ATS-34 and Micarta questions

[Chiro75]

I am finally going to get my first kit knife, courtesy of Rob Simonich (a hell of a guy!)...it will have an ATS-34 blade, and marroon micarta handles. I was curious, and this may be explained in his instructions anyway, how to do some of the finishing on these things.
I plan on doing a satin finish on the blade, which I assume requires fine grade sandpaper and some elbow grease? The finest paper I could find was 1200 grit, I believe. I was also interested in perhaps putting some file-work on the spine of the blade. Nothing fancy or overly decorative, but at the same time, something that will distinguish this knife from the others out there. WHat type of files are required for working with ATS-34? Regular ones? Diamond coated? Keep in mind I am on a strict budget, too...
Finally, what is the best means of getting the Micarta to a nice shine? The 1200 grit paper seems too rough, so I imagine I will need some buffing compounds and my Dremel for that part. Unfortunately all the compounds are sold in enormous blocks...anyone have a bit of what I'd need that they could donate to this fine project (postage paid, of course!)? Or, are these compounds available through local stores? I do have some Dremel buffing compound that I bought. It is red in color, and it brings aluminum up to a nice, healthy shine. WOuld this do the trick?
Thanks, again! Steve

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

I was able to find sand paper that was 1500-2000 at wal-mart in the automotive dept. You might not be able to do any file work because the blade is already heat treated. You could use a dremel tool but it's hard to be precise. The micarta will take a polish if you use a buffing wheel, but a dremel bupping wheel is too small to get a uniform, even finish. You can put an arbor in a drill and a large buffing wheel to get an even finish.
hope this helps

 

[RJ Martin]

Steve: If you want to appempt filework on a hardened blade, you'll need diamond files. You might consider using the small grinding wheels on your Dremel. You're not going to be able to get a high finish on these unless you go back in with a Cratex wheel, those little grey wheels that come with the Dremel.

In either case, doing this type of work on a hard blade is difficult-the wheels/files want to skate off, damaging the surrounding areas.

As for the micarta, if you must have it shiny, you could sand down to 1200 and put on some Reniassance wax. 1200 is awfully fine-the higher the polish, the slicker the grip, especially when wet.

Good Luck,

RJ

 

[mayor]

You won't need anything any finer than 600 grit wet/dry paper for the satin finish.

Finish the micarta down to 600 grit sandpaper or sanding belts and then polish with either white or green buffing compound on a semi-stiff stitched cloth buffing wheel.