request buffing & polishing tips

[happycat]

I am working with 1095 steel and am not having the results I want from my polishing. I am sanding with a belt at 60,120,240,400,700,1200, and 2000 grit. Then I buff on a 6" wheel at 3400rpm. I am using some compounds I got at home depot. The compound I am using does not seem to take out the 2000 grit scratches.
What are your suggestions for compounds, types of wheels, technique. etc???
Thanks much,
Happycat

 

[rookie]

Iam by no means an athority on knifemaking ,but I'll try to help. try green chrome compound and see what happens helped my scratch problems!

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Shane ------------------- If you don't have time to do it right the first time, When do you think you'll have time to fix it!!!

 

[Kisu]

I agree completely with Rookie, with this addition: get the green(chromium oxide) compound from either a jeweler's supply house or from one of the many knifemaker supply houses, the hardware store versions are full of undesirable crap and too much wax. Hope this helps. The wheel you need to use is a 6" sewn muslin wheel, the harware version, again, is crap. The technique I use is I load the wheel and work from the bottom "1/4" of the wheel. And what ever you do, BE CAREFUL!!!! I cannot stress this enough, the buffer is the most dangerous piece of equipment you can use. I use this formula: take RPM of buffer, multiply by pointy, sharp object = a world of hurt just waiting to happen.

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KSwinamer

Atheism....A non-prophet organization

[This message has been edited by Kisu (edited 03-29-2000).]

 

[L6steel]

Happycat, call Jantz Supply, 18003518900, and order a bar of white rouge,LA555, $6.50 for a 2 pound bar. Take the knife down to the finer grits like you're doing and then buff it with the white rouge on a loose muslin wheel. I just finished two drop points in 1095 and that stuff polishes easier than any steel I've buffed before. Super fine mirror polish too. Take care!! Michael

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Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!

 

[Fox]

I use a green stick rouge specifically developed for stainless steel. It works wonderfully on 5160 as well. It is manufactured by a company called Osborne. I tried the green chrome rouges and they worked okay but did not cut nearly as well as the Osborne. It is a dark OD green and comes in a round cardboard tube.

Fox

 

[Jerry Hossom]

In my experience, 2000 grit leaves virtually no scratches. My guess is that what you are trying to polish out are scratches from a heavier grit that are still there. Almost everyone I have helped with buffing problems has found that what they are having trouble with is a 60 grit scratch that was not completely removed by subsequent grits. So you might be dealing with just the residual tip of a 60 grit scratch.

Otherwise, the above compound suggestions are correct. But if you can't buff it to a mirror in about 5 minutes, the problem is not the polish, it is incomplete sanding.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com