Repair finish on A.G. Russell Combat master

R

Rabidelephant

Joined
Mar 29, 2018
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5
So I aquired this knife and I really think it's beautiful I collect knives but by far this is the only higher end one I have
So I decided to polish it with a dremal buffer pad and left scuffs all over it. I got some brasso and a microdiber towel and it left a note shine but the scratches botherd me. I saw where guys were using lligh sand paper to get scratches out and I found a stainless steel bit and tried it out in one spot well this is the first time I tried to polish a nice knife and apparently the glossy shine is a coating what can I do to fix this is there and knife repair people on here that can redo this finish I screwed up j love the knife and I want it like the maker had in mind

https://ibb.co/hbWrrc
https://ibb.co/hgTbPx
https://ibb.co/dNKSWc
https://ibb.co/d0YRPx


Anyone on here know how to fix this
 
Flitz or Simichrome, a soft cloth, and a lot of elbow grease will get those scratches out and shine it up, but the faster option would be a fine buffing compound and a cloth wheel for a bench grinder. As for technique, I would suggest checking videos on YouTube for the safest and most effective methods.
 
Might need some medium/high-grit sanding to fix those scratches. If polishing paste doesn't do it (probably won't, if done by hand), sanding with wet/dry sandpaper in the 400-600 grit range would at least clean them up; choosing the grit accurately would get it closer to (what appears to be in the pics) the original 'satin' finish. Sand in one direction only, matching the direction of the original grind's scratch pattern. A rubber eraser works well as a sanding block, around which the sandpaper can be wrapped.

Brasso's silica-based abrasive doesn't handle hardened steel well. So, if any polishing pastes might have an effect at all, they'd need to be aluminum oxide-based, like Simichrome or Flitz.
 
Are you guys sure this thing isn't nikel plated it looks like a few pistols I've seen is everyone sure this mirror finish on this knife is nothing more than just polished stainless steel? If you notice the pic I used an abrasive brush on the Dremel to remove some scratches and it looks like it's plated I think it's the same knife as the blackie Collins combat or survival master
 
Rabidelephant said:
Are you guys sure this thing isn't nikel plated it looks like a few pistols I've seen is everyone sure this mirror finish on this knife is nothing more than just polished stainless steel? If you notice the pic I used an abrasive brush on the Dremel to remove some scratches and it looks like it's plated I think it's the same knife as the blackie Collins combat or survival master
Click to expand...
I have never heard of a knife blade being nickel plated. Nickel plating isn't known for being especially wear resistant, so on a knife it would flake off and wear away from so little use. Plenty of knives are mirror polished, though. The reason why where you tried to touch up looks bad is because yoy essentially refinished the surface in those spots. By going more coarse than the finish, you basically just scratched it up.

Proper mirror polishing is a really time consuming process, and it mars so easily that it is arguably not worth it. I would recommend a satin finish, how high grit you use bases how polished the satin looks. Around 2000 grit is when you get to hazy to proper mirror finishes, memory not perfectly serving me on the exacts.
 
Rabidelephant said:
Are you guys sure this thing isn't nikel plated it looks like a few pistols I've seen is everyone sure this mirror finish on this knife is nothing more than just polished stainless steel? If you notice the pic I used an abrasive brush on the Dremel to remove some scratches and it looks like it's plated I think it's the same knife as the blackie Collins combat or survival master
Click to expand...

Some older carbon steel knives were plated in chrome. Never heard of nickel plating on knives though. I've no idea if A.G. Russell did this with any of theirs. Might contact them and ask. Based on the pics, I don't think this knife is plated. Looks more like a 'brushed stainless' finish to me. BUT, if you're still not sure, there's no harm in contacting them for more info.

Other examples of this knife I'm seeing on the web look like they're early 1990s-era. Yours appears to look like those examples. In that time frame, A.G. Russell had done lots of large knives like these in AUS-8/8A stainless steel, for example, and definitely NOT plated. Some later versions are also in a bead-blast finish.

( I've been on A.G. Russell's catalog mailing list since the early 1990s. Wish I'd saved all of them for reference, but I didn't. I remember seeing this knife listed in at least the earlier ones, and I'm sure those were all stainless; likely AUS-8/8A. )
 
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I got some fine grit sandpaper and I can see now it's just polished but I've got brasso and magic stainless steel polish and cleaner and Im not having much luck getting that mirror polish. I have a Dremel with the buffer attachment I'm scared to use it again last time it left scuffs
 
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