What you want to find is abrasive materials with a grit similar to the satin finish that is already on the knife. To save time, you will need to start with something rougher if the scratches are very deep.
There are various abrasives like emory powder (rough) and jewlers rouge (fine) available which will work well with a small rotary tool like a dremel with a small cotton buffing pad. Wet/dry sandpaper will work well for hand finishing. Use something like 240-300 grit to start. Be careful to remove All of the scratches and get to an even surface texture everywhere. Then move to a finer grit. Most satin finishes are in the 400-600 grit range.
There should be visible lines on the knife from the current finish. They will either be perpendicular to the blade (machine finish), or along the length of the blade (hand finishes). You may want to consider changing the direction of the finish if you are going to do this by hand.
With several grades of abrasives, you can work all the way up to a mirror finish if you like. Be patient.
Scotchbrite kitchen pads will work well on some knives. Try that first. Woodwoorking shops will also have a non-metal synthetic material called 000-steel wool. This may also give you the desired satin finish.
In any event, you will need to start with something fairly abrasive to remove scratches. How abrasive depends on how deep the scratches are. Sometimes I find redoing the finish without grinding away the scratches will markedly improve the look of the knife and will obscure the scratches. They will still be there if you look closely, but will not jump out at you when you look at the knife. This might be the best approach for working knives that will soon be scratched up again.
Paracelsus
[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 11-14-2000).]
