Advice on mirror polishing a satin blade

[ehhh]

Hi there, I recieved a lovely used balisong from blade_420 today and I want to put a mirror polish on the primary bevels and spine of the knife.
I plan on putting a mirror finish on the red bordered parts and the entire spine going from tip back all the way around to the plunge grind (that is where the edge and ricasso meet right?).

First I'd like to ask you guys your opinion on how that might look (I don't want to polish the flats because the handles restrict access)? I think the two-tone mirror/satin would look pretty nifty, but I don't really know and I'd rather not find out it looks real dumb after doing it.

Second, the more important stuff:
How might I do this? The blade has a lot of pretty deep looking scratches from previous sharpenings and what appears to be reprofiling. Around what grit sandpaper should I start with and what should I end with to get a mirror polish? I know to put a satin finish, you should polish in one direction, but does that hold true for the higher grits that a mirror polish requires?
I assume some masking tape on the flats will prevent any unwanted polishing of those areas, and I assume I will need to keep the blade oiled with WD-40 or similar through the entire process. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The blade steel is supposedly 440C if that matters at all.

Any other tips would be much appreciated.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Use popsicle sticks (or similar) wrapped with automotive wet-dry sandpaper.
WD 40 will cause the masking tape to loosen, so use water. Start with 320 grit. When all the vertical lines are gone, switch to 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 grits. You can polish in the same direction (lengthwise). When you finish with one grit, if you detect heavier lines from the previous grit left over, sand again. Do not go to a finer grit until you are sure they are gone. As you get to the finer grits you will have to spend more time with each one. Be very careful not to round any sharp edges. Use only one thickness of paper on the sticks-more will cushion too much and round corners. After you get to a true 2000 grit finish, wrap a flannel cloth around the stick and apply Simichrome, Flitz, etc. and polish.
Bill

 

[rebeltf]

What Mr. DeShivs said. :thumbup:

If I may , you have a not very easy task ahead of you , all those factory milled lines are going to have to come off so be prepared for a few hours (at least) of sanding/polishing.
You can make it fun though , put on a favorite TV show or some tunes, take your time and imagine how cherry it will look when you're finished.

A word of wisdom also , put some duct tape or similiar along your edge when you're not working on that part , to lessen the chance of slipping and cutting yourself badly.

Oh and one rule applies here , you have to show pics when you're finished

 

[ehhh]

I've got plenty of time this coming week, so I figured I might try my first do-it-yourself project. I realize this is gonna be a tough job and I don't even know if it'll come out right. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Hopefully I can find those higher grit papers. I don't think Home Depot carries anything higher than 600. The tape on the edge is a good idea too.
I'll definitely have pics if I actually get all the stuff I need and do it