Anyone removed INFI dimples??

giant1

giant1

Joined
May 9, 2007
Messages
2,955
Has anyone removed INFI dimples from the blades by hand??

I was thinking of sanding the blade on my jack hammer back by hand to make it look satin. Am I out of my mind or is it possible.

I would live o hear from anyone that has done it.

Any tips??
 
It's not as hard as it seems. Start with a coarse sandpaper, say 100 grit or less and after it is uniformly "scratched" move down to 150 then 360 then 500. Some say that satin is around 600 grit. I took the ridges off of my CGFBM by hand. That was HARD work. In fact I didn't finish it. The ridges are worn down and some barely visible and I think it looks cool. When I came to polishing the blade it was much easier than hand grinding it. I went to 1000 and it looks very shiny. So you might want to go only to 500 for the satin look. To grind my blade I used files and then diamond hones. This INFI destroyed the files and then the Extra Coarse DMT stone just wasn't enough. I will now buy an Extra-Extra Coarse DMT to finish the job. Some will tell you that you should rub with one grit in one direction and then with the next grit in the other direction. But I would say that with your knife that would not be feasible because of the ridges so just rub the sandpaper in all directions. For the ridges you can use a thinned strip of wood as support to get into the grooves. The secret is that when you sand with a coarse grit you will scratch the blade. Then the finer grit takes off those scratches and leaves smaller ones. Pay attention and when the larger scratches disappear move to a finer grit, until you get down to 1,000 and you can't see anymore scratches. Like I said, after taking off the ridges, I found the polishing a piece of cake. You might find that you miss the dimples because it is part of a "patina" that gives a cool character to the knife. You might try leaving the flats unpolished for a "zebra" look. Cheers, Alex.
 
Instead of wood, I would use a pencil eraser to get into grooves - it's softer and 'molds' into the groove.
 
It is definitely possible.... BUT, it will take a freaking long time by hand.

I personally WISH, Jerry would just provide satin finishes at a "REASONABLE" price instead of charging $200 - $330 more. :mad: But, then I would be buying more INFI.... :rolleyes: ......... I will leave it at that for now....

A cheap $40.00 1"x36" belt sander by Delta or from Harbor Freight would be money well spent for the project. BUT, there is a learning curve for using a belt sander. And some RULES that should be strictly adhered to when using on knives.

Number 1 rule is - DON'T over-heat the blade. You can ruin the temper of the blade.
Dipping in water is a good practice after every 1-3 passes. But, don't use the water to bring down temperature that was made to hot. Don't get that hot ever. But, instead, use the water to maintain lower temperature.... as temperature in the blades can be cumulative. Water cools off blades very fast.

There are some technique and safety considerations. But, too much to type right now. I would recommend doing some searching. If you decide to head down this road, I have a few worthy links I can post.

A cheap belt sander, a good variety of the right belts and some practice make for one of the best methods for sharpening knives as well.... IMO.


However, .... You will still have to clean the grooves by hand... :(

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I use a sand paper disk connected to a drill, and work my way up from 80 grit to 200 grit, but you never want to get the blade so hot that you cant touch it without burning your hand. :thumbup:
 
Gerberblades said:
but you never want to get the blade so hot that you cant touch it without burning your hand. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

+1

I don't use gloves for that reason. But, I don't even let the blade get "Uncomfortable" to the touch. And keep in mind, you might not be holding it where you are getting it hot. So, keep testing or checking the area being worked on for heat.

Also, the thin "Edge" builds up heat WAY faster than the thicker parts of the blade.


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Thanks foe all the responses.

Maybe doing it by hand will take longer and require a lot more elbow grease, but it is probably safer and there would be less chance (no chance) of of over heating and therefore damaging the heat treat.

I just have to decide if I have that much time!
 
I used a water cooled table grinding machine for the handle section which made it a lot easier.
Removal of the scales it is not very difficult and makes working easier and the knife finish will look better
I wrote a How to do but can't find it anymore.
The forum search does not work for me since I'm not a Gold Member anymore.
Maybe somebody can dig it out and post the link.
 
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