[for_hire]

I was wondering if therr is anyway I can make a blade a sterile. I would like it to be non reflective. The steel is 1095 High Carbon Alloy Rc 58 and the current coating is Blade Color Black Traction Coating. Im sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm a novice.



Thanks,

[musher]

Autoclave.
Boiling.
Alcohol.

I don't think any of those will affect the reflectivity of the blade.

Personally, I find a needle to be more effective at getting splinters out. If I need to probe deeper, I just use a disposable scalpel blade.

I've never had too much luck using a hunting type knife in a situation where I needed something sterile.

[KenpoTex]

I was wondering if therr is anyway I can make a blade a sterile. I would like it to be non reflective. The steel is 1095 High Carbon Alloy Rc 58 and the current coating is Blade Color Black Traction Coating. Im sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm a novice.
So do you want it sterile (clean), sterile (un-traceable), or non-reflective? :D
If it's got a black coating on the blade, it should be pretty non-reflective as it is. You could also use some very fine sandpaper or take it and have it sand-blasted but either of these options will take the black finish off the blade.
If you want it clean, wash it (sorry :D)
If you want it un-traceable, wear gloves.

[hso]

Bactine? Hydrogen Peroxide? Iodine? Purel hand goop?

What are you asking?

[for_hire]

Im sorry i thought sterile meant no marklings.

I dont want any markings on it what so ever. It has serial numbers and other markings which i want gone. Not so much that I would never be in that type of situation, its because i want it.

It is non-reflective now but I was thinking if i got the blade "sterile" then i would need to re-apply a non-reflective cover to the blade itself.

[KenpoTex]

It's not a gun so the number(s) are probably just the model numbers, not serial numbers. as a result, unless it's some kind of "one of a kind" custom job, it already is untraceable.

"The police found a Buck 110 at the crime scene..." Well gee, there's only about 10 million of those floating around.

If you absolutely have to have it "sterile," use a dremel tool to grind off the markings, then sand/bead-blast it to make the finish uniform.

[hso]

Who manufactures it? In what way is it currently marked?

[RyanM]

Just buy some $5 made-in-Pakistan sharpened fender at your local hardware store, or something..

[Valkman]

If the marking are etched on with acid (it's how I do my logo) they will come off under a buffer with aggresive compound. If they are punched in they have to be ground off. Some knives do have serial numbers - like my Emerson Commander. On that stuff it might buff off but may need a Scotchbrite belt on the grinder or a ghost image will remain.

[Ohen Cepel]

First, buy one with few markings.

If you don't have access to power tools like bead blasters then a Scotch Brite pad does a great job (seriously, it works very well!).

That will give you a satin finish. Won't be shiny, but won't be black either.

I seldom have been worried about the shine on anything enough to spend the money to coat it just due to the shine factor.

However, Brownell's sells some great coating stuff that you can do at home. Much less expensive than sending it out. And, if it's for a user the coating will wear anyway.

Also, to echo what the others have said though. I don't know why markings are such an issue. I've only removed them off a few things when I was reconditioning them. They don't bother me otherwise.

[Smokey Joe]

For-Hire--Some knives you can buy sterile. Gerber's Trident comes to mind. They make a sterile version. It's pricey, but if that's what you want...

A home-grinding off of the trademark, model number, etc, will leave you with a knife that the forensic people will take one look at, and say "A knife with the markings ground off it was found at the crime scene..." (Besides having ugly grinding marks on it.)

Depending on your intended use, RyanM's idea of a cheap, ubiquitous, Pakistani $5 knife might be OK--Unless you want to cut something more resistant than mebbe butter, more than about twice!

The low road to go would be to make a knife yourself--out of common, easy-to-obtain materials, and only with common handyman tools, and not mark it in any way. Then the forensic boys will say, "A homemade knife that could have been produced anywhere was found at the crime scene..."

What for do you want a sterile knife anyhow?

Oh, yeah, if you tell me you'll have to kill me. Never mind.

[rbmcmjr]

If the marking are etched on with acid (it's how I do my logo) they will come off under a buffer with aggresive compound. If they are punched in they have to be ground off. Some knives do have serial numbers - like my Emerson Commander. On that stuff it might buff off but may need a Scotchbrite belt on the grinder or a ghost image will remain.

If you are doing this just for grins, this will work. Otherwise, don't get fooled into thinking that grinding will make the blade truly forensically sterile. If the maker used a punch, the underlying structure of the steel is affected. Magnaflux or some other NDT agent will be able to reveal what was removed. Laser and acid etching don't have this specific drawback, but I bet a pro can restore the image. Several makers will give you a sterile blade, if you ask. Busse does, which is ironic given the unique nature of his current alloy.

[JohnKSa]

anyway I can make a blade a sterile. I would like it to be non reflectiveBuy a really, really common knife and spray paint it with flat black.

If you want a knife that's hard to trace, it's crazy to start with something that's already serial numbered.

There's such a thing as outsmarting yourself.

[Valkman]

If the maker used a punch, the underlying structure of the steel is affected.

This is not something I seriously suggest - if you ground off a stamped name you'd have a blade half the previous thickness and much weaker and it's not something I would do. I have 4 grinders but if I wanted a blade to be clean and it's not stamped I'd hit it with 60 grit media in the sand blaster, then bead blast it then spray it with Brownell's Gun Kote in matte black. Sometimes I forget I got a new sand blaster! :)

[JohnKSa]

The combination of an unusual knife with an unusual finish (such as GunKote) will go a long way toward helping trace it. If you REALLY don't want it traced you need everything to be so ubiquitous that there's no place to start looking--or rather EVERYPLACE is a place to start looking.

[Karate]

Probably would not post on a public forum if I wanted a totally untraceable blade...but that is just me

[LawDog]

Are you planning on leaving your knife stuck in random bodies?

Mot knives don't have serial numbers. Those that do have serial numbers are usually commemorative or special edition knives -- which meant you probably spent beaucoup bucks on said knife.

Don't muck up an expensive knife by grinding off the serial numbers, and don't leave an expensive knife sticking out of someone who didn't need killin'.

Now.

I'm going to assume that you want a 'sterile' knife for harmless reasons: You're a SpecOps groupie, or somesuch.

Go buy yourself an M1 Sharp Instrument, Pakistani, Generic, One Each. Should cost somewhere between five and fifteen dollars. Congratulations: you now have the Official Sterile Knife of the Snake-Eating Community.

No, I'm not kidding.

LawDog