Once the steel is hardened, you have to switch to using abrasive sheets. Use Wet-or-Dry from the auto shop or hardware store.Take a piece of hard wood (or a piece of steel) and wrap a strip of the sandpaper around it. Use it just like a file. Start with 120 grit and proceed to 400 of as fine as you like (it comes as fine as 8000).Switch to a fresh place on the sheet as it wears down. For a final polish, glue a piece of leather to a block of wood and charge it with Flitz or some other polishing compound and hand polish the blade and edge.
You want to take the blade to 400 grit BEFORE HT if you are doing things by hand. Make sure ALL scratches are out before HT since they will be very hard to remove after the blade is hard.After HT start with 120 grit, even if you went to 400 prior to HT. You have to remove the thin layer of decarb from the blade surface.
A couple of tips on using the sandpaper. Use silicon carbide paper ( the black stuff) ,as regular sandpaper won't do the job.Use it dry up to 400 grit and then use it wet ( not a requirement, but is helps in the finer grits).Alternate directions of sanding between grits by 90 degrees ,to see where the deeper scratches are from the last coarser grit. Don't go to a higher grit until all the scratches are out from the last grit.The final sanding and polishing should be in continuous smooth strokes from the ricasso to the tip.
Take your time and have fun. Many spectacular blades are made with nothing but files and sandpaper.
Stacy
