Okay, i've got a knife all polished and would probably be fine right now to use. However, I want to put a matte finish on it. i would like to know a good spray paint that can take alot of wear without rubbing off, or how i would put a matte finish on plain metal. Thanks,
Colton

Sand or bead blast makes a nice finish.

A scotchbrite wheel on a buffer makes a nice matte finish also. Personally I prefer a mirror finish on my blades. As for paint, I don't know of any that will stand up to the use a knife blade gets.

I like mirror finishes, but I'm making a tactical knife, and tacticals dont usually consist of mirror finish blades. I dont have access to a bead or sand blaster, but I could try the scotch brite wheel.

If you want a dark finish, use gun blue, or if it is plain carbon steel a quick trip thru a ferric chloride solution will darken it up.

k. thx. i think there maybe some gun blue around here.

Gun cold blue does not wear well, I personally hot blue.
Pain in the U know what to setup for that though, if you are still considering paint you might want to try KG Gunkote. Its a paint that is airbrushed on then baked in a oven.
Far far more durable than regular paint, I use a $10 airbrush from Harbour freight and it applies it quite well.
Chris

Check out a product called GunKote, Ibelieve it comes from brownells

Have you tried soaking it overnight in vinegar? (before handling as it all needs to be submerged to prevent an air line) and like any etching process it must be totally clean and oil/wax free before doing so.

YouTube - Random Cut Twist

here is a short video i found on where they made a knife out of a railroad spike and talks about how he got the handle black something to do with spraying it with wd40 as it cools
during the forging process. it made a nice gun metal like black coating on it dont know exactly how to do i didn't pay attention to that part so much don't know how durable it is either but its worth watching

Hi, I was playing with some Damascus and etching solution one night a while back and came up with an etch I liked. So after cleaning off the acid I coated the blade with 4 and 1 oil to help set the etch. Then for some reason I don't remember put the blade in a toaster oven at 350 Degrees for a while. When I pulled it out the bright silver and black had turned to gunmetal blue and dark brown. I liked the effect so I kept it. Turns out it is pretty durable too.

Phosphoric acid does a wonderful job of parkerizing