Hand finishing is hard

Sando

Sando

Knife Maker
Joined
Jul 4, 2002
Messages
1,148
I'm doing a 2000 grit finish on a small forged blade.

Dang it's hard. Any slight mistake and I get new start/stop marks to remove. By the time it remove them, I've made another mistake. By the time I'm finished there won't be any steel left.

Maybe I should go back to 1200, make a few passes and call it a day.

Steve

PS Just gripping, but if anyone has suggestions .....
 
0-36 grit= "Rustic Finish"
36-80 grit = "satin Finish"
80-120 grit = "Fine Finish"
120-220 grit = "Mirror Finish" :)

My Suggestion , make ugly rustic crap like me.
 
Mark Williams said:
0-36 grit= "Rustic Finish"
36-80 grit = "satin Finish"
80-120 grit = "Fine Finish"
120-220 grit = "Mirror Finish" :)

My Suggestion , make ugly rustic crap like me.
Click to expand...

I like your thinking. ;) Sure would save a lot of cramped fingers and thumbs. :)
 
Yeah, it is a pain in the rear. Especially rough on the tendonitis/arthritis. I do a 2000 finish and then go to the buffer with Veritas green compound.
 
i just started hand sanding today .... i took up to 1500 grit then buffed

it took soooooooooooo loooong to take the 220 grit scratches from the sander out with 300 sumpthin grit :mad: that was the hardest. gota get the lower grits perfect before moving up a step.
 
Mark - you're a nut case, but I think you're on to something.

Hmmm.. It's so close to a mirror finish. .... maybe I should go ahead and do that.

Steve
 
No hand sanding for me. Scotch brite wheels. Satin finish on my blades. Never liked a mirror finish.
Scott
 
Sando said:
Mark - you're a nut case, but I think you're on to something.

Hmmm.. It's so close to a mirror finish. .... maybe I should go ahead and do that.

Steve
Click to expand...
Actually Steve, that's kinda what I've started doing. Take it to 800 on the platen, mirror polish, then hand rub that out. This won't prevent the starting fishhooks though! Zen breathing buddy. Oh, and Practice! :D
 
jonvalblades said:
it took soooooooooooo loooong to take the 220 grit scratches from the sander out with 300 sumpthin grit :mad: that was the hardest. gota get the lower grits perfect before moving up a step.
Click to expand...

Go back to 180 grit by hand, then 320, so on and so forth. It goes a LOT faster that way. Just don't wash out your grind lines.

Craig
 
I had a heck of a time with this myself.If you want a 2000 grit finish just go up to 2500 then buff with pink scratchless then come back with 2000 and only make straight clean passes with a little oil on the blade.the buffer will remove most of the fish hooks from the 2500 if you still have any then the 2000 will clean them up the rest of the way,One other trick is to not shove the paper into the plunge but to start at the top of the plunge and slide the paper down till it touches the blade then pull a complete stroke off the tip.
You can also take clean notebook paper and use it like sandpaper and burnish the blade to give it a really nice shin instead of buffing if you don't want to buff,just try going one grit higher than you plan on then coming back to the finish grit,This is a trick Alex Daniels taught to me :cool:
Good luck,Hand rubbing takes the most time of anything to me sometimes.
Bruce
 
In a world where you can piss on a man's shoes and tell'em it's raining, why not call 220 a mirror finish?? "uhm... there's a little haze on my mirror that's all..." :)

mitch
 
I admit to saving old grinding belts! Now I use them for hand work. They will work for hand sanding when they are no more useful on my Coote.
I've been using WD-40 for paper wetting because of a suggestion here. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
Lynn
 
Since I've been in the new shop my hand finishing time has gone way down. I think it has alot to do with the lighting for me. I go down to 320 with the belt grinder and I can now see if after I'm done with that grit if those are the only scratches I have left. If not I'll hit it again untill I'm sure thats all I'm seeing. I'll start with 320 wet/dry and work down to 600 before I etch. I just use water with alittle detergent in it. The smell of WD gives me an instant headache anymore.
 
Windex makes a good lube for hand sanding. I have mirror polished in the past but don't do it any more, not a good finish for using or period knives. I go to 220 or 320 grit then start with 120 or 220 grit by hand to finish it up. If you are going to etch for a antique finish that will change every thing. Gib
 
anvilring said:
In a world where you can piss on a man's shoes and tell'em it's raining, why not call 220 a mirror finish?? "uhm... there's a little haze on my mirror that's all..." :)
Click to expand...

hahahhahhahahahah - ain't that the truth!




OK So the options are:

Mirror Finish
'Tactical mirror finish' (That one just kills me)
Mirror finish then hand rub
Hand rub up to 2500 then back to 2000
Zen like breathing
....


I broke out some 1200 polishing paper. Say that stuff doesn't leave marks as easily as SC paper, but it works slow. The 1200 paper looks about the same as 2000 SC paper. This might help me finish this blade before 2006.

Thanks everybody! The humor helps to pass the day, the advice helps get the job done. At least I know it's hard for everyone.

Steve
 
Using WD-40 as a lubricant has not only cut my hand sanding time in half at least but it also extends the life of the paper I'm using by a lot as well. In my opinion you get a better finish as well using a lubricant. I'll have to try the Windex as Peter suggested too.

'Ware the fish-hooks! :D
 
anvilring said:
In a world where you can piss on a man's shoes and tell'em it's raining, why not call 220 a mirror finish?? "uhm... there's a little haze on my mirror that's all..." :)

mitch
Click to expand...
Sounds great! Yes hand rubbing is really hard.
 
From something I read in Engath's site, I've always used Cool Tool II for hand sanding. I use it as my standard drilling and milling lube too, it's good for everything.
 
I saw some 9000 (not a typo) grit "microabrasive" sheets in the Lee Valley cataloge. Actually considered how long it would take.... then common sense took over. I'm happiest anywhere between 600 and 800.
 
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