Home bead blasting equipment?

S

SNAFU

Joined
Nov 27, 2005
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Looking to try out bead blasting some of my knives and was wondering what you HOGs might have for equipment. Because I know absolutely nothing about the process and what is required, any help on needed equipment, types of beads, sources of products, and methodology are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
sears has a home unit that i use. you will need an air compressor too. buy your 140 sieve sand at a masonry store. buy your glass beads at sears or any industrial tool house.

i shoot silica sand at 100psi and blast/cut the living crap out of coatings scratches etc. then i shoot glass beads at 30psi to peen and seal the surface.

all this will not harm the micarta and i do not try to mask it off at all.

you might want to wear a mask and goggles to protect your lungs and eyes.

heres a couple i have done at home.



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Thanks Skunk. Did you take the handles off or just blast around them? If you took them off, what / how did you refasten them? Thanks.
 
don't remove the handles just blast around them and don't worry if you hit them, it won't hurt them at all. i blast from a distance of about 12 - 18" polish the rivets with a felt tip on your dremel tool.
 
Thanks, one more question. Did you remove the coating first or will blasting with the first abrasive take care of that, i.e. do I need to strip and sand the blade first?
 
I have been thinking of a good reason to get a blasting set up. So far I haven't come up with one that the boss will approve. I do need to get an air compressor so maybe it won't take much more convincing that we can use a blaster as well. :)
 
Looks very good but my experience with silica sand is that it makes the surface pretty rough.
Blasting with glass beads or plastic grain will give you a very smooth surface and a perfect finish.
 
I have a question about the process too. If the knife is already a satin finish to you need to bother with the first step or you can you just blast them with the glass beads?
 
Great info Skunk but what about the edge of the blade, it seems like it would get super dull if it pelted by all that stuff. I'm guessing you blast down on the spine away from the edge. I'm glad to hear how easy it is to strip off the coating without using harsh chemicals and I'm gonna look into blasting a couple of my beat up users, especially the thin SJTac which wasn't offered in double cut;)
 
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