Handle finishing more complex than it has to be?

[Patrice Lemée]

Handle finishing more complex than it has to be?

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question. I was watching S.R Jonhson dvd and I see him buffing the handle with what I believe is a felt wheel loaded with Green Chrome #50 compound. He gets a very nice polish and deep finish on the wood.
On the other hand I've read about people sanding all the way to 2000 or something grit with oil applications in between and sometimes many times with each grit. Then finishing with wax on the buffer and hand burnishing. I am sure I don't have it exactly right but you get the idea.

Other than for a particular type of wood that would not respond to Stave's way of doing it, what is the difference? Better finish, durability?

Or just plain masochism.

Pad

 

[jdm61]

Handle finishing more complex than it has to be?

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question. I was watching S.R Jonhson dvd and I see him buffing the handle with what I believe is a felt wheel loaded with Green Chrome #50 compound. He gets a very nice polish and deep finish on the wood.
On the other hand I've read about people sanding all the way to 2000 or something grit with oil applications in between and sometimes many times with each grit. Then finishing with wax on the buffer and hand burnishing. I am sure I don't have it exactly right but you get the idea.

Other than for a particular type of wood that would not respond to Stave's way of doing it, what is the difference? Better finish, durability?

Or just plain masochism.

Pad

Fear of buffers in my case....lol.

 

[blgoode]

I dont care for extra smooth finishes so I sand up to 400 grit on woods, 0000 steel whool after that, oil finish, and buff by hand with a rag just a few times

 

[RSMITH]

One thing that makes a big difference on how you finish the handle is whether on not the wood is stabilzed or not. If you are working with stabilzed wood, you can almost go from 400 grit straight to the buffer.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I don't like the very high shine finishes on wood, and don't own a buffer, however, wood type is in my opinion the biggest single factor in how long, and what methods, it takes to finish a handle. Stabilized wood is easy to finish. The tight grained hard woods are also fairly easy to finish. The really involved finishing methods come into play when you have open grain and a soft wood. Walnut in particular is like this but birch too can take a bit of effort to finish. Soft woods will take the imprint of files, or even coarse sand paper, the fibers below the surface get damaged and it shows when a finish is applied. You have to do a lot of sanding with fine grits to ensure the underlying wood fibres are clean before a finish is applied. Its a lot of hassle, but its what fine stock makers have to do and the results can be spectacular.

 

[David Schott]

IMHO, hand sanding is key. Too much buffing and you get orange peel finishes, raised grain and a whole lot of polishes scratches, but not a good finish. You can usually tell knives that have had too much time on the buffer easilly. Everything is slightly rounded, not crisp and deep scratches have rounded edges, but are still there. Buffing should take ten seconds max...if not, youre not sanding enough....but thats just my opinion.

I've never been able to get a perfect eggshell satin finish like this with a buffer:

 

[Fiddleback]

I dont care for extra smooth finishes so I sand up to 400 grit on woods, 0000 steel whool after that, oil finish, and buff by hand with a rag just a few times

Thats pretty much what I do. Except I use a scotchbrite pad instead of steel wool. I just don't like the smell of steel wool.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

Thanks for the info guys. I will try that on my next handle. Tried the buffing thing (troubleshoot my handle post) and it did not turn out so well for reasons I now know.

What would I do without the good people here to help me?

Pad

 

[Bruce Bump]

I almost never use a buffer. I have the same cotton wheels on it that I bought in 1995. It bugs me to have the handle material worn away so the bolsters and pins can be felt and stand tall. Its like the knife is already worn out.
I like to use the grinder to get everything as close as possible and then hand sand with a stiff backing on the paper. Stabilized wood gives a nice satin finish if you get it down to about 1200 and rub wax into it.