buffer

[Nathan L]

This is my latest knife. up untill now i have just used sand paper to finish my knives, but i have decided to get a buffer to make them look better.The only thing is i dont know much about buffers. I found that they sell a abrasive wheel to get tooling marks out and then I gusse you use a wheel whith different compounds to polish. I have read that you need a variable speed buffer and use the slow speed on wood handels and the fast on stanless steel, but i dont know. I found a buffer that was variable speed and cheaper that most of the others it is a Jabetc 10 inch buffer. Any advice on what buffer to get, wheels and compound to use, and how to get some of the deeper scratches out would be helpfull because i have never used a buffer nor have any idea how to.
Thanks

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Make sure you remove the scratches from the previous grit at each stage. A buffer should really only be used as a very final finish and even then is not necessary, you can put compound on a piece of backed leather and bring out a mirror polish very quickly after you are finished sanding.

Another tip on keeping big scratches at bay is to apply some oil after you rough sand if you plan on leaving the knife for a day or two, small scratches will get big quickly when rust sets in.

Great looking knife! I hope this helps.

 

[Robert Dark]

First thing you need to know is that a buffer is an accident waiting to happen.

Secondly, a buffer will not remove sand scratches from a poorly prepared blade.

Number 3, a buffer will "wash-out" any nice and crisp lines that you have worked so hard to achieve.

I haven't buffed a blade in years. Some do......... I don't. I work too hard forging, grinding and sanding those blades in order to have a blade look like it was made by a guy at a clean-up shop.

My $.02

Robert

 

[Nathan L]

Thanks for the information, Robert Dark I think you are right. I have decided against a buffer. I make my knives with a bench grinder I dont have a belt grinder and im only 16 so i cant very well aford to buy one. So what i think i might try is to use my dads 6in by 89in sander that he used for wood work. I found that i can buy up to 400 grit belts for it. Then finish it the rest of the way by hand, i think that might just work.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Mechanical polishing is an art that most here simply do not acknowledge. And most here choose not to take the time to learn it.
There is nothing wrong with a hand finished blade. There is also nothing wrong with a mechanically finished blade.
Done properly, "buffing" does not wash out lines. There are numerous methods, using wheels of wood, leather, felt, cotton, and brush wheels-along with various compounds.