Making Santoku - Part 3

I described the polishing process in some detail here: -click- so there is no need to write at length again. I just have to say that it took this time a lot longer than I expected, and I only have myself to blame. I made two mistakes:

1) I grossly underestimated the amount of time that my non-knife-related duties would take.

2) When polishing the blades with Trizact A65, I overlooked a few scratch marks from the previous belt. After a week in the polishing drum, they became very pronounced, and I had to re-polish the blades manually and start the tumbling anew.

However, after a month, the blades finally had an acceptable surface finish

Therefore, I could finally sign and number them, which I did yesterday. The etching process is also described here: -click-. It went relatively smoothly, and both blades have crisp logos and clear numbers. The numbers are always a bit difficult due to their tiny size, but they are still recognizable. I am not trying to compete with laser engravers; the whole point of my process is that everything is handmade.

The upper blade with the number 100 is ever so slightly better and closer to the template, so that will go towards the commission. The second one will be finished with different materials and go on sale at the web shop.

The only thing that remains is to make the handle. Let us hope there won't be any further hiccups.