Camo Hunter

Big Smitty

Big Smitty

Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
509
Just fiished this one. I need a class on blade finishing, I am really struggling with my sanding. I am sanding forever and not seeming to get to where I need to be. Anyhow here is the specs and knife:

Blade is O1 4" long 8 3/8 OAL 1 1/2 wide 1/8 thick
Blade is flat ground
Handle is diamondwood camo pattern
Stainless pins and lanyard tube
Utility cord lanyard
Still have to make the sheath

CamoHunterKnife009.jpg


Comments and help appreciated, especially in the blade sanding department. I need to know where the magic comes from for some of the experts.
 
Smitty,
There is no "magic"....just elbow grease!:D

After heat treat I regrind my blades with a 36 grit...then 120 to clean up the 36...then 220 to clean up the 120. I use black marker between grits on the grinder to help see. Hand sanding starts with old 120 grit belts backed with something hard...going long ways(oposite direction of grinder marks). Make sure you have the blade supported well...I use wd-40 when sanding and wipe it off with TP. Take your time at this point AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE GRINDER MARKS GONE!!! Once I have ALL the grinder marks out I move on to a 220(fresh shop roll) and now I switch direction of sanding (width of blade). This way I can clearly see all the 120 scratches I need to take out. Then on to 400(fresh shop roll) and switch direction again(long ways again) on up to whatever grit I want to stop at. Switch grits, switch direction and the TP you use to clean the blade. Don't want to wipe down he 400 grit blade with a 120 grit piece of TP.:thumbdn:
Lets say I'm gonna stop at 400 grit. Once I have all the 220 marks out I will use a fresh piece of 400 and sand back and forth the full length of the blade. Then another fresh piece wraped around some thin brass or wood...(my secret is old paint sticks) start at the back of the blade and drag to the front and off the tip and then repeat back to front...back to front....back to front...slide the paper over to a fresh section and repeat back to front... back to front...You get the idea Danielson;) Dont forget to breath.:D
Good luck....and Oh yeah Knife looks good too!:D
Mace

P.S. I do all my hand sanding AFTER sharpening and testing the blade and BEFORE I put a handle on.
 
Last edited:
What Mace sayd is the way to go!
One thing I did on the few blades I made is that with the last grit of paper you use, when you are close to being finished is to go from the ricasso to the tip ONLY.
Don't go back over the steel, lift the sandpaper and put it down at the ricasso and again in one straight move go to the point.
Repeat until the final scratch pattern is nice, even and all in one direction.

Oh, and I like your knife, looks like a firm user!
 
Heres a trick I've started using:

-Get a palm sander that takes 1/4 sheet sandpaper.
-Replace the soft pad with something stiff like micarta and round one edge for the plunges.
-Turn the palm sander upsider down and secure it in a vice with the sanding pad facing up.
-Start drawing the flats of the blade across the palm sander. The finish will look like crap at first, but since its orbital, its easy to see all the straight grinding lines disappear.
-Do this up to 600 grit, at which point the finish will look almost like satin, but contain a million little fishhooks.

NOW switch to hand sanding, back up one grit to 400 and hand sand like normal. You will guarantee that your 400 grit finish is all 400 grit and doesnt contain anything deeper, and finishing from 400-1000+ is a much simpler process as all your sanding is from ricasso to tip. NO SCRUBBING back and forth or you will get fishhooks.
 
That palm sander trick is a good one. I have tried it myself, but have found my way back to doing it by hand.
I feel it is important to go through the motions and understand "hand" sanding before using a palm sander. Just like grinding a forged blade helps teach you how to forge a blade better....hand sanding will help you understand how to grind your blade better.

Here is another sanding tip:
If your using sheets of paper back it with some tape.
Mace
 
I use a micarta sanding block that I ground to shape. As I work up through the grits I apply a fair amount of pressure and rub back and forth pretty vigorously, always alternating directions between grits to get out all the lower grit scratches. I go one grit higher than my final finish, so if I want to do a 600 grit rub I'll go to 1200 and then do just enough straight passes with the 600 to get a nice even finish without j-hooks
 
Mace said:
That palm sander trick is a good one. I have tried it myself, but have found my way back to doing it by hand.
I feel it is important to go through the motions and understand "hand" sanding before using a palm sander. Just like grinding a forged blade helps teach you how to forge a blade better....hand sanding will help you understand how to grind your blade better.

Here is another sanding tip:
If your using sheets of paper back it with some tape.
Mace
Click to expand...

I totally agree. If I hadn't spent countless hours of hand sanding, I KNOW I would completely fubar a blade trying to use a palm sander to save time. You need to be just as precise and careful, if not more...you just save your back and arms some work and let the sander do it.

I have been researching different palm sanders and have an "in" on a certain model of sander that is not orbital and instead is a linear sander, which might be the perfect tool for hand sanding prep.
 
Thanks for the tips and inspiration. How do you guys finish the edge metal of the handle after shaping the handle. I always get scratches and have a tough time getting them out of this area. Any tips? Thanks!
 
for my knife I put a 1" flat sanding wheel in my drill press and used it, it left nice horizontal marks.
 
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