Concerning the lower blade with petroglyphs, the hamon contrast is more striking than mine are. Any thoughts on what I might try to enhance the hamon in the 10XX of knife steel?

Well, the photo is out of the tempering oven and they always look good at that point. I have trouble making them pop after final finish. You can barely see this one unless you hold it in the light just right. Otherwise, it just looks cloudy. I'm going to play with taking it to a much finer finish and using an anti-scale compound before hardening and tempering. 

1095 and W-1 have always been finicky for Hamon production, at least in my experience. Do you have John White's technique document for Hamons? He was one of the best at it.

Here are a couple different examples of W1 - 

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Posted by: @jesse-hackenberg

Concerning the lower blade with petroglyphs, the hamon contrast is more striking than mine are. Any thoughts on what I might try to enhance the hamon in the 10XX of knife steel?

See if this helps: https://youtu.be/ZZhx_Rr2Fzk

Thanks for sharing the W1 pics. I admire the hamons you've accentuated so well. The contrasts add to the projects' overall statements. Can you share any finishing tips? Do you know if I should expect to achieve similar HT contrasts with 1084?

You may get the "contrast" you seek in the transition zones, but you will not get the activity due to the deeper hardening characteristics of 1084.

My finishes are - for lack of a better definition - etching based. This is as opposed to sanding based. Many makers like to etch their hamons and then reveal varying degrees of exposure by long and sometimes drawn out sanding practices.

I don't. I prefer the etched finish appearance.

I clean my blades to 800 grit. Then etch about 30 seconds maybe 5-6-7 times until I get the built-up oxides on the surface I like. Nice and dark. I clean off between cycles with make-up remover pads. Then I clean off with Mother's Mag Wheel polish until I get the look I like. Then oil.

Easy-peasy.

Thank you for the detailed process, Karl. Do you etch with ferric chloride?

Posted by: @jesse-hackenberg

 Do you etch with ferric chloride?

Yes - 3:1  - distilled H2O:FeCl.

Going to chime in here Jesse. I Like the hamon to look more like you would see in a Japanese sword. Which Karl mentioned as the more drawn out finishing process. I sand to 1500-2000 grit, then etch in 4 to 1 ferric solution for 10-20 seconds. After that I remove the oxides with auto body polishing liquid, 3M medium cut. Then it is on to the labor intensive process of hand polishing. I do not use any sandpaper on the blade after etching. I start with flitz, simichrome. or something similar and pay more attention to the area above the hamon line. Then I use a 2000 grit polishing powder with oil lightly, again paying more attention to the area above the hamon line. The final polishing step in the sequence is 4F pumice powder first used with oil then dry. This will whiten the hardened area and any ashi effects you have. I repeat the flitz and pumice until I get the look I am going for. I use facial pads or real kleenex with the steps. Yes it takes a while, but I like the look. My preferred steel for hamons is W2.

Brion

Thanks to all. Hearing/seeing the diversity of methods used to accentuate hamons helps me to understand more than just the motions of the steps required.