Question about metal compounds, cleaning and polishing.

S

SVT_Cobra

Joined
Jun 28, 2022
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Looking at cleaning a couple blades. One is a Sheffield Bowie that has a mirror finish with some light pitting. I was wondering what kind of compound I could use on the pitting, and what to use to bring the finish back?

Another is a hatchet that has a dull sort of satin finish but some scratches on the finish from a grinding wheel. Would like to fix that. I see all these compounds, cleaners and finishes at the hardware store and have no idea were to begin.

Any help and advice would be appreciated.
 
Pictures would really really help.

Sounds to me as though you need to spend some time with sandpaper before looking at compounds, though.
 
Skane24 said:
Upload them to imgur.com then click the picture icon on blade forums when posting and paste the link in.
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Thanks, BTW: Been working with 120-320 sandpaper tonight. Never done this with a knife but the scratches are coming out. Will admit it's a lot of work.
 
SVT_Cobra said:
What is the highest grit I should use?
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I always start with the lightest grit paper or least aggressive first. You can always get more aggressive if needed. So I’d go with 320 or higher if you have it. I keep up to 5000 around , but I also do paint correction on cars/trucks.
For metal compounds or polish , I like metal wax by Collinite wax. There’s also flitz , autosol , wenol, plus many others.

Hope this helps 👍
 
"Sheffield bowie." And you have started using sandpaper on it?
That may be a VERY big mistake. Only pictures will tell.
It's sad that you people jump in to give advice.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
"Sheffield bowie." And you have started using sandpaper on it?
That may be a VERY big mistake. Only pictures will tell.
It's sad that you people jump in to give advice.
Click to expand...
Have not started on the Bowie, actually started on the hatchet. So have not touched the knife yet.
 
Yeah please don’t do anything to that Bowie until you get a little more information about it.

If it’s old and in good shape it could be worth lots of $$$ - right up until you start sanding it…
 
scdub said:
Yeah please don’t do anything to that Bowie until you get a little more information about it.

If it’s old and in good shape it could be worth lots of $$$ - right up until you start sanding it…
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It's modern production, I bought it about three years ago.
 
SVT_Cobra said:
It's modern production, I bought it about three years ago.
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That certainly changes things - sand away!

Tips -
Use a sanding block/blocks.
Use oil in the paper.
Switch directions each time you move up a grit (top-bottom vs tip-base). This will make it much easier to see if you have sanded out all the scratches from the previous grit.

For a mirror polish you’re going to want a buffing wheel. These are dangerous and more complicated than the sanding bit, so you should do more research here or find someone that can help. Main consideration here (besides not killing yourself) is to avoid heating the edge/tip of the knife.
Good luck!
 
scdub said:
That certainly changes things - sand away!

Tips -
Use a sanding block/blocks.
Use oil in the paper.
Switch directions each time you move up a grit (top-bottom vs tip-base). This will make it much easier to see if you have sanded out all the scratches from the previous grit.

For a mirror polish you’re going to want a buffing wheel. These are dangerous and more complicated than the sanding bit, so you should do more research here or find someone that can help. Main consideration here (besides not killing yourself) is to avoid heating the edge/tip of the knife.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Well...might now get it mirror then...but I will use your advice and clean it up.
 
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