polishing blades

R

rookie

Joined
Jan 16, 2000
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Somebody help i am new to this knifemaking.Iam making my own blades out of broken saw blades,these blades are already treated to a64 on the rockwell scale.Is this too hard and brittle?Also once i shape the blades what's the best,or the right way to remove all the scratches,to a mirrorlike finnish.any info or input would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!
 
Hello,

Dont take this the wrong Way or think i am attacking your Question,,,OK? 8-)

But from Experiance, dont waste your time on the material that you are using,,

you Will be much better served Starting with
Virgin material in barstock form,,trust me on this!! Call Admiral Steel and order a bar of 1095 or 5160 in the size ya want.A bar that is 3/16 thick by 1 1/2 wide by 6 ft long in 1095 is only like 9.00 to 11.00 of so i think,,,,,

I`ll Even SEND you a chunk if ya THROW those Broken saw blades out!!!! send me your address and ill send ya a 2 ft or so chunk.

you will save alot of time and hassle because yes 64 RC is to hard, and Saw blades can develope Micro Cracks from Stress that only MagnaFluxing can detect,,,,Thusly making the material your making blades out of ,,,Guessy at best..


i wish somone would have taken the time to tell me this because i started out trying to Hacksaw Carsprings off and in half for weeks prior to going to that first knifeshow
where i got enlightened.

As for the mirror Polish , that is a Chapter
in itself,,,easy to do if you got the technique, but terrible for your enthusiasm
if ya dont. Most will say its Progression in
grit sizes changing the direction with each grit size to like 800 grit, and then a Buff with Green Chrome or white dymond compound,
using Micron Finishing belts,Cork belts, Ect,Ect. And that does work,but there is easier ways.

Myself i hate mirror polish ,,use to do it all the time when i was making Artsy stuff.

Not no MO!!

anyway didnt mean to offend,just save you alot of problems!!!

Take Care,
Allen Blade

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Allen Blade
Spokane,WA USA

My Custom Knives :
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/meadows/1770/allenblade.html

[This message has been edited by Allen Blade (edited 01-17-2000).]
 
allen, thanks for the advice. being new to this i didn't know if the blades would be worth messing with. as far as the finish i'm not set on a mirror finish.my main concern is how do i get all the scratches out.i've sanded up to 12oo grit and then buffed with asuper fine emory,green rouge etc.but iam not removing all of the scratches.

any reply greatly appreciated
 
Howdy,

Well when i was Mirror of Satin finishing i always started out at a 50 grit for Rough grind,,a used 50 after heat treat, then to a 120 /180 grit on my Grinder,,,,,all other
Grit sizes were used on a Flat disk Rubber Faced, and using it chucked upside down in my Drill Press for the Grit Sizes From 220 up to 800/1000,,,this was then Followed by a light Buff with a belt i called the FUZZY BELT with Green Chrome ROuge....it produced a Superior Truly Flat ,without the "orange Peel" effect mirror finish.

I took all my SATIN finished blades to a Mirror finish first then i degressed back down to a hand rubbed Satin finish from Mirror to 600 grit. it gives the apperance of Glimering Silver if you do it right.
Its always best to Change Directions when removing Scratches so this is Why the Disk
is Great, because it constantly cut`s on a Arching swirl... which is just what you want.

Man Im even getting the URGE to do it again now,,,,,,Dang it!!!

see how it is,,,ya talk about it,,,and then ya start getting Glittering images of Large Bowie style objects with Hand rubbed satin finish Blades and ya just have to make one!!!

And DAVID POFF,before you even ask,,NO!! not for atleast 2 months!! LMAO!!!

anyway i hope my Babbling made sence and helped some....

Take Care,

Allen

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Allen Blade
Spokane,WA USA

My Custom Knives :
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/meadows/1770/allenblade.html
 
allen,thanks for the tip.a cople of more questions for you! 1)iwant to make my own blades from scratch,the kits aren't challenging enough.i'm not set up for the forging , or heat treating yet . what's your opinion on sending theblades off to have them tempered, or who would you recomend ,and what difference would cryogenics make?
2)how or where do iget ahold of your tapes or other literature?
 
Hey Rookie,
Call Texas Knifemaker's Supply in Houston. They will have everything you need and can heat treat and cryo your blades.

Their number is (713) 461-8632 and they have a web site www.siteblazer.net/texasknife
They are really good folks and they'll help you any way they can.

Hope I helped

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"Boy, if ya don't screw up once in a while, ya ain't learnin' nuthin'" - An old cowboy
 
scott,thanks for the input.i've got their current catalog and was looking at their billet prices they looked expensive to me , but i really wouldn't know what a good price for steel would be.i work in the metal industry every day ,but knife or tool steel ,i don't have a clue.
 
Rookie, Take Allen up on the 2ft chunk of blade stock, smartest move you could make. Would suggest that you go for the 1095 if you want a clean finish (1084 is also excellent) as the 5160 will sometimes have inclusions (dark streaks) in the steel. Thats just the way 5160 is, a darn good steel but not the stuff that mirror finishes are made of. Nothing is more frustrating than to finish out a knife to perfection, take it out in the sun light and see a dark streak in the blade. It is enough to make a grown man's eyes leak.

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old pete
 
it would be my guess that the scratches you are trying to get out are from a coarse grit early on that is deeper than you thought and wont ever come out with polishing...you have to go back to 220 or maybe even 100 and start over...just a suggestion.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
I take all mine up to 120 before heat treat
due to stress riser's from the 50 grit ,not my advice it was Wayne Goddard's I use to do the same thing and once in awhile the thing would develop a crack in the thinnest section's

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TbarK Custom Knives
I am Opposed to Millionair's but it would be Dangerous to Offer Me The Job,Mark Twain
http://vip.hpnc.com/~tbark
 
on stainless i take the finish up to a mirror before sending the away. www.simonichknives.com
that's rob's wesite, if you want your blades heat treated by him, just check out the prices, then e-mail him to say your gonna send your blades and payment to him. make sure to package them well.
 
Hey Tom ,
Played with some unfiiished steel today ,went from 50 to 600 then buffed .I'm still having problems with the scratches.It was fewer, and i concentrated on each grit thoruoghly. any suggestions?????
rookie
 
You may have dirt or grit on your buffing wheel.Are the scratches random or do they have a pattern to them.
 
are the scratches everywhere or are they localized...i always have to concentrate on getting out the deeper ones right at the edge, not sure why....do you try turning the blade at different angles to the grinding surface to make sure you are getting out the scratches below it....i also wonder what kind of grinder you are using and if flat or hollow....i have the hardest time getting scatches out of my flat grinds...mostly cause i think it it harder to hold the thing square to the platen...i only flat grind large blades...camp knifes and bowies and machetes....and with a big (18") knife its pretty easy to push a little harder on one side than the other....i usually try to turn the knife at a 45 degree angle when changing to a finer grit and make sure im getting out the deeper scratches below...another trick is to take the knife and put it in a vise and hand sand it with the same grit you are using but 90 degrees to the scratch pattern and see if you are leaving in heavy grit scratches....to me..that is the main problem, the deep early on scratches...not the ones from the 320 and up.....try some different techniques and especially turning the blade so it isnt parallel to the ground all the time....

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Buy Micron belt's and 2 sisel wheel's and K&G
most agressive compound start finnishind with an 80 mic.and go down to a 9 mic. the to the sisel wheel with the black (agressive)
to clean up the 9marks then to a cloth with green chromium then to white diamond

------------------
TbarK Custom Knives
I am Opposed to Millionair's but it would be Dangerous to Offer Me The Job,Mark Twain
http://vip.hpnc.com/~tbark
 
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