Buffing, Sanding, Polishing... What Am I Doing Wrong?

Z

ZacharyB93

Joined
Feb 26, 2026
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3
Howdy everyone, noob here just starting on my knife making/working journey.

I recently scooped up a beat up Case Mako. Basically had it given to me. I decided I wanted to see if I could smooth out the bolsters. So, using my grinder with a 600 grit belt, I sanded down the bolster to get the divots out, and then I went to 1, 000 grit hand sanding, working my way up to 10,000 grit however, now that I'm finished, it still doesn't have that shiny mirror finish. How do I get it? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.
 
Pictures might help - consider showing where you are. It might be the case of simply not removing all the scratches from the previous grits, or having your higher grits contaminated with lower grit residuals, or...
 
Do it all by hand, you'll be way faster then chasing half removed scratches from a machine.
Start at 180/240 with a hard backer, work up to 2500 and give it a polish if you want it shinier after that
 
Youtube: hand sanding 101 by Nick Wheeler

It's a fantastic series on how to hand sand. He explains how to get a great matte finish, but the techniques he talks about transfer to any sanding job you have, including a mirror polish.

Just one piece of my own personal experience when trying to get a mirror finish: if you can't see your reflection after sanding, it's not ready for the buffer.
 
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