So I recently got into this whole knifemaking thing and have gotten the hang of profiling blades and actually grinding the edge, but I'm really lost when it comes to finishing the blade; more specifically how to mirror finish.
Naturally I have a long list of questions. First of all, what grits do you usually finish to when hollow grinding on a belt grinder? The highest grit I usually see is 400 from most suppliers. After all you can do on the belt grinder, how do you usually continue with the finishing? Is it straight from the grinder to the buffer? Or is there some hand sanding as well? If there's hand sanding, how exactly do you keep the grind lines clean and at what grit do you stop? For polishing, what types of wheels/compounds should I be using for the various stages and parts of polishing(for example I've read that what's good for the blade isn't necessarily what's good for the handle material)? I've seen people polishing with the edge up, like when grinding, but this seems incredibly dangerous, is that the typical way of doing it (and yes I do know that buffing is the most dangerous part of knifemaking)?
Well I think that's enough questions for one post(probably too many). Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Naturally I have a long list of questions. First of all, what grits do you usually finish to when hollow grinding on a belt grinder? The highest grit I usually see is 400 from most suppliers. After all you can do on the belt grinder, how do you usually continue with the finishing? Is it straight from the grinder to the buffer? Or is there some hand sanding as well? If there's hand sanding, how exactly do you keep the grind lines clean and at what grit do you stop? For polishing, what types of wheels/compounds should I be using for the various stages and parts of polishing(for example I've read that what's good for the blade isn't necessarily what's good for the handle material)? I've seen people polishing with the edge up, like when grinding, but this seems incredibly dangerous, is that the typical way of doing it (and yes I do know that buffing is the most dangerous part of knifemaking)?
Well I think that's enough questions for one post(probably too many). Any answers would be greatly appreciated.