How To hand sand and keep the bevel line

[GRapp]

I've gotten much better at grinding bevels in uniformly. My problem now is when I do my final hand sanding to a nice clean finish, I lose that sharp line. Any pointers?

 

[pafka]

What do you use as a backing? It needs to be flat, stiff and the sandpaper needs to taut. I have decent results with a sanding block like this:

Relatively easy to make if you have a mill.
Using EDM stones is also a good way of keeping lines crisp.

 

[Richard338]

I did a couple NY Specials with small radius hollow grinds and this was one of my main concerns. I used multiple sizes of steel backing, each smaller in radius than the grind. You need to keep the paper tight and not get sloppy and slid over the ridge.
For flat, then pafka just covered it. I'm doing one right now and starting with stones.

 

[GRapp]

What do you use as a backing? It needs to be flat, stiff and the sandpaper needs to taut. I have decent results with a sanding block like this:

Relatively easy to make if you have a mill.
Using EDM stones is also a good way of keeping lines crisp.

I use a flat piece of mild steel as backer. Sounds like I just need to get better at hand sanding.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Goal - clean up with one piece of 600 grit

How to get there - I'm not sure yet, 5k knives ground and I'm still not that good. I'm close but have to grind to 600+ then start at 400 grit.

Sand with a hard backer and something to stop your knife from flexing.

The guys with the very cleanest hand rubs do this.

I keep things crisp by cleaning up the flats after doing the bevels. You want to keep them well along while you sand but do that last removal stage after the bevel. You can often machine finish the flats after a directional hand rub and make it crisp.

 

[A.McPherson]

If you haven't yet, look up "Nick Wheeler Hand sanding 101" on YouTube.

It'll change your sanding game for sure!

 

[GRapp]

If you haven't yet, look up "Nick Wheeler Hand sanding 101" on YouTube.

It'll change your sanding game for sure!

I watched it a handful of times and it is very helpful. It doesn't cover bevel lines though. In the past I didn't care that my lines were washed out. Now that my lines are more better, I'm trying to keep them. Seems I need to focus on the different planes...and take my time...carefully, and practice.

 

[weo]

IMO, the shape of the backer stick can make a difference in how easy it is to keep it tight. Mine is perpendicular on the back side where the thumbs go to push the stick forward during the sanding stroke and the front side is beveled which allows the pressure of my index fingertips on the stick during the sanding stroke to be both down on the blade and back keeping the paper tight to the stick.

 

[Lorien]

I use a fair amount of nail polish during the final finishing stages

 

[weo]

oh yeah, I find that wet sanding also helps the paper stick to the backer stick

 

[Wyo Coyote]

EDM stones work for me too.

 

[GRapp]

Why not whetstones in place of EDM stones? They can be had in larger dimensions keeping on the plane better. They can be had in grits from 100-1800 (just the ones I see at McMaster).

 

[pafka]

Why not whetstones in place of EDM stones? They can be had in larger dimensions keeping on the plane better. They can be had in grits from 100-1800 (just the ones I see at McMaster).

The larger size is not a benefit in this case - the stones wear out, and you will not be able to keep them wearing out evenly. With the smaller size of EDM stones it does not matter as much since the contact area is small, and you move it around, and that will "cancel out" the uneven wear. You should not affect the geometry of the grind much anyway unless you go nuts.
I think Natlek has used diamond stones for finishing and was happy with the results - so try that if that sounds appealing.

 

[GRapp]

Makes sense, thanx.