Buffing Dymondwood & Micarta

Joined
Mar 28, 1999
Messages
14
What steps do you use to finish Dymondwood & Micarta on knife handles. What grit sandpaper do you stop with before you buff it. What kind of compound do you buff with. Would the paint on type compound work instead of hand sanding. K & G sells grits that you paint onto a buff, let dry , and then use-thats the kind I was referring too.

thanks in advance
 
John: I hand sand down to at least 400 grit, then buff on a loose wheel with #60 white. Works good for me on either Dymondwood or Micarta. Can't say anything about the paint on buff stuff that you mentioned as I have never used it.

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I don't know about Dymondwood, but I have taken maroon Micarta to 600 grit, then buffed with a cotton wheel and red Dremel buffing compound. A nice matte finish with a tinge of shine to it (as close to a satin finish as you could get with Micarta, I guess!). You can see pictures of how this turned out at my website. You may have to go forward or backward a page, but I think <a href = "http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/cetan2.html"> this link </a> ought to get you to the right place...
Steve
 
I am a lazy knifemaker, I only take paper micarta to a 240 grit before I buff with a green stainless steel cut and colour compound. Usually it will be necessary to go back once to remove any scratches that i didnt get the first time I sanded then rebuff with the same compound on a sewn wheel(1/2" spacing between rows of stitches).
Loose wheels are too dangerous so I never use them for making knives, they tend to wrap around the knife and pull it from your grip and that is when things get dangerous.

Diamond wood responds to the same treatment.

The paint on material you spoke of is called greaseless compound in the metal polishing trade and can be used to remove the rough grinding scratches but it tends to scorch the handle material if you linger too long.

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george
 
One thing to remeber is don't get them hot while buffing, I will dip the handle in water if it is getting a little hot. I have scorched Dymondwood buffing it and lost some of the color( or should I spell it colour, just joking with you george). I use dimond white buffing com. I also sand to about 240 grit then buff. I think Micarta takes more sanding than Diamondwood to conture your handles so that everthing flows smoothly and uniformly. I have read were some people don't like Dymondwood, it not expensive, it is pretty tough and easy to work with. And there is a butt load of colors. It is also a good idea to ware lung protection. The dust is not good for you to breath.
Chris, Top of Texas Knives
www.toptexknives.com

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The proper spelling is "colour" Chris. One mustn't take liberties with the Queen's English.

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george
 
I wouldn't use paint-on compounds with non-metals. They're pretty harsh even in the finer grits, because they form a really rough surface when they dry, even after you break up the wheel edge for use. In fact, to be honest, I have a full setup of these compounds and can't say I even like them for metal. A good knife will likely be taken down by belt to the point where stick compounds will work rather than buffed with these; the belt preserves the bevels instead of washing them out.

For micarta and dymondwood, do as much as you can by belt and then go into the tough areas by hand to 400-600 grit. For shiny micarta you have to be really thorough and it's a pain, because it's darn hard stuff. For dymondwood you can fudge it, as was mentioned, by using a stainless cut & colo(u)r bar, which will do actual scratch removal on this softer material. Then finish with a white compound bar and you're all set. I don't care what folks say, glassy-smooth dymondwood makes me very happy. Just don't drop it!

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-Corduroy
(Why else would a bear want a pocket?)
 
I take both to 600 to 900 grit then buff on a loose cotton wheel for maximum shine. As stated earlier be very careful with a loose wheel as they tend to grab the knife. I use a cardboard sleeve and masking tape to protect the blade and guard from the wheel and myself from the blade, just in case the grabbing thing happens. I buff the blade and guard on a sewn wheel. Masking the guard keeps you from contaminating your handle buffing wheel with metal.
Works for me.
Mike C

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mconner@luminatorusa.com
Killing the dog wont cure the bite.

 
YEah, enough can't be said about masking off the metal fittings (guard, pins, etc.) since it will contaminate the wheel and can really muck up a buffing job. Also, the reverse is true when you are trying to buff the guard, that is, mask off the handle material especially some of the natural materials like Osage Orange (aka Bois 'Darc). My experience is that the buffing compound will be impregnated into this wood and will look awful. I did this once and had to go back to hand sanding with 220 or 400 grit to remove the black smudges. Learned real quick to mask off the wood to get the metal fitting buffed nicely.

>> DeWayne <<
 
What is Stainless Cut & Colour bar.. I have lots of green & gray buffing compound but not the above. In Jantz supply they sell a cut & colour but its not designated STAINLESS- will any medium cutting compound work?
 
John
When dealing with grease based polishing compounds there are many different combinations of minerals and binding agents(the waxy portion). Each metal has a mineral mix that works best for that metal.
In other words a polishing compound that works like gang busters on titanium absolutely will not work on polishing stainless steel, and a compound formulated to do heavy cutting on a metal usually will not leave a high luster( the grit number of the mineral is too low).

When polishing stainless steel for instance there are three distinct catagories of polishing compound in use(1)Heavy cutting compound sometimes referred to as emory cake. This material is usually grey or black in colour and has a greasy base for lubrication during polishing otherwise the coarse mineral would be too grabby and pulls at the steel. (2)Cut and Colour compound is usually formulated from chromium oxide and is green in colour. If you visit your neighbourhood plating and polishing supplies shop you will see about 20 different green bars on the shelf, each slightly different in shade and designed for specific uses. A stainless steel cut and colour bar has a moderately dry formulation(not greasy but waxy instead)and is usually a higher percentage chromium oxide vs white aluminum oxide and tends to be a darker green. Its job is to remove material quickly without leaving heavy scratches, the dryer formulation does not allow the full grain to be exposed thus the depth of scratch is shallower than usual and a fairly high luster is produced if the buffing speeds are high enough( at least 6000 surface feet per minute, but that is another thing) (3) Colouring compound is a fine grained compound (usually calcined alumina)in a very dry formulation. These bars tend to be white or very light coloured and give a very fine finish if the buffing speeds are over 6000 SFM.

Have I got you confused yet?

The best suggestion that I can make is that you contact a major compound supplier like Jackson Lee, a division of Jason Corp. the largest supplier of buffs and compounds in North America, if not the world and ask for whatever information they have.

In Canada I use Jackson Lee products. The green cut and colour compound that I use is referred to locally as "Stainless # 91" and the white high buff compound that I use to touch up and to buff wood and horn is called "60 Chrome" because it used to be used to rebuff chrome auto bumpers after plating. Both are manufactured in the US and shipped to Canada.

Now lets see, I told you about buffing speeds, compounds and that what works on stainless steel will not work on titanium, aluminum, and works only poorly on brass and bronze. That should be enough for tonight.

It has only taken me about a dozen years to begin to understand metal polishing and
every week a new twist presents itself.

I am only an e mail away.

I imagine that the cut and colour sold by Janz is designed for stainless
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george


[This message has been edited by george tichbourne (edited 08 May 1999).]
 
John: Assuming you want a polished finish, hand sand down to 600, then buff on a sewn wheel at 1750 with a white compound. check carefully to be sure you get all the scratches, and go back iwith sandpaper until you get them all. Wipe all the compound off the knife before proceeding

Then,, repeat with the same compound on a loose buff, also at 1750. I have also used ZAM from TKS-it works well on plastics.

If you buff a properly prepared surface properly, you only need 1-2 minutes to get it done. I'd suggest contacting RW Wilson-he has boiled the whole compound thing down to just 3 compounds, I believe. I tried the finest two, and they worked just fine. You can go nuts buying wheels and compounds, and, the time you save changing wheels on your machine far exceeds the time you can save by using 8 different specific compounds, when 1 will do. (been there, done that!)

My best advice is to get your wheels mounted right, screw them down hard, and use a wheel rake to thoroughly true your wheels. This makes a tremendous difference in your buffing results-it did for me. When you have the whole perimeter of the buff contacting the wheel equally, you get results FAST.

Good Luck, and WEAR THAT RESPIRATOR and eye protection. I've had 3 surgerys to remove clogged tear ducts (green chrome rouge). When they stick that big Novacaine needle in your cheek, and you pass out because it's so disgusting, it's embarassing!!

RJ Martin
 
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