Jesus, sanding is stressful.

[TheOTBalisong]

I don't envy you the lack of grinder. Maybe save up and get one of those...

Lots of good tips in here though. Hopefully I too will be able to improve my finish quality. Thanks for posting this thread.

Saving up for a Grizzly.
Just a little bit to go.
And then maybe a KMG later.

[Mudbug007]

I can't stress enough how important it is to get all the grinding scratches out with the first grit you start with. If you're going up to 600 grit and finding scratches from lower grits, you're not looking close enough before moving to a higher grit and/or you're not changing directions with every grit! I know, I've been there many times! I use a piece of O1 as my backer when I sand. It leaves grind marks nice and sharp and you can really bear down with it. Look up the tutorial by Nick Wheeler on sanding. You'll get a lot of good ideas.

I also started using Gator belts to try and finish before sanding. When I started using Gator belts and RhynoWet paper, my sanding got a lot better in a lot less time!

[Hesparus]

I agree — sanding is wicked stressful. I do most of my knives with a machine finish now (which has its own stresses, too).

- Chris

[Don Nguyen]

I just assembled the handle of a knife, then I looked at the blade afterwards and found a bajillion scratches on one side I didn't see before.

Light sources are important!

[gomipile]

Saving up for a Grizzly.
Just a little bit to go.
And then maybe a KMG later.

The Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt/disc combo is on sale right now. You might be able to find one in stock locally.