Newbie looking for input and advice

W

Wander151

Joined
Jan 7, 2014
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Ive been making knives for a few months now. Ive finished about 12. I would love any input and feedback on my latest 2. The hardware is all copper, the handles are paper micarta, the steel is edge quenched 1095. My biggest difficulty has been getting a decent blade finish. I just can seem to get all the scratches out by hand sanding. Please tell me what you think. Thanks
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You need to take the time necessary to get those last few scratches out. It will happen it just seems like it takes forever. Make sure you are changing the direction of your sand with each finer grit. This will show you what you are missing a little easier. You need a thong tube in the bottom one. For your first few they look pretty good.
 
The face of the blade must be almost absolutely flat to most easily remove all scratches by hand sanding. This (obviously) is limited by your tools/equipment and by experience.

As mentioned, proceed through the grits with different approach angles and don't move on the the next finer grit paper unless every scratch has been removed. Inspect the blade for residual scratches under various lights (indoor, outdoor, etc) and at different angles. Spend some extra time sanding at the bevel at each grit. This helps to assure that you don't end up with visible scratches there, as this is the most difficult area to finish, in my opinion. I have found blue layout fluid to be very useful in quickly locating low spots and deep scratches; I prefer the spray versions rather than the brush-on type (purchase at MSC Industrial Supply or some knife maker supply houses). I use this religiously when grinding too.

Finish the ricasso completely before attaching guards, bolsters, or handles to the tang.

Use a flat sanding block. I use a flat block with a fairly hard piece of rubber bonded to it. This seems to be more forgiving of minor low spots, than an absolutely hard and flat sanding block.

Use something as a cutting oil while sanding. WD-40, Windex, and honing oils are all possibilities. I prefer WD-40.

Keep it up. Good luck.

Mike
 
Thank you guys so much for the feedback! Do you mainly use the 320/400/600 grit wet/dry papers? Is there any reason to go higher or lower? Would a piece of thin micarta work for backing the paper or should i find something with more give? I just have a crappy 4x36 belt sander that wanders so it makes for a lot of touch up at the plunge line. Do you guys do any hand sanding before heat treating? Logem, whats better about the spray on layout fluid? Just the ease of application or is thinner? Also any good spots to get small amounts of 01. I want to see how i like working with it.
 
At least, purchase some 200 grit wet/dry abrasive paper. Starting with 320 grit is probably most of the cause for your difficulties with removing scratches. Finish your grind and then start hand sanding with about 120 grit paper.

You may want to start with 120/100 grit then progress to 200 grit before starting with ~400 grit. You will have to make these subjective decisions on each knife though, depending upon how the clean-up goes.

I use high end stainless steels and recommend that the blade be be fully hand sanded to completion before heat treating. When they return from heat treat, they only require a couple of minutes of hand sanding with the last applied grit to return them to their previous finish.

A well done 600/800 grit blade is ideal in my opinion, but it depends upon what you want to achieve.

I like the spray dye due to the ability to apply it very thinly (less than 0.001").
 
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