearly impossible to leave the etching on the spline. I should have added Jimping in front of the scales. This would have made a good border from etched to not etched.
A few notes on Stone Washing for Your Knives’ Finish:
You can put nail polish over parts of the knife you don’t want stonewashed. Remove the nail polish after you’re done stonewashing the blade with nail polish remover.
Try adding Spray a little WD-40 in the barrel with the rocks, or a little soap and water.
The longer you stone wash, the lighter the blade will be.
You can purchase tumbling media or use stones as I did. Different media gives a different texture, so you should experiment to see what you like. You can create anything, from a matte that’s finely-textures down to a rough or scratched-up look that looks tough and cool.
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