Best way to mirror polish a blade?

Runs With Scissors

Runs With Scissors

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
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Heya Folks,


Was wondering what y'all would consider the best way to get a blade nice an' shiny. So far I've been getting stuck after 1500 grit sand paper, and the dremel tool at low speed with Flitz and a polishing wheel....seems like there's gotta be more I could do...

Any suggestions?
 
I'll be interested in the replies too. I started a project several months ago to mirror polish a Cold Steel Recon Scout, but only made it as far as scrubbing most of the black teflon coating off. Now I just have a blade with a lot of scratches on it :rolleyes:

Matthew
 
I do not have a buffer and the dremel will not cut it so by hand I have to work my way up to 2000 grit very slowly. It is a slow process by hand, but you can get good results. Be prepared for several hours of work and occasional backtracking in grit.
 
I've used a freshly planed 6000 grit waterstone to do some light buffing/shining on the sides of a roughed-up blade. It's soft enough so that you don't take off too much metal. I found that moving the blade spine-first kept me from gouging the stone when working on the tapered part of the blade.

You might also use some car or sheet-metal polishing substances.

Bear in mind, that mirrored surfaces make dirt, fingerprints, and especially scratches jump out at you.

HTH.
 
Whether or not a blade will take a mirror polish depends on the steel and it's hardness. I have polished some blades with clear up to 2500 wet/dry sandpaper with good results, but others, with the same 2500 grit would only polish to a low luster. I polish by hand, and lighten my strokes near the end, clear down to a light touch.
 
Thanks for the replies thus far. Any suggestions where to get the higher grit sandpapers and such? The best I've been able to find was 1500 grit at NAPA.

Oh, and just in case it matters in regards to suggestions- What I'm polishing is a buncha old SJ's I dug up- a couple of old well used Ulsters, Schrades, Imperials, Cases, etc. All well used, and nothing of notable value, Just some neat old knives I'd like to clean up and bring into the house.
 
In my experience, I always had better luck removing coatings chemically than with sandpaper & elbow grease. Paint stripper (I use Citristrip) works particularly well unless it's a vapor-deposited coating. With sandpaper you also run the risk of washing out the grind lines if you get careless.

Some coated knives do not have surface ground stock, so once you remove the coating you will find all sorts of nicks, gouges and scratches on the flats. Such is the case with Beckers and coated Busses, for example. You need to remove a lot of metal to produce a mirror finish here. If the primary grind is hollow, figure out what diameter wheel was used to grind it and find something rigid of the same curvature for the backing of your wet/dry paper. For a flat grind, use sanding block. 3M adhesive spray works well to stick the paper to your block. Don't rub the sandpaper with just your fingers!

With flat surfaces you also have the option of EDM polishing stones and Japanese waterstones (available as slipstones). I have used both with good success; be sure to presoak them overnight to deter loading.

Don Fogg has an excellent tutorial on finishing:
http://www.dfoggknives.com/finishing.htm
 
assuming you mean "by hand", right?


Best trick is to put in a good movie - maybe one you've seen before where you don't have to catch all the details, but just hearing the voices will put you in a good mood. Know-what-I-mean?

The biggest setback to good hand-rubbing is impatience. Not sandpaper, not polishing materials...it's patience.

Figure on spending the first half-hour in the lowest grit you are starting with (600-800 is a good start if all previous lower-grit scratches have been removed).

Take it up to 2000 grit.

That will get you a nice "satin-finish".

Tip #1 - use a padded sanding block and sand with lots of pressure. You can sand any which way you want, just make sure that the last dozen or so strokes go lengthwise on the blade.

Tip #2 - keep your old 1200 & 2000 grit paper and put polishing compound on it. Then sand with that to get your mirror polish.

As said before, results can vary with the steel types.
 
Runs With Scissors said:
Thanks for the replies thus far. Any suggestions where to get the higher grit sandpapers and such? The best I've been able to find was 1500 grit at NAPA.
Click to expand...
I buy my 2500 grit wet & dry sandpaper at a local house paint store.
 
I'm in the process of refinishing a Cold Steel Recon Tanto and have found the info from the following website usefull. Especially about changing sanding direction when moving to the next finer grit. I don't care to use water when wet sanding and have had good luck using Dura Lube spray lube. There are probably better oils but it's what I had handy. Also, change sandpaper often! Don't use one piece more than a minute or two of sanding.
Good luck!
http://www.engnath.com/public/handrub.htm
 
c'mon now rev....takin' all the fun out of it....:D :p
 
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