polishing my knives?

You just use progressively finer sandpaper until you get the finish you want. Depending on the finish you're starting with, I'd probably start with either 220 or 440 grit and then use 600 etc (there are several steps between 600 and 2000) until you reach around 2000 grit. That still won't be a true mirror polish, but will be a fine hand rubbed finish. Remember you must get all the scratches from the previous grit removed before moving up a grit. For hand sanding, be prepared for this to take a while, especially on a hardened high quality steel. Also be mindful you have to be careful to sand the right way so as to not smooth out the major grind lines the knife designer used to give the blade it's shape. Round those off too much and you have a shiny blade with no distinct personality.

For a true mirror finish, you need to get into buffing wheels and various grades of polishing compound. This approach is beyond the scope of this post but can be quite dangerous so be careful. You can do an OK job with a dremel and the right accessories, but it is hard to get the consistant finish you're probably looking for that way.

Also remember that if you're talking about a blade on a folder, you'll need to be able to dis-assemble the knife to get the finish even over the whole blade.

jmx
 
Do you know of anyone I could send a knife to have it mirror polished?

I was supposed to send the blade off a Halo 3 to a knifemaker in Canada a long time ago but I never did and its been like 2 years.
 
A cheap source of the two final grades you'd need are diatomaceous earth ( which I think is the same as fullers earth ) and brasso, which you need to dry down to a solid - I use these two for polishing up gemstones and precious metals using scrap leather to hold the polish. It takes bloody ages by hand but it's worth it.
Bile
 
Rag buffing wheel for a grinder and polishing compounds for metal work great, you can go to Sears and pick up the wheel and a pack of 4 diff. grit compounds for under 13 bucks easy. Practice whith them on some old metal scraps, then go to work on the knife. just remember when polishing the blade you have to be carefull, but its not hard to do with a little practice just start with the lowest polishing compound and work you way up to the highest untill you achieve the desired look on the knife.
 
hurmmm....Ill probaly try the hand sanding idea...concitering i already started this ...thanks for the info...:D
 
You'll get something like a satin finish if you use the sand paper method. I've tried it on one of my blades and yes, it does take ages to do.
Make sure the surface that you put the knife on does not put scratches on your blade.
 
Aside from the suggestions above:

To save yourself arthritic hands, don't forget to invest in an inexpensive Dremel tool which always comes with a polish attachment, and some polishes. Several people mentioned Brasso, but there is also polish from Dremel, also Novus, and Flitz works great.

Oh yeah, and make sure you have a sturdy vise (with some wood blocks to prevent scratching the handle) when you use your Dremel so you don't slip.

FTC

P.S. Don't get a cordless Dremel or you'll have to constantly charge up the battery, and the motor isn't as good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top