Recommendation? Blade polishing shortcuts

[NickHFSS]

Hello , currently to polish I bring the knife to 400 grit on the belt grinder with the 3m trizact belts , then start hand sanding with 400 to change the grain from vertical to horizontal , 600 800 1200 2000 2500 grit then move to polishing wheel and polish with dialux white , I am mostly polishing my puukko blades and scandi grinds , so the work surface is pretty easy, I am wondering what can I do , what kind of belts etc , to spend more time on the grinder and spending less time hand sanding thus making the process faster and polishing more blades per day. I'm considering , cork belts or maybe scotchbrite belts .
Advices?

 

[NickHFSS]

Maybe a combo of belts and then moving to polishing wheel with different compounds starting from black ?

 

[AVigil]

Take your blade to 400 grit, then switch to 400 grit cork with green compound, then 800 cork green compound, then plain cork with green compound bring to mirror finish and go to buffer.

No hand sanding needed

 

[Richard338]

Beautiful knife. The photo isn't clear enough to tell, but it appears that the bevel transition isn't crisp after you achieve the finish.
If you can use a firm backing and keep a crisp transition, it will take that to the next level (probably the highest).

 

[NickHFSS]

Take your blade to 400 grit, then switch to 400 grit cork with green compound, then 800 cork green compound, then plain cork with green compound bring to mirror finish and go to buffer.

No hand sanding needed

Haven't used any cork belts , prices seem quite low , gonna give a try thanks ! what compound on buffin wheel?

 

[NickHFSS]

Beautiful knife. The photo isn't clear enough to tell, but it appears that the bevel transition isn't crisp after you achieve the finish.
If you can use a firm backing and keep a crisp transition, it will take that to the next level (probably the highest).

Thank you , oh I just love the crisp transition lines , makes the work so much more professional and good looking , I sand with leather backing on a wooden sander ive carved.
If these had crisp lines they would look so much better

 

[Richard338]

Thank you , oh I just love the crisp transition lines , makes the work so much more professional and good looking , I sand with leather backing on a wooden sander ive carved.
If these had crisp lines they would look so much better

Your handles look amazing. Yes I might try a harder backing like wood and be very careful with holding the angles.

 

[AVigil]

Be sure to break in your cork belts completely before using them. As for compound on the buffer, there are a several you can use. Just go to your favorite supplier and see what they have.

This one was with green compound.

 

[NickHFSS]

Be sure to break in your cork belts completely before using them. As for compound on the buffer, there are a several you can use. Just go to your favorite supplier and see what they have.

This one was with green compound.

Do you go against the blade like regular grinding or the other way?

 

[Forrest Taylor]

The whole designs are amazing

 

[AVigil]

Do you go against the blade like regular grinding or the other way?

You grind edge up but you can do edge down.
One of the benefits of free hand grinding.

 

[NickHFSS]

You grind edge up but you can do edge down.
One of the benefits of free hand grinding.

Just placed the order for 400 800 and no grit as well as green compound , look very forward to use man im so excited....
How do I know if break in is good and how long do they last? If I move from 400 trizac to 400 cork will it work?

 

[AVigil]

Just placed the order for 400 800 and no grit as well as green compound , look very forward to use man im so excited....
How do I know if break in is good and how long do they last? If I move from 400 trizac to 400 cork will it work?

Cork Belt Break-in | Tru Grit, Inc. | The Leading Edge in Abrasives and Knifemaking Supplies

To break in cork belts, put them on the grinder with a tool rest in place. Using a scrap piece of blade steel, or whatever, wear on that belt for a good 10 minutes. Be careful not to “break” the corners, or edges, of the belt too aggressively, or all the cork and polishing media […]

trugrit.com

To break in I use round bar stock instead of a flat bar. It smashes the tops down instead of shearing off.

Sure you can go from that to cork.

 

[NickHFSS]

Cork Belt Break-in | Tru Grit, Inc. | The Leading Edge in Abrasives and Knifemaking Supplies

To break in cork belts, put them on the grinder with a tool rest in place. Using a scrap piece of blade steel, or whatever, wear on that belt for a good 10 minutes. Be careful not to “break” the corners, or edges, of the belt too aggressively, or all the cork and polishing media […]

trugrit.com

To break in I use round bar stock instead of a flat bar. It smashes the tops down instead of shearing off.

Sure you can go from that to cork.

2-3 years ? wow , so the 400 grit actually will last that long ?
Woah if this works I'll be the happiest man alive , I always push the mirror polished orders a bit , since I dont always enjoy it , only the times when it goes good , when I have to sit for hours taking out small pesky skratches then I'm not lol

 

[NickHFSS]

UPDATE

So I finished the blade at 400 grit trizact 3m
Broke in all my belts on an old axe head
went to 400 grit cork with green compound
800 grit cork
no grit cork
I did get a nice and consistent finish on the blade but there are still grind marks visible which on hand finish are not
so whats my next move , move to 800-1000 grit trizact or spend more time on 400 cork? or move to a buffing wheel with ruff compounds ( I have dialux orange) and then fine compound?
Thanks

 

[john april]

looks nice and shiny though! those might be 220 or 400 grit scratches. i have not found any shortcuts to a mirror finished blade with no visible scratches yet. either you missed some 220 grit scratches with the 400, or you didnt get the 400 grit scratches out with the first cork belt.