UBB.threads Forums General Interest Restoration, Conservation, and Maintenance Forum Blade edge repair

Hi just wondering if it is possible to repair a blade edge on a SS dagger, have seen a nice one with a couple of small chips or roughness on the blade edge like it has been hit against something ?

I have read that a rock may fix this problem, how would this work.

I suspect that the only way to repair this would be to actually weld metal onto the blade where the chip is, and then grind it to match the rest of the surface.
Otherwise the only thing to do is gring down the edge itself to make it even, which will distort the blade shape.
I think it is just like trying to fill in deep pitting, you are going to have to add steel to the blade (no small task) or just leave it alone.
I may be wrong on this and welcome ANY additional input as I have a few SA's with the same problem...

Johnny V makes some excellent observations. If the chips are very shallow and barely noticeable, you may use a file, whetstone, emery cloth, etc., to carefully remove them. You have to make sure you remove no more metal than absolutely necessary and to keep the tool flat against the edge when using it. If the chips are more significant, it's probably better to leave them alone. A few edge problems are preferable to a distorted blade and once metal has been removed, welding is the only way to replace it. That leads to a whole new set of serious problems.

It's been my observation that oftentimes what appear to be chips in a blade are in fact dents. These can be fixed by spot annealing the blade at that point as all the metal is still there then hammering the dent out. This is the same procedure that's used to fix a bent point. However this can not be done on a plated blade without damaging the plating.
Jim

It all depends on the extent of the damage. If the nicks can be sanded out I wouldn't start on it with a welder.

Thanks guys I think may leave this one alone, something I don't want to be playing around with.