Knife Polishing

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

I've been so busy with trying to get my web sites up and going. And practicing with my buffing & polishing on knives, of which I must say I am definitely getting better at. That I totally missed getting to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, so I guess I'll just say I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Wish Everyone A Happy New Year !!!

And I promise I will get some before and after pictures up eventually.

[pickleboy]

Re: Knife Polishing

another option is what i have been trying lately. it works best with a slow speed(1800 rpm) buffer. i was given by a friend 2 10" solid felt wheels. 1 soft 1 medium. these things work great with emory on knife steel. i have a buck knife that is the normal grained finish s.s. i hit it on the felt wheel with the emory and man does it shine. i didnt work it long enough to remove all the grain lines but have no doubt that it would. as for where to get them i have only seen a few places that carry them. if you are interested e-mail me and i will give you the suppliers. i dont think caswell would be against me posting it here but would not want to offend them.

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

Thanks, i'll give it try and see how it works. I know i'm going to have to experiment at first, untill I get it figured out.

Once I get all my materials in, i'm looking foreward to see if I can do this or not.

Thanks again for all the help and advice.



Ben

[mpierich]

Re: Knife Polishing

I thought I needed to have the 600 and maybe up to 1000 for the wet sanding, and then go the wheel with the compound ?

You'll need to experiment...I haven't much experience with stainless but...I just did a set of stainless motorcycle brake rotors. They started with a rough mill finish. The procedure I settled on was 120/22/320 grit , then black compound on a sisal wheel followed by black on a spiral wheel, then green on spiral and loose. Came out like a mirror and the professional bike-builder was very pleased.

The black on sisal is aggressive enough to allow you to skip the 600-800 grit steps.

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

I thought I needed to have the 600 and maybe up to 1000 for the wet sanding, and then go the wheel with the compound ?

[mpierich]

Re: Knife Polishing

Just wanted to drop in and say hello, and to tell you i should be getting my sanding belts within a couple of weeks, I still haven't been able to find any finner grit than 320. I think I'm going to need a lot finner than that, to be able to get the kind of mirror finish I need on my knives though. Ahhh.....but the hunt goes on. I know there out there some where. lol

After 320 you can probably get an acceptable finish with black compound on a sisal wheel followed by white or green on a spiral. Looks pretty good on the stainless rotors I just did.

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

Just wanted to drop in and say hello, and to tell you i should be getting my sanding belts within a couple of weeks, I still haven't been able to find any finner grit than 320. I think I'm going to need a lot finner than that, to be able to get the kind of mirror finish I need on my knives though. Ahhh.....but the hunt goes on. I know there out there some where. lol

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

Thanks, I'll definitely check it out.


Ben

[jrow]

Re: Knife Polishing

knife_man,

Try this site for your belts www.use-enco.com. I've had good luck with them they ship the same day you post your order.

John

[mpierich]

Re: Knife Polishing

Thanks that good to know. Any advice as to where and what grit belts i need to get ? I've checked my local Ace Hardware and they don't carry any belts that i need, i'm not sure Lowe's or Home Depot is going to have them either.

Google it. They may only come in the coarsest grits which is why it's for shaping and initial polishing. After that you might need to go to a rubber drum, flapwheel, or etc.

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

Thanks that good to know. Any advice as to where and what grit belts i need to get ? I've checked my local Ace Hardware and they don't carry any belts that i need, i'm not sure Lowe's or Home Depot is going to have them either.

[mpierich]

Re: Knife Polishing

That is a recommended size belt sander for knifemaking.

[knife_man]

Re: Knife Polishing

Hi everyone, I hope everyone had a *Good Thanksgiving* and got to eat plenty of Turkey. I know I did, and will be eating on it for the next few days.

Also I picked up a small belt sander, probably to small for sanding on these knives, but I got it for free. *1inch x 30inch* So all I need to do now is get some new belts and give it a try. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I get the belts. I'll take some before and after pictures and post them. Wish me luck.

Thanks again for all the help and advice, Ben

[mpierich]

Re: Knife Polishing

it is that. its made from bullet proof armor from when i used to work for a government contractor. it was a 1/4" bar blank. i shaped a drop point with false top edge. fitting it with desert ironwood scales. just having a bear of a time getting an edge, and final polish since it is around 500 on the brinell scale of hard. if memmory serves me that is around 50-51 rockwell c. also not sure how to finish the blade after polish so it will not rust. any suggestions are more than welcome.

Haha, well as far as polishing that hard stuff, you're on your own...no wonder it's taking so long! Don't know why you'd have a hard time getting an edge.

I used to anneal the files by turning the kitchen oven up as high as it would get, heating the steel with a welding torch, then putting it in the oven, gradually reducing the heat over several hours. Made it nice and soft to work. Then when it was shaped and polished, heat it back up, quench in water or oil as appropriate, then temper the spine to a blue color (the edge gets tempered to "straw" color).

All my blades are/were non-stainless carbon steel. One I kept in the unheated shop did get some staining, but all the others that were kept in their sheaths in the house still look like they were just made after 20+ years. Environment is everything. Just to make sure, you can give them a coat of light oil and wipe them down good like you would a gun.

BTW, when you go to make a sheath, it is very cool to soak the leather and bind it tightly around the blade (which is protected with saran wrap) for a custom fit. It looks much better than a flat sheath, unless you want that Old West look...

[pickleboy]

Re: Knife Polishing

it is that. its made from bullet proof armor from when i used to work for a government contractor. it was a 1/4" bar blank. i shaped a drop point with false top edge. fitting it with desert ironwood scales. just having a bear of a time getting an edge, and final polish since it is around 500 on the brinell scale of hard. if memmory serves me that is around 50-51 rockwell c. also not sure how to finish the blade after polish so it will not rust. any suggestions are more than welcome.