BK24.. Sanding to a mirror finish?

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ParacordMan1220

Joined
Feb 5, 2012
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98
So i just got myself a BK24, and I'm trying to get it all nice and shiny. Does anybody have any recommendations on how to do this?

I've been sanding the grind lines off of the spine (all gone now) with 100 grit sandpaper, but the blade isn't coming along very well. Is there a technique to this? Do I need to sand in different directions, such as handle to tip, edge to spine, or at an angle? I thought i might have read that somewhere..

Also there is a spot on my blade that doesn't look right..



That isn't a heat treat mistake or line, is it? Will sanding it take it out?

Any tips or tricks on accomplishing my quest would be greatly appreciated :)
 
Lots of elbow grease.
Not saying it cant be done but D2 is not going to give a mirror polish easy.
 
yeah, don't do this.

it will take you less time to learn and make an entire knife from scratch than to sand/polish tooling marks out of *already hardened* D2 to a high finish. This sort of work is done 80% BEFORE heat-treat.
 
daizee said:
yeah, don't do this.

it will take you less time to learn and make an entire knife from scratch than to sand/polish tooling marks out of *already hardened* D2 to a high finish. This sort of work is done 80% BEFORE heat-treat.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought.. is it still likely to at least get the grind lines out of the blade?
 
Can I at least get the 100 grit scratches out? I think this project is a lost cause.. Too bad I didn't think to post here before I started lol
 
LG&M said:
Lots of elbow grease.
Click to expand...
LOTS!

Here is my BK10 at 400 grit. I've got over 6 hours of hand sanding in getting it this far on just ONE side. And D2 is a lot harder than 1095CV. And it's not close to 'mirror'. Need to get up to at least 1500 grit for that.



The hardest part is getting the blade perfectly flat with the initial sanding. Any surface defect will become more and more obvious as you progress up through the grits. If you miss something, you'll have to go back to a lower grit and start all over from there.

Good luck.
 
I've tried polishing an old straight razor and decided to leave it 'as is' for now since it was taking so long. I mention it because that was older/softer carbon steel. Polishing hardened D2 sounds like a lot of work.
When you go to higher grits, do it in smaller intervals.
I would think diamond lapping film would work better, but it would also co$t more.

In regards to the line/spot you mentioned. I'm not sure what you are talking about. It may be because of the glare and reflections, but it isn't really standing out to me. Are you using a sanding block or just your hand?? If you have some lines or spots that don't look right, it may because of uneven sanding.
 
This guy polished the primary grind on his BK2, starting with sanding off the coating:
[video=youtube;QdzaM0YJmAc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdzaM0YJmAc[/video]

This guy polished the entire blade and around the handle:
[video=youtube;UF_aOxhofGI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF_aOxhofGI[/video]

Maybe they could give you some tips even though the steel's different.

Another polished BK2:
[video=youtube;-YMrSnZHnkY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YMrSnZHnkY[/video]

I've polished a few blades, but they were AUS6, 14C28N, 5Cr15MoV. I don't own any D2 blades so I haven't got a clue how much longer that would take.
 
Alternating directions whilst sanding takes place with each change in grit and is a method to ensure that the previous scratches left by the most recent grit are completely removed. I can't really tell what mark you are referring to on your knife due to reflections on the knife but I am going to hazard a guess that it will be something that you will not be able to remove easily if at all. And easier method to make it look better would be stonewashing IMO and a device to manage that can be cobbled together fairly simply.
 
hawkhead said:
Nick Wheeler gives a tutorial on hand sanding. He also has a series of videos covering many facets of knifemaking. As daizee stated and I can also agree, hand sanding after heat treating is more difficult.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4x4QLpfnk
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

Another good YT vid from Aaron Gough that demos how it's done - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b1mvkZcBw8
It's the way I do it.


When I get on the big monitor and zoom in on the lower image, I see lots of crinkly scratches. If that's what you're talking about, then you've got a lot more sanding to do. Could be the blade and/or your sanding bar is not quite flat so the scatches are getting missed by the sandpaper. Issues discussed in the vids above.

BTW, you'll need to wipe that black slurry off often. If not, it will build-up under the paper and cut deep scratches that will probably force you to back up a grit level and start over. Been there, done that. By now, I can feel the paper loading up and immediately stop and wipe the blade and wash off the paper.
 
The pictures aren't quit picking up the spot. It was this way before the sanding and it's on both sides in the same spot.

Basically, if you turn the knife slightly, instead of seeing the reflection on one continuous piece across the blade, it splits where the line is.
Click the picture for the video
 
ParacordMan1220 said:
Basically, if you turn the knife slightly, instead of seeing the reflection on one continuous piece across the blade, it splits where the line is.
Click to expand...
Blade is not flat.

Any distortion in the reflect image is an imperfection in the surface.

That line is probably the crest of a 'hill'. Most likely it's the point where the grind angle changed to taper to the tip.
 
Sometimes it is better to quit while you're behind, so you don't get even more behinderer. I did this with my 7 - mostly because I kinda had to after grinding of significant parts of the blade and handle - and just sheathing it has introduced scratches. If you're gonna use it, as I hope you are, get ready to be disappointed even if you do get it to a semi-polish. It's a LOT of work for a VERY short period of reward. If you can accept that, then by all means.

I used a ½" aluminum block and went from 80 all the way up to 2000. Not for the faint of heart, or for those lacking an adequate supply of beer. And that was just 1095CV. D2 sounds like another way to spell tendinitis. I also used 70% rubbing alcohol for lubrication and to help move the slurry along. But seriously, stop what you are doing right now and go beat the snot out of that thing. They look better when they look like they've been loved enough to have been put to the tasks knives are meant to be put to. Disclaimer: IMO.

My 7 project (many more hours in the sanding than the grinding......MANY.): BK-7 Project

15802015289_92b40c9ca9_b.jpg


and still, it did not stay polished:

15800750500_895f856d0f_b.jpg
 
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