donscpoo
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 1,199
My better half is not at home tonight so I decided use this chance to smooth out the scales on my NMSFNO. This is something she will allow me to do if she is at home 
The black micarta scales on my NMSFNO were machine finished and were pretty sharp. Hence, I decided to smooth them out myself.
Before:
I taped the cutting edge to prevent any accident before I start the sanding. I wet the handle and started to sand it down with 100 grit sandpaper on my dining table
. I wrapped the sandpaper around a copper pipe to speed up the sanding. When the machine ridges are almost smoothed out, I continued the sanding without the copper pipe to round off the scales. I repeatedly wet the sandpaper and the scales while I smooth out the scale to keep the dust under control. I finished off with 150 grit when the ridges are almost completely gone. A little non-greasy J&J Baby Oil restored the colour on the scales. It took me about 1.5 hr to get this end result.
There are still some very minor ridges left but I decided to stopped the sanding. I was worried that the scales might become too small for my custom Mashed Cat kydex sheath to fit securely. This is something you might want to note if you are using a kydex sheath. I can live with the minor ridges as I cannot feel them when I grip the scales.
I am very please with the end result and encourage you to go for it if you are on the fence. This is a very simple DIY to enhance your overall experience with your Busse.
Cheers!
Don
The black micarta scales on my NMSFNO were machine finished and were pretty sharp. Hence, I decided to smooth them out myself.Before:
I taped the cutting edge to prevent any accident before I start the sanding. I wet the handle and started to sand it down with 100 grit sandpaper on my dining table
. I wrapped the sandpaper around a copper pipe to speed up the sanding. When the machine ridges are almost smoothed out, I continued the sanding without the copper pipe to round off the scales. I repeatedly wet the sandpaper and the scales while I smooth out the scale to keep the dust under control. I finished off with 150 grit when the ridges are almost completely gone. A little non-greasy J&J Baby Oil restored the colour on the scales. It took me about 1.5 hr to get this end result.
There are still some very minor ridges left but I decided to stopped the sanding. I was worried that the scales might become too small for my custom Mashed Cat kydex sheath to fit securely. This is something you might want to note if you are using a kydex sheath. I can live with the minor ridges as I cannot feel them when I grip the scales.
I am very please with the end result and encourage you to go for it if you are on the fence. This is a very simple DIY to enhance your overall experience with your Busse.
Cheers!
Don
