How do you finish a 1084 blade?

I use Shapton 500 and 2000. But you'll get more answers in the sharpening section (maintenance and tinkering)
 
At risk of sounding flippant: however you want!
Your question lacks the factors that merit a good response from experienced makers.
Since I am not an experienced maker, I'll respond with my thoughts.

For the cutting edge:
You could use sandpaper.
Or tormek, or an arkansas/japanese stone, or a brick, or ...

Do you want a toothy edge? A shaving edge? What angle? What tools are available to you? What funds are available to you? What type of blade (axe, razor, nail clippers)?
Generally, I use a 1000 grit, followed by 6000 grit Japanese stone followed by leather strops loaded with various compounds.


Regarding the non-cutting-portions:
1084 polishes up pretty well. Use sandpaper to the grit that you want. If you want a satin finish, you could stop around 800 grit. See YouTube videos from Nick Wheeler or Aaron Gough.
For mirror finish, keep going to 2500 grit and use polishing compounds on a felt/cotton wheel or leather. There are many other posts that detail this better.
 
I think I am going to go with a 1000 grit whetstone, I am just getting into knife making


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I found one with 250 grit on one side and 1000 grit on the other is the 250 grit useful?


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dave5subway said:
I found one with 250 grit on one side and 1000 grit on the other is the 250 grit useful?


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Yes it is. You can set a new bevel with it or clean up a chipped edge.

Research the technique before you use it. If you have a steady hand you can get nice results.
 
Judging by your other posts, you are planing to make a blade and have decided to use 1084. Are you wondering about stones for sharpening or do you plan to use them to do surface finishing on the blade? To finish the flats and bevels, I think sand paper is great. For your edge you can use stones, ceramic, diamond, carbides, sand paper, etc. If your making a knife and still haven't even got the steel yet then you have a long way to go before you need to worry about how to sharpen. Google is your friend and there's lots on you tube, some great info, some not so much. Nick wheelers videos are a great place to start. Take some time, do some research, lots of good information out there. It will also take some trial and error on your part to find what works well for you.
Good luck!
-Colin
 
Look in the stickys and read the tutorial, "How to Instructions for Masking a Knife".


The basics:
To shape the steel into a knife shape and do the basic bevels, use a bastard file followed by a second cut file.

To sand the bevels and other surfaces smooth, use silicon carbide sandpaper. The normal grits used are 1200,220, 400, 800, 1000. If the knife is a user, you can stop at 400. If taking to a very shiny finish, go to as high a grit as is available to you. Cut the paper into smaller pieces. I cut it into 1/8 sheets.
Tip- put a few drops of dish soap in a bowl of water and use it to lubricate the paper when sanding. It makes it go faster and the paper last longer. Change the paper as often as needed. It is fruitless to use worn out paper.

Once the knife has been finished and is ready to sharpen, use either a whetstone ( with oil) or diamond plates ( with water). DMT combo diamond plates are very popular. A good pair of grits is 250-350 for the coarse and 800-1000 for fine. Extra fine is nice to have, but not needed. An old leather belt glued to a strip of wood and charged with rouge or green chrome polish makes a great strop for stropping the final edge to remove the wire and polish the edge. It only takes about three to five strops per side. Don't over-strop.

Fred Rowe's Bubble jig is great for beginners learning to grind on a belt grinder and for learning how to sharpen at an exact angle.
 
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