how to remove scratches

ncrockclimb

ncrockclimb

Gold Member
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Nov 20, 2014
Messages
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I have a great AA Forge XL Bushcrafter that has some scratches. I tried to polish them out with a piece of cloth loaded with CBN emulsion, and the results look much worse than the scratches. The knife is a user with 52100 steel, and I am not trying to get it to win a fashion show. However, I would like to remove the scratches and clean up the mess I created the first time i tried to remove them.

I have found the Fiddleback community to be both helpful an knowledgeable, so I thought I would ask for help from the people I know first. Thanks for any and all advice.

Cheers!!

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First off, it's going to be a long slow process! (If your being careful)
No matter what you use, you definitely can't go north to south (handle to point) since that's like going against the grain.
Start by taping off the unground blade areas you don't want to accidentally mark those up too. I'd recommend short single strokes (NOT a back and forth motion as this can be difficult to keep straight,) moving spine to edge. The idea is to match the natural grind marks of the blade in order to remove or lessen the blemishes, depending on how much time you want to invest... Grit of course too will determine how it turns out, you will likely start off fine to determine what is the best way to match the natural grind marks of your blade.
 
You need to pour some mineral oil on automotive wet dry sandpaper and get to work at the 200 grit level through 600 grit level. Even then it won't be as uniform as the belt grind marks but you might be surprised.
 
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When it comes to this type of thing, I follow Pantheras advice.

I ignore him in all other matters. Unless it involves gators, and other deadly Florida things.
 
Lol thanks Tony. The other thing you might do is pay for a regrind from one of the service providers at the custom shop. Or like heespharm said, embrace the scratch as a symbol of impermanence.
 
This is objectively safer than doing it by hand although the flats are going to be an issue no matter which method you use.

[video=youtube;4I4x4QLpfnk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4x4QLpfnk[/video]
 
I like Rob Bixby's video on convex knife sharpening, in which he advises how to restore factory finishes, that can become damaged as the result of normal sharpening. Its here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsWCk4Ttqe4. Ive made the jig he describes and it works just fine. Id be careful starting with too coarse a paper grit. 200s pretty coarse. While coarse grits will get you under the damage faster, they deposit a rougher scratch pattern than you may want that will take even more work to clean up. Experimenting first with 400 or 600 and seeing if that cleans up the offending marks, is potentially quicker, as its more likely closer to the desired end finish. To, I would not use oil. It tends to clog up wet or dry paper and slows the cutting process. Its harder to clean up and harder to get off the blade as you go from coarse to fine grits. Water works just fine with wet or dry paper. Bixby's fixture helps you feel the blade and where your applying pressure, so that wandering off the convex surface up onto the spalted area is better controlled. Go slow. Its fun.
 
Follow the grind, go from spine to edge, and apply minimal pressure. Alternative is to use the hell out of it, and when it's really banged up, send it in to the 'Forge for a spa treatment. These days, I do my own spa treatments and even with that said it's probably less than annual for my heaviest users.

Good advice in this thread but note that stock removal will likely affect warranty
 
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