Ok, I admit it ... I might be a hand sanding convert

I have run a glass platen through hundreds ir]f not a thousand hours of use. These had no shelf on them, just rein gluing the glass on. The only time I ever broke one was when I set the flat platen arm down on the concrete floor too hard.

I don't personally know anyone who ever had one come off. I and the others I know use JB Weld and clamp only lightly so that it doesn't squeeze out the resin.

Currently, my Reeder platens have a tiny shelf milled in them, and I have others that have a thin piece of metal screwed on as a shelf.

Any machinist or a friend with a mill can mill a platen down 1/16" to create a shelf.
 
Mine also had no shelf for the first 6 years I had my grinder. After reading about the above mentioned risk, I decided to add one when I replaced my glass due to cracking. All I needed to do was drill a hole in an L-shaped piece of steel that lined up with the screw that holds the platen to the frame.
 
I had a glass platen pop off. Not when I was grinding, but when it was around 0 degrees and I banged the tool arm on my grinder. *tink* just like a crack in the quench.
 
It can take years to get the drama out of hand sanding.

This is my current no drama grinding to hand sanding.
-50 grit x weight VSM ceramic
-50 grit Hermes J weight
-100 Hermes 346 J weight
-220 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 cork with green compound
-800 cork green compound
Hand sanding about 10-20 minutes depending on size of blade.

The better you are on the grinder the less time you spend hand sanding.
 
AVigil said:
It can take years to get the drama out of hand sanding.

This is my current no drama grinding to hand sanding.
-50 grit x weight VSM ceramic
-50 grit Hermes J weight
-100 Hermes 346 J weight
-220 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 cork with green compound
-800 cork green compound
Hand sanding about 10-20 minutes depending on size of blade.

The better you are on the grinder the less time you spend hand sanding.
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Yikes. At this point, at least, I would not think of going beyond something like 220 before hand sanding. On the other hand, it seems like there are defects that need sanding at something like 120 that just don’t show up until something like 400 on the grinder. Is that just the way it is? Take it to a fine grit on the grinder to make visible what you need to correct ... and then back down to something like 120 by hand?
 
Cushing H. said:
Yikes. At this point, at least, I would not think of going beyond something like 220 before hand sanding. On the other hand, it seems like there are defects that need sanding at something like 120 that just don’t show up until something like 400 on the grinder. Is that just the way it is? Take it to a fine grit on the grinder to make visible what you need to correct ... and then back down to something like 120 by hand?
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If you have defects you need to work on your grinding technique, not your hand sanding.

To make sure the blade is ready for the next grit color it with a sharpie or dye chem to find the low spots and clean up the grind before advancing to the next grit.
 
AVigil said:
If you have defects you need to work on your grinding technique, not your hand sanding.

To make sure the blade is ready for the next grit color it with a sharpie or dye chem to find the low spots and clean up the grind before advancing to the next grit.
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Perhaps, but not sure if it is that simple. There might be an errant single grit mark, either on steel or handle, that just plain does not become clear until I am several grit steps beyond the one in question. I am not talking about low spots, but rather very localized very small and subtle visual issues
 
I believe most knifemakers skip too many lower grits on the grinder and then they further punish themselves with hours of hand sanding to blend these issues.

Most people go 36, 60/80, 120 grit... on steel and it's super easy to leave a 36 grit scratch when jumping up to 80 grit.

I like to use a 40, 50, 60, 80, 120 on the grinder.... after 120 I think you're kind of splitting hairs on getting to a nice finish. I like to go 220, 320, 400, 600 and then go through the scotchbrite belts to get a hands free finish but I sometimes change this based on what I want to do with the knife.
 
Cushing H. said:
I am not talking about low spots, but rather very localized very small and subtle visual issues
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Those are low spots.

And that is why you need to dye chem or sharpie your grind before moving to the next grit.
 
AVigil said:
Those are low spots.

And that is why you need to dye chem or sharpie your grind before moving to the next grit.
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Well .... technically a scratch is by definition a low spot .... its an issue of magnitude and size. That said, the recommendation of using dye chem between grits is a reasonable one.

I am still more than a little surprised by this whole discussion though .... as in the past there have been plenty of comments by members that the dynamics of a grinder (moving belt bouncing and bunching, not quite flat platen, irregular grits on the belt, etc) make it virtually impossible to really get a truly flat bevel with only the grinder (and thus hand sanding) .... and yet now people are arguing for the grinder and not hand sanding. Kind of humorous......
 
Travis_Wright said:
I believe most knifemakers skip too many lower grits on the grinder and then they further punish themselves with hours of hand sanding to blend these issues.
Click to expand...
Probably reasonable. I have not used 36 grit belts yet .... but those grit sizes are BIG, and a slightly oversize one is likely to create one heck of a scratch...
 
AVigil said:
This is my current no drama grinding to hand sanding.
-50 grit x weight VSM ceramic
-50 grit Hermes J weight
-100 Hermes 346 J weight
-220 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 Hermes 346 J weight
-400 cork with green compound
-800 cork green compound
Click to expand...
Adam - why go all the way to cork with 800 green before hand sanding .... instead of maybe going to 220 and then hand sanding? at 800, and mostly at 400, you are really only dealing with surface finish, not profile of the bevel .... right?
 
Cushing H. said:
There might be an errant single grit mark, either on steel or handle, that just plain does not become clear until I am several grit steps beyond
Click to expand...
If you are not seeing the scratches during the next grit in progression maybe a different type of light source would help. Many of us have several types of lights to look at blades with. Nothing like taking a knife to a show (big sodium lights) and finding a scratch which wasn't there in the shop.
 
Jesse Latham said:
If you are not seeing the scratches during the next grit in progression maybe a different type of light source would help. Many of us have several types of lights to look at blades with. Nothing like taking a knife to a show (big sodium lights) and finding a scratch which wasn't there in the shop.
Click to expand...
Oh definitely. The light in my shop most decidedly needs to be improved......
 
Cushing H. said:
Adam - why go all the way to cork with 800 green before hand sanding .... instead of maybe going to 220 and then hand sanding? at 800, and mostly at 400, you are really only dealing with surface finish, not profile of the bevel .... right?
Click to expand...

You should have your bevels done at 100 grit.

Anything past that is for blade finishing.

I go to 800 cork so when I go down to 600 grit hand sanding there are only 600 grit scratch pattern.

I do not want to waste time hand sanding working up in grits.

It is far more efficient to get it to 800 grit and work back to 600 grit, then it is to go from 220 grit and work up to 600 grit.
 
got it - thanks.

I am pretty much done with bevels at 80 grit. just a little bit of work at 120 ... but not much....
 
Cushing H. said:
I am still more than a little surprised by this whole discussion though .... as in the past there have been plenty of comments by members that the dynamics of a grinder (moving belt bouncing and bunching, not quite flat platen, irregular grits on the belt, etc) make it virtually impossible to really get a truly flat bevel with only the grinder (and thus hand sanding) .... and yet now people are arguing for the grinder and not hand sanding. Kind of humorous......
Click to expand...

Not all information from posters are equal.
Before taking advice from posters look at their level and quality of work they have available to view.

If you can not find pictures of their work easily, then best to pay attention to makers who actually can do what they claim and have the results to show it.

Over the years I have read many posts by makers and they give a lot of advice, but when you can find some examples of their work often there are gaps in their guards, washed out grind lines, uneven grinds and handle work and other problems, .
I remember once a maker who told Devin Thomas to read more and post less when in fact he should have listen to every word Devin had to say.
 
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