Knife #2 almost complete. Should I buff it?

steveo83

steveo83

Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
88
Hi guys,
As you can see in the pics, I have nearly finished my second knife. O1 steel, purple dyed maple burl, stainless bolsters pinned and peened, brass mosaic pin.

Lots of fun learning, but I have a question about the finish...

The handle is stabilized and I was wondering about buffing it and the stainless bolsters to give it a nice finish... though never having done it before I'm not sure how to proceed.

What type of buffing pad should I use on the handle/bolster?

I'm guessing I should use buffing compound too - or a few ranging from coarse to fine?? (I don't know a thing about buffing!)

I don't want to buff the blade, not the look I'm going for and I don't want to make a projectile out of it. I'll most likely put a satin finish on it before giving it an edge.

Cheers guys, any suggestions on how to finish this handle up will be much appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • purple knife complete small 2.jpg
    purple knife complete small 2.jpg
    30.9 KB · Views: 218
  • purple knife complete small.jpg
    purple knife complete small.jpg
    31.4 KB · Views: 197
  • purple knife sketch comparison small.jpg
    purple knife sketch comparison small.jpg
    33.3 KB · Views: 227
  • purple knife handle closeup small.jpg
    purple knife handle closeup small.jpg
    39.1 KB · Views: 176
No, I didn't have any pigment for the epoxy I'll have to order some and do the file work on the next knife.
 
I would buff the handle scales with a loose buff and pink no scratch compound.
If you don't want to buff put a coat of wax on them and hand buff with a teri cloth towel.
Also buffing the handle will turn it into a projectile as fast as buffing the blade.
Stan
 
I really like the finish it has right now, and a great looking job, by the way:thumbup: Satin finishes just feel right to me on many knives.

Keep it up!
 
I agree with Stan, wax and buff the maple burl but leave the blade satin. It looks great as is.
 
Boy, that's a lovely looking knife !!! What is the reason or use of that "hook" (?) at the handle? Frank
 
At this point the answer is NO. It is too dangerous.

If you are going to mirror polish a blade it should be done lengthwise before the bolsters and handle are assembled. Polishing should be done lengthwise on the bare blade because there is nothing to catch. Pollishing cross wise will certainly catch and the results can be painful.

This is why I suggest that all knife makers get advice from an experienced polisher before attempting buffing.

George
 
Frank Niro said:
Boy, that's a lovely looking knife !!! What is the reason or use of that "hook" (?) at the handle? Frank
Click to expand...

Thanks for the nice comments everyone :)

Not entirely sure why the knife ended up with that hook/bump at the start of the blade... It took me a while with pad and paper to get the lines how I liked on this one. I drew it up in a few different ways and that pronounced bump just seemed to fit.

I was going for deadly but graceful with the sketch. Not aggressive, just deceptively lethal.

In the end I did buff the handle, it came up a lot nicer. I put an edge on the blade too and it's now slicing paper and hairs really well. I'll get a scotchbrite pad next time I can afford to place a knife supply order and that should let me get some nice satin finishes on my blades.

Cheers
 
You can use one of the green scotchbrite pads from the store with a little wd40 for a nice satin finish.
Stan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top