Mirror'ed Polished Blades

V

victorf

Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
311
Rockstead Shin-ZDP aside, I selected a few blades for mirror polish from my collection.

Favorite starts from the bottom left, then, right, left and last place is CRK as the least favorite:

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This will be joining the mirror crowd next.

Pivot spanner tool made:

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Customization begins:

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But I will no longer want to share, in detail, my mod/customization journey, just the end results when done.
 
I for one would be interested in seeing your polishing technique.
Very nice knives btw... Looking forward to seeing the finished Strider
 
steppinthefunk said:
I for one would be interested in seeing your polishing technique.
Very nice knives btw... Looking forward to seeing the finished Strider
Click to expand...

Yean, and how do you keep the crisp line between the sandblasted flats and the polished bevel?
 
According to Bohler, both their 390 and XHP can attain an outstanding mirror. I checked my XHP Para 2 with a little compound, the underlying mirror was eagerly wanting to show more!

S90V is more of a challenge but resulted mirror has a darker tint, for me was more rewarding. My Yojimbo 2 is proof.

Also, the higher on the HRC, the more challenging it becomes for a mirror. Example is CRK's S35, having soft 58-59 RC, took me only 8 hours. While both Domino with CTS-204, equivalent to 390 and Yoijimbo's S90 - took 40 hours - each.

Imagine Rockstead's high RC? My past experience humbled me to appreciate and feel justified for the fee Rockstead charges to become an owner:

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what medium did you use? my s30v millie project was an abject failure because i was using AlO3 sand paper. note: the sandpaper worked well with my zdp endura but this is when i finally appreciated just how wear-resistant the sxxv series is.
 
Beautiful finishing. I know what effort it takes to make this a reality and it is considerable. Most newer knife makers engage in this type of finish during the front end of their careers but they soon abandon the mirror polish for a more practical finish. Its far to easy to mar the surface with the slightest use and wiping off a speck of dust can leave a scratch on the surface that ruins the mirror look. If you have knives that are only going to be kept in the safe then the mirrored bevels are worthwhile.
 
RevDevil said:
It's just a whole lot of hours spend polishing, rubbing, and buffing. No secret to it.
Click to expand...

Precisely.

In a pinch, any type of abrasive will work, but some are more effective. I use silicone carbide wet/dry normally. Tight grit progression. After 2000, rub with decrease grit compound. All by hand, I have found using machine tools during the process, generate hard to control air born contamination.

I make sanding blocks to aid maintain sharp transition and blade holding jig enable me to mount blade in various angle/position so as to avoid body contortion that can affect working comfort. Basically, improvise as needed:

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The key factor in the process is to maintain area cleanliness and segregation between grit. One single grit will set the progress back.

In the same light, to maintain mirror'ed blade, I have disciplined to avoid any sort of wipe down after use, including using bare hand, better chance of not dragging any grit over blade's surface. It is sometime inconvenient when fresh water is not available. In those situations, I will wait until I can get to use water to do a rinse, follow with Dawn/hand soap, rinse again and dry. The simple learned process in cleanliness, enable my mirror'ed projects and not only knife projects, to enjoy a permanent shine.

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Good luck!
 
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