mirror polish or satin and why?

B

bronyblacksmith

Joined
Nov 6, 2012
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a few days ago I stopped by my local hardware store and saw that they started carrying sand paper up to 2000 grit.
is there any reason why mirror polish better than a satin? maybe for sanitation reasons (food prep).
right now i take most of my blades to 220 grit is that to low a grit for food prep?
what about bead blasted for food prep would it be harder to clean?
thank. :)
 
Mirror blade has less surface area compares to satin or other rougher finish. Mirror/smooth will glide through fiberous & hard material better but will stick more (than other finishes) to vegies with uniform texture such as potato, yam, carrot, etc. Less surface area = less area to rust (for carbon knives), also less particles embed into the surface = less stain. heheh - mirror will shows oily finger prints, plus harder to maintain than satin.

1K grit finish is a good well-rounded edge - toothy and slice smoothly.
 
The finer the gritt the easier it is to hand sand.
Steel slowly getting more and more shiny is hypnotising.
I always take it one gritt finer then I planned, and then one more....

I took my first knive up to 2500 and ended up using it as a mirror to check if a non knife related project I was doing was all clamped up well and no glue was leaking.

Never thougt I´d use a knive that way
 
Mirror polish takes much longer to attain, and lasts much shorter. Satin is quick to attain, and lasts much longer.

Check a mirror blade with some cutting tasks and you probably will have to re-polish it. Check a satin blade with the same test and you will probably have to wipe it off.
 
I don't disagree with anything posted.

The truth is (I think) it is a visual preference to the person judging it. Some guys like polished, some do not. Personally I think it depends on the piece.

From a pure performance perspective, polished wins in almost every category. I have seen polished blades with vent holes to reduce stiction (surface tension of liquid). These really glide through the media (at a price).

Polished surfaces will scratch. I suggest that if someone wants a polished blade it needs to be purely for show (and not use) or purely for use (and not worry about the inevitable scratches).
 
In the past, I mirror polished a lot of blades. They looked great, but scratched easily. This isn't an issue for a "show piece", but not such a good choice for a user.

I now prefer a clean satin finish. They don't scratch as easily, and looking fantastic when done properly.
 
I've never mirror-polished anything, but I do prefer a fine 2000-grit "silk polish" on my own personal knives. I'm convinced that gives any steel its best chance at resisting corrosion, and it doesn't bother me one bit when they get marred in use. Those type scratches are typically so shallow that they have no discernible impact on the blade's durability.

However, the majority of my clients don't give a hoot about that. That level of finish takes more labor, and labor is costly. They just want a knife that cuts well, and that they can afford. So, I have somewhat reluctantly resigned myself to making a lot of knives with a basic 800-grit hand-rubbed finish. Occasionally, I have been convinced to just stop at 400.

My only major problem with most 400-grit "hand-satin", machine-finished and stonewashed blades is that those procedures often tend to hide a whole lot of deeper scratches and flaws. I find that offensive when someone is paying serious money for a handmade knife.
 
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