Anyone Ever Done Their Own Satin Finish?

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oXObsidianXo

Joined
Dec 30, 2013
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390
So I know that plenty of people have "stripped" their knives and removed the coating, revealing the double cut finish. But has anyone ever gone a step further and put their own hand rubbed satin finish on a blade that had been previously coated? If so, what steps did you take to do so?
 
I've stripped and done a couple things.


I've used progressively finer metal finishing paper down to 8 micron. Mirrors things up nicely.

I've also scotch brighter the crap outta them. Also a nice touch. This one is closer to the factory satin.
 
I've given full satin jobs to a few CG blades now, with the belt sander though, not hand rubbed.
 
I tried my hand at a mirror finish on my Basic 4. I purchased a variety pack of sandpaper and did it with that. I don't have a buffer, but even with just paper alone it made a difference.
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Did it by hand with a piece of leather belt glued to some wood. I just found a tutorial on YouTube and took notes.
 
oXObsidianXo said:
That looks awesome Terry, might have to try that myself in the future. Thanks for the pictures.
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Thanks buddy. Based on my experience id suggest a more supple piece of leather- mine was stiff, and therefore I think the finish is not quite uniform- some small areas got less of the sandpaper hitting them. It was my first attempt though and it was a fun learning experience with a decent result. I went from 220-1500 grit, going up by 200 at a time essentially.
 
Nice satin on that Battle Mistress Timmy. And I love the polish on the Ergo Badger. Thanks for the info about the polishing process Terry.
 
You might want to check out Nick Wheelers youtube videos on hand sanding a blade. He goes into detail and his work is excellent.
 
Busto said:
You might want to check out Nick Wheelers youtube videos on hand sanding a blade. He goes into detail and his work is excellent.
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I was going to type out my process for hand sanding a blade and then I saw this. I think Nick also posted a pictorial how-to in the shop-talk maker's section as well. Nick's work is definitely excellent, :). The only thing I will add is that the Rhynowet Redline wet/dry sandpaper really makes a difference. it cuts better and lasts longer than the 3M gold paper found in most auto paint/body supply houses (which is where you will probably have to go for anything higher than 1000 grit).

you also don't have to go up every 200 grit increment either; you can basically double the grit numbers. 220>400>800>1500>2000. 800 or 1000 leaves a good satin finish; anything higher and you're getting closer to a mirror finish.

hope this helps

randy
 
This took me a total of about 6-7 hours between stripping and only hand sanding. After stripping with Jasco I started with 120 grit and worked my way to 400 grit. All by hand. No power tools

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Once you get 'em nekkid a little buff and grind sand is inevitable. ;)
 
willic said:
FREAKIN' AMAZINGLY nice! WOW! Can you tell us a little bit about your process???
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Thank you!

Citristrip on both. The HHFSH was all by hand w/Scotch brite pads, green and gray.I left the flats slightly duller than the grind, which is just starting to reflect, very similar to B.I.G. finish. I also masked the flats off when working on the main grind, as the flats tool/grind marks are at a 30*-40* angle to the spine and the main grind is at 90*...so as to keep the scratch patterns the same..noticed some "clouding" from over lapping..

The HG55 was done mostly by hand w/ SB pads, steel wool @ 00 and 0000.... then my OCD kicked in and I tried some scotch brite wheels in the dremel(red and grey) on a small blemish, non-logo side, ...(I had the freakin thing sooo nice...satin and very even on both sides..should have just left it alone)...now its mirror polished on the non-logo side and very bright satin on the logo side....dumb ass

These are the first Ive done..lot of hours, a lot of elbow grease...stiff neck and fingers, and I enjoy it very much... very rewarding..
 
TripleT said:
Are you all using a vise?
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Yea, my left hand..:)

No, no vice here...just work knife on a folded towel on work bench..I can force the knife straight down as to keep it from skidding/slipping and I roll the edge toward the towel so I can get close to it, w/ out slicing my fingers...I tried gloves...cant use them..even the latex doctor gloves..they just get in the way for me..
 
When you guys do your strip and satin, do you completely remove the handle scales? How do you remove them, and how do you put them back on?
 
Scotch-Brite will give the best, most consistent results, the easiest.
 
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