Everybody needs a buffing wheel

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
If you own a khukuri and plan on maintaining it, you need to get a buffing wheel. So much can be done quickly and more effectively with the right buffing compounds, etc.

"But I can't afford a buffer! :("



Neither can I.

That's why I made a "chuck-able" one that goes right into a drill or drill press. It's easy to make, but if you don't trust your handiwork, you can buy one ready-made here:

c3sm.jpg


http://www.buffingunlimited.com/store/detailpage_csm.htm

$4 - $4.50 plus the cost of compound.


If you can afford 2 wheels, put white chrome compound on one, and green chrome compound on the other. You can get the compounds at the same website.....link = http://www.buffingunlimited.com/store/detailpage_compound.htm


I recently got a few tarnished, dingy blades in the mail and was able to restore the mirror finish is minutes using these wheels.

If you have khukuris, you need this.


I can't recommend a buffer (still the most dangerous tool in the shop), but I got no problem recommending these.


When you're ready to work, just clamp the blade down and use your variable speed drill (cord or cordless) to buff it. Or, you can clamp down the drill and run the khukuri back and forth over it.

Dan
 
So Dan,
Could you tell us if you can shoot a kuk across a room with one of those? ;) :p

Just kidding, dont try it at home kids! :eek:
 
I used to work in a machine shop and I agree with MacHete. If I went back to working there I'd wear a kevlar shop apron with inserts at the well, you can probably guess. ;) :D

Having said that, good tip, Dan.
 
Way to go, Dan. I've been using a drill for one tool does everything a long time now. Rotary cutting bits for wood carving, and I tried a wheel to polish rocks.

For the compulsive amongst us, this idea could be a bad one. With a few scratches on my khuks, I can use them. Imagine someone needing to get the mirror finish back after every use? Felix Unger, move over.



munk
 
munk said:
For the compulsive amongst us, this idea could be a bad one. With a few scratches on my khuks, I can use them. Imagine someone needing to get the mirror finish back after every use? Felix Unger, move over.

munk
Click to expand...

is this a mutation of the highly contageous HIKV? once you get past the collecting phase and have at least one of each plus custom's, villagers and blems, you move on to phase 2, sharpening. when they all are sharp enuff to shave the hair off a fly's b@lls, you move on to phase 3, polishing! i dread seeing what phase 4 will be....there is, of course, no known cure as of yet, and anyone who has recieved a triangular box has been infected....

luckily i'm only at the rag & simichrome paste stage....
 
I am one of those sick people that polishes all of his khuks after a hard days use. I think it was my USMC training, Take care of your equipment first, then yourself. I clean off all of the gunk from tree saps and all, then use flitz and rags to get a slight luster back. Then I get the edge back to shaving sharp. Then lastly I bring them to work where I polish them up on our BIG Baldor buffers. I think the buffs are 14" or so. Each Buffer hae two on it. One is much faster than the other and the fast one gets used with either grey or green compound. Then when it looks really nice I switch to the slower buffer with the white. They now glow! :cool: :rolleyes: I find that it makes maintenance issues minimal since the surface is soo smooth that rust has no place to get a hold. It is hard to get oil to stay on the surface it is so smooth. It sort of beads up.
The buffer also works wonders for the edge if you know how. A nice polished edge seems to last and last when cutting. One day I will perfect my convex edges and then buff and I will own LASERKHUKS! :D ;)
 
kronckew said:
...I dread seeing what phase 4 will be..
Click to expand...
Phase 4 = rebuilding a khukuri
Phase 5 = making your own ;)


:eek:




Think about these wheels this way - without it, you need flitz, oil, sandpaper, rags, etc.

I use my buffing wheel to do everything.....even remove sap - which works wonderfully!



I'll second what ArchAngel says about polished blades. It's been proven that a polished blade rusts less. I think it has something to do with the compounds. Who knows...
 
I saw Dan eyeing the rear leaf springs on my truck at the Kohn. I didn't put 2 and 2 together until just now. Whew, I got out of there in the nick of time :D
 
Thanks for that Dan, I am going to try and find one in Oz, but we dont appear to ever have the gear available to us that you guys have in the states.
 
Be glad to help you get one and send it to you, Rod. Email me if interested.
 
I put a Q-tip in my electric toothbrush once. The ENT Doc told me to never do it again.
 
Pen,

Excellent suggestion! I just ordered a 16.5" WWII from Uncle Bill's blem box, and this'll be just the thing. Thanks for the good idea.

MacHete: yeah, don't do that again!
 
I went to stare at the buffing wheels, but I ended up buying green rouge.

Todd at Buffing Unlimited said their regular green chrome rouge is made of a chromium oxide/aluminum oxide blend (mostly chromium oxide) whose particle size is about .425 microns. For $11.50 shipped, I got much more than I would have from Lee Valley or Museum for Antique Tools. They also have a green rouge that has just chromium oxide for its abrasive and is .325 microns with a higher concentration of abrasive. Of course, they only sold that in 60 pound cases or higher, so my khuks will have to wait.
 
This is one of those things that pays for itself the first time you use it! Talk about a timesaver. I used to polish my khukuris after use, trying desperately to get the sap off, wood marks, scratches, etc.

Just for the heck-of-it, one day I took it to the buffing wheel and it literally wiped it off in about 3 seconds. I was stunned. Makes a huge difference.

I used to think there was a dividing line between my "pretty khuks" and my "workers". Now I keep them all well-buffed. Takes just a few minutes after using them and they're ready for storage.
 
Already had a bench grinder.....just never had the buffing wheels until I got my first blem with rust.....spot one Dan about a time saver, though I did take a nice chunk out of the wheel when I got the angle wrong on the sharpened edge of the blade!! Opps!

Plus I came out speckled with green rouge.......what a newbie!! Still have ten digits though :)
 
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