Heavy on the Crossgrain, Please!!

[wolfeknives]

Just as a point of interest, I just found this website. http://www.wardaggers.com/Solingen.htm It shows grinding rooms and a polishing wheelin use. The room with the very small wheels are for polishing fittings I believe. The working conditions under which my daggers were made make me appreciate them even more.
Wolfgang

[Eric Von Rader]

Most of us have never seen how true "polishing" is done. Its not just buffing on a large wheel. Is a very specific process as I have worked in Tool and die for 15 years. A master polisher can make a turd into a chrome like Gem. There are many tools of the trade as well. Polishing stones, wheels, compounds, all are critical to obtaining proper finishes. I had to polish a draw die for a Ford Explore gas tank, yak that was fun. Took 3 guys 2 weeks @ 50 hours a week to get it done.

It takes many years of experience to truly master proper polishing skills.

[Stahlhelm]

As others have said, this is a VERY interesting and informative thread! Thanks to all for the great information here. I've learned a lot in reading this, for sure. Special thanks to J.R. for all the initial information! I had no idea that the highly-coveted crossgraining was something that manufacturers of the time did not desire and fought to eliminate. Wow!

Chris

[juoneen]

The finish of a dagger blade, is is usually a number. To pass inspection it must pass the finish specs also for the correct blade finish. Sounds to me like the argument was brought up to cover daggers that may have been damaged by some polishing even ever so slight thru ignorance. .Maybe to attempt to recoup full price out of them while they can be dumped quickly in order to restock ones worth more that have been left alone .This is the trend of the future collectors , as untouched blades will soon bring double of messed with ones.
I hear theres a guy who re grinds blades to regain the finishes, but they can be seen under a microscope to be vastly in departure from an original finish if you know what to look for.
Many times collectors get a fine blade as it is, and polish it till they ruin its true artistic value tryiong to make an old knife look new.Upon realization years later ,the owner has just ruined his own dagger himself .
I personally wont buy aANY dagger thats been touched by cleaning. You cant find untouched blades every day, but just once in a while before the fools get there hands on them, or from the familys who have left them sit in the attic or a drawer. Thats what i want them , the untouched ones ONLY .
Any dagger even rubbed by a cotton t shirt will polish the lines off quickly over time , if you try and remove age marks from oxidation in spots , then you have minute pitting, any trained eye can plainly see,and simichrome is the curse word of all real original (left alone) dagger collectors.
If any dagger has no even grain as the nice ones shown by these collectors in the first part of this thread from any cleaning in any way(and by the way some real beautys they truly are, my complements for the great photos, as its difficult to get the lighting just right to see the lines so well), It makes them actually worth 50% less , as they are actually ruined for advanced collectors unless dumped cheap. so leave oxidation marks alone also, as it cant be removed,and if you do ,...what do you have left?, pitting you cant remove, as the less its touched is the more its worth. honest age oxidation is typical, buffed pitting is not.
I must say the early daggers ive encountered, are a thing of beauty, until its touched by some fool to clean any blems or marks off.Inadvertainly resulting in destroying the investment as a result.
The same goes for samurai swords, and thats another whole subject in itself. You guys interested in jap blades know what im talking about.
Polish of any kind leaves microscopic scratches inconsistant with original stone ground blades factory finishes. Any blade left as found un polished or cleaned even with a fingerprint in it , will actually retain 95% of full value if left as found.Learning to leave thing alone,is hard to do for cleanaholics. Most cant resist the cleaning to death sentence they think makes them pretty, , pretty worthless ...to advanced collectors, who just shake there heads, and pass on them , as they also must have the scabbard drag lines in place also, they all should have them . To not have them on a blade is one we all should pass on unless 1/2 of retail or real cheap,no matter how nice it looks.
I dont support the opinion that early blades are polished by some manufacturers to be shiny.Maybe a special order for ernst roehm or some other dignitary, but i doubt it across the board in my personal opinion and experience.
I suggest to exercise caution buying any blade without these lines intact, and unground tangs with untouched billet clamp marks must be there also, to prove they are not parts daggers put together after the war to fill demand. So all daggers unless bought from a vet should be taken down for complete inspection for these points. price you will want to pay , will be graded by these fine points , or you need to move on, and look for another one down the road.
If this is true that some dagger makers polished their blades to a mirror finish please state wich ones, and where you got the reliable information as a source for your position , then we can see what the forum guys have that match the rule to see if it jives in line with the theory.
As i said: Could this inthread be used asrefernce , so someone can off some polished blades someone paid too much for in attempts to regain monies lost by bad handling or cleaning too much, by referring to this article as proof that early blades were polished to a mirror finish? I dont know ,I would research the staements further , before believeing it totally , as the best arguments,in my opinion so far ,were for the untouched blades as a standard for daggers kept for the highest return for investments for to retain the highest value in the future.
WW2 german dagger factories were in the business of making blades fast efficiently , with the highest quality ,and cheap. But still had to pass inspection for quality control , or they were remelted to be reused, to save on materials in stead of just being wasted.