I can only assume....

[tikkidaddy]

That if were talking about polishing affecting the performence of a given khuk--its not a hand polishing problem...that said:

if youre polishing a khuk on a power-polishing setup, THEY will GET HOT... but hot enuf to affect tempering in the entire blade?

Come on...what am I missing here...if the khuk is traditionally "zone hardened" DONT OVERHEAT THE SWEET SPOT HARDENED AREA...and allow the knife to COOL BETWEEN STAGES??

maybe Karda or someone can help me out here...

I cant see a prpoerly executed polishing job affecting a knife as high quality as one made by HI....let the debate begin...thanx mark.

BTW: not a contest--i meant a how to.

 

[Karda]

Unless you're using a large diameter and wide buffing wheel and bearing hard on it, it is very difficult to get the blade hot enough to ruin the temper of these blades. Still you should err on the side of caution and always keep your blades as cool as you can. I never like to let them get hot enough that i cannot hold them.

That being said, and as past experiences with these blades has shown. A fine later of annealed metal may form on the outside of the khukuri as it comes from the shop due to the buffing process. A sharpening or two usually solves this problem and the blade is good to go.

 

[tikkidaddy]

Thanx Karda--thats what i was thinking--a little common sense goes a long way on this front...I had one guy say..."If the metal's not getting so hot u can barely hold it youre not doing it right!"...Thats a load of mallarkey.

When it comes to hand polishes though, whats the best way to eliminate "ghost crosshatch" marks in stainless through hardened KLO type blades?

 

[Karda]

I normally remove them with my buffer.
By hand i would try really, really fine wet-dry sandpaper.
I have a worn out 340 grit walmart sanding sponge that polishes nicely also, but it's so worn out i don't know what grit it would compare to.