Police 4 K390

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Just Flitzed the blade and it looks like my initial fears were correct this blade has suffered a mistake during manufacture some kind of buffer or belt burn on the one side.

I wonder what would happen if I send it in to Spyderco for warranty evaluation?

Hmmmm You know Sal and Eric the Police is a prime Candidate for LC200N treatment with its length I can cut things in the kitchen like Oranges and grapefruit very nicely :)

Sounds cosmetic,
I'd just put it back in my pocket and use it, scratch it and let it patina over time.

Yeah leaning that way also. Probably going to buy a second one anyway for the Safe Deposit Box.

[Xplorer]

Just Flitzed the blade and it looks like my initial fears were correct this blade has suffered a mistake during manufacture some kind of buffer or belt burn on the one side...

I'm sorry to hear that. I know it's difficult to receive a new knife that's less than perfect, even if it is only cosmetic. Fortunately it won't affect the performance at all. I would sharpen edge bevel to smooth the transition and use that knife. In a way it frees you to use it like the tool it was meant to be. :)

[Xplorer]

Those are some nice looking knives, btw how did u apply the mustard to the blade to make ure pm2 look like that? I think it looks awesome

I literally squirted it out of the mustard bottle in the pattern you see on the blade. The patina formed most quickly at the edges of the mustard where the vinegar fumes can attack the exposed steel. The actual area covered by the mustard stayed relatively protected. I feel compelled to add however, I am not encouraging patina graffiti on knives :p I did this on a whim, and there are much better ways to force a patina. :)

[DBCOOPER]

Those are some nice looking knives, btw how did u apply the mustard to the blade to make ure pm2 look like that? I think it looks awesome

I literally squirted it out of the mustard bottle in the pattern you see on the blade. The patina formed most quickly at the edges of the mustard where the vinegar fumes can attack the exposed steel. The actual area covered by the mustard stayed relatively protected. I feel compelled to add however, I am not encouraging patina graffiti on knives :p I did this on a whim, and there are much better ways to force a patina. :)

I think it looks pretty dang kool, I doubt I'll ever try, but I does look interesting!

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Just Flitzed the blade and it looks like my initial fears were correct this blade has suffered a mistake during manufacture some kind of buffer or belt burn on the one side...

I'm sorry to hear that. I know it's difficult to receive a new knife that's less than perfect, even if it is only cosmetic. Fortunately it won't affect the performance at all. I would sharpen edge bevel to smooth the transition and use that knife. In a way it frees you to use it like the tool it was meant to be. :)

Yeah getting one in brand new like that is disappointing and aggravates my sense of value for money paid. QC @ Spyderco should never have allowed that to leave the factory like that. If the price was equal to the quality then no problem but I paid a price for a higher quality item than what I received and that is not sitting well with me.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Just Flitzed the blade and it looks like my initial fears were correct this blade has suffered a mistake during manufacture some kind of buffer or belt burn on the one side.

I wonder what would happen if I send it in to Spyderco for warranty evaluation?

Hmmmm You know Sal and Eric the Police is a prime Candidate for LC200N treatment with its length I can cut things in the kitchen like Oranges and grapefruit very nicely :)

Sounds cosmetic,
I'd just put it back in my pocket and use it, scratch it and let it patina over time.

I considered doing just that but.... That is giving approval for paying full price and receiving goods that are not up to snuff or correct and ultimately not something I will promote. On top of that who knows how the temper of the blade has been effected?

Decided to and have contacted the seller to work something out to equalize the transaction. It is more about the principal of the thing than money and I will not be able to live with that knife if every time I look at it I wind up thinking yeah I paid too much and took it on the chin like a sap or a sucker, just not wired that way. In my book fair is fair. Agreed upon price for agreed upon quality of goods.

A few months back I did buy a used Spyderco Military in S90V that came in with really screwed up bevels from someone inexperienced with sharpening. I saved over $50.00 buying it used and accepted the defects I would remedy as a fair price.

It is all about value for price paid for me and the Police 4 I received has failed that criteria.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

All is well that has ended well. I contacted the seller unfortunately they did not have a replacement for the Police 4. They offered to replace or refund $30.00 to bring it more into line with the condition of the blade. When I purchased this it was with a 15% off ebay Coupon so that is 30 percent off.

This I can live with and turn into a hard user and test sharpener while I shop for it's safe queen replacement. Just got my second Christmas bonus from my second job and the :spyder: Spyder just keeps biting me :D

[The Meat man]

All is well that has ended well. I contacted the seller unfortunately they did not have a replacement for the Police 4. They offered to replace or refund $30.00 to bring it more into line with the condition of the blade. When I purchased this it was with a 15% off ebay Coupon so that is 30 percent off.

This I can live with and turn into a hard user and test sharpener while I shop for it's safe queen replacement. Just got my second Christmas bonus from my second job and the :spyder: Spyder just keeps biting me :D

Glad you got it satisfactorily resolved. I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences with the knife.

I hope my Police 4 comes today. It's already several days late so we'll see. :rolleyes: Holiday season shipping I guess.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

We purchased from the same seller, so I can vouch for them as a darn nice and good seller. Holiday Delivery ouch!

[Xplorer]

All is well that has ended well. I contacted the seller unfortunately they did not have a replacement for the Police 4. They offered to replace or refund $30.00 to bring it more into line with the condition of the blade. When I purchased this it was with a 15% off ebay Coupon so that is 30 percent off.

This I can live with and turn into a hard user and test sharpener while I shop for it's safe queen replacement. Just got my second Christmas bonus from my second job and the :spyder: Spyder just keeps biting me :D

Although I may have just used it, I completely understand your frustration with your new purchase. I agree with the principle you're adhering to. I'm really glad to see you found a solution that makes you happy and keeps the knife in your pocket. Now, at $30 less you're REALLY free to use it as hard as you want :D .

Just FYI, my experience making knives has taught me there's basically no chance the temper on that knife has been affected. K390 is going to be tempered in the range of 850F - 1050F and my best guess for this blade is probably 932F. If a grinding or finishing mistake heated a blade it would leave a tan colored mark at 450F, and a darker (brownish, almost purple) mark at about 500F and the colors change as it gets hotter (which could be removed, but would have also told the maker that there could be a problem here). Realistically, to grind more than 500 degrees F into anything thicker than the thin edge would take a lot of pressure and time on that one spot and that's not how the process of grinding blades goes. Edges and tips are usually the only areas that can have their temper messed up in grinding and even then it's really only the knives that are tempered below 500F that are truly susceptible.

I hope you enjoy your knife!

CK

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Most people are pretty fair when given truthful facts and treated with respect a true businessman or woman knows it is about relationships with the customer.

I had a seller give me hundreds of dollars for items I did not purchase from him he gave me a very fair price and was certain to profit form the exchange but not by that much. He was generous. Don't you know I wound up buying from him instead of another company later and he got all his money back and then some.

This fella was one of the best businessmen I have ever met. He made me feel loyal to him. I feel this way about this seller now also and will look to buy from them in the future.

Thank you for the education I always love learning something new about the different steels and letting go of false assumptions.

[The Meat man]

Mine came today! I'm super impressed with the overall level of quality of this Seki knife. It is thin but solid as any Military, fit and finish are fantastic. It's really smooth and solid with a nice heft to it even though it's not that heavy. Great balance. The handle fits my hand well and is comfortable.

And the blade... mine came shaving sharp but with pretty obtuse bevels. Using the Hapstone I took the edge bevel down to about 15 dps and put a 40° microbevel on it. It's a slicing machine now.

There really is nothing to complain about on this model. :) Great job all around Sal, and hats off to the folks at Seki City!

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Update: loving this knife decided to take it through som common tasks in the kitchen.

Cut a tube of Braunschweiger in half length of blade is perfect for this. Cleaned it and dried the blade.

Cut up a sub into finger food for my girlfriend (she likes finger food)

Washed it wiped the blade dry later cut a piece of cake washed and wiped the blade dry.

Left it sit edge down open came back in the kitchen about an hour later, Holy Rust City Batman!

There were orange rust dots all over both sides of the blade. I grabbed it jumped in the batmobile and took it to the bat cave for a quick Flitzing!

Must not have wiped it down well enough. Swiftly cancelled my back up on order from Blade H.Q. this one will be quite enough.

Does anyone know a good way to force a patina on K390 ? I know PCB board etching solution should do it but do not know if the knife would be food safe afterwards those are some pretty dangerous chemicals.

Considering acid washing a patina on it now that I see how swiftly this will rust out.

[vivi]

Vinegar does the trick.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Vinegar does the trick.

Thanks Vivi. I am guessing White Vinegar at 100" strength right out of the bottle.

1. Should I disassemble and submerge the blade?

2. How long should I leave it in?

3. I wonder if the rest of the hardware should get the vinegar treatment?

[Xplorer]

Just wipe the blade with a light coating of vinegar. The interaction with air will speed the process, as opposed to submerging it. You can build slowly by wiping on a layer of vinegar, wait 5-10 minutes, wipe it off and check it, repeat until you reach the desired effect. If it's going too slowly, let is stay on for a longer period of time. Another option is to wrap the blade in a vinegar soaked paper towel. ***just be careful to keep the pivot area clean and protected*** With some steels you could wait an hour or more, but this shouldn't be the case with K390. Once you're satisfied, clean the blade well (soap and water is fine or an alkaline solution like TSP to neutralize the acid), lubricate the pivot (1/2 drop to 1 drop on either side is enough) and wipe the blade with mineral oil or protective coating of your choice.

Another good way to add the patina naturally is to just cut some raw meat and don't wipe the blade off for about an hour. Acidic fruits will also work, and you'll need to wipe the blade off much sooner. Different food "stains" will leave slightly different colors.

Patina is a naturally occurring process that will improve over time. As you build your patina you'll be paying more attention to caring for corrosion on the blade at first, and less and less over time. All said, this is still a carbon steel blade and even after building a good patina you'll always need to be aware of the potential for corrosion at the edge.

CK