Sanding before heat treat?

valknut said:
These are your FIRST knives?! Yup I'm gonna sell everything cause I'm doing something wrong! Great work
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, the finished one was my first. The little drop point near the middle was #2, hence the funky grind line. It's actually better than it looks, I just sanded it weird. I'm pretty happy with how they came out. I think the most impressive thing is that they were all done on a little POS Harbor Freight 1x30" belt sander. I'm in the process of building a 2x72" grinder now, so the next batch should only get better. Man, I can't wait to have a 2x72". That little 1x30" grinder takes so long and is such junk. It will be so nice to have some real nuts on the motor, be able to bear down on it, and not have belts burn up in 5 minutes.
 
valknut said:
Yeah I feel ya bro I just got a 2x42 and that thing is FAAAAAST. but it's so much better than files
Click to expand...

FILES?! I think I just gagged. Man, if you've been using a FILE to shape a knife, that's manly. I've seen videos of people doing it, and was aware that it can be done, but holy hell. That would kill the fun. The night I stayed up sanding all nine of those blades was rough. I had some sore hands and chewed up fingertips, but I bet it was nothing like filing a single knife.
 
Yeah and it was a Mexican made Nicholson so that definitely sucked. Didn't even attempts another knife till I got the 2x42! Lol I really don't mind hand sanding at all but the soft file was a no go. If I could just get the bevels down with the 2x42 I'll be good to go. But yeah your knives are looking great man.
 
Those grinds look so much better than mine on my 1x30. Im about to put a better platen on it but I might just jump to a grizzly 2x72 since I'm on a budget and don't have the time to build one. You using a file guide for the plunge lines? My plunges are terrible :(. I'm going for kitchen knives so I'm going full flat on most of mine. About to try a different technique to blend the taper into the ricasso and have no plunge.
 
I have been taking blades to 300 to 400 grit pre HT for ease of finishing after HT but also I thought I had read somewhere here on BF that the larger scratches from lower grit sanding created more potential for stress risers during HT. Is there any validity to that?
 
rcetroy said:
I have been taking blades to 300 to 400 grit pre HT for ease of finishing after HT but also I thought I had read somewhere here on BF that the larger scratches from lower grit sanding created more potential for stress risers during HT. Is there any validity to that?
Click to expand...

Absolutely, especially if the scratch pattern runs edge to spine, instead of lengthwise. And probably not an issue with air/plate quench as it is with an oil quench. I do 120 grit lengthwise for oil quench, and all the way to 800 for SS and CPM M4 and the like.

Also, about grinding after HT, those of us using files can't do that. My kitchen knives will skate a file AFTER temper even. I've done it by hand a couple times with 1095 petty knives and Rynowet.
 
comet_sharp said:
Those grinds look so much better than mine on my 1x30. Im about to put a better platen on it but I might just jump to a grizzly 2x72 since I'm on a budget and don't have the time to build one. You using a file guide for the plunge lines? My plunges are terrible :(. I'm going for kitchen knives so I'm going full flat on most of mine. About to try a different technique to blend the taper into the ricasso and have no plunge.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the plunge lines definitely take some time to get right. Two things that I've learned. 1. Use a file to clean them up after grinding. I've had to do that on a couple (not all). 2. Don't judge your plunge lines until you start sanding. I had a few that looked pretty awful but I was able to make them look nice after sanding. If they had some steps in them, I used a small needle file to get them most of the way, then just sanded long and hard on them. Basically, don't freak if they come off the grinder looking bad.

That being said, I'm starting to learn the trick on the grinder. What I've started doing (from a Walter Sorrells video) is starting the grind by setting the plunge line. I basically just focus on ONLY the plunge line, and get it about 75-80% of the way there, then I grind the rest of the blade to match. I find it helps to use a fresh belt, and just really dig in hard on that plunge line and DON'T MOVE until it's most of the way there. If you try to do a little, then come back and do more, or just keep doing the blade in sweeps, you end up with steps in the plunge lines. Or, at least I do.

Also, remember you can change the character of your plunge line by how you center your belt on the platen. If you have the edge of the belt right on the edge of the platen, it makes a nice crisp plunge line with a (relatively) sharp corner at the top of the grind. If you let the belt overhang the edge of the platen, the top corner of the plunge will be a softer curve.

Finally, my last two knives (the second largest one and the small tanto-ish one in the picture) I ground without a guide. I just free-handed them. I tried it first on the little tanto. It was much easier than I thought, and I found that I am better at doing the plunge lines free-hand. Who knew. I'm definitely no expert at free hand, but I bet I will be doing most knives without a jig in the future. I'll probably buy some cheap steel to practice with once I get my 2x72" grinder built.
 
Justin Schmidt said:
Yeah and it was a Mexican made Nicholson so that definitely sucked. Didn't even attempts another knife till I got the 2x42! Lol I really don't mind hand sanding at all but the soft file was a no go. If I could just get the bevels down with the 2x42 I'll be good to go. But yeah your knives are looking great man.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with it being made in Mexico
 
WillG said:
Nothing wrong with it being made in Mexico
Click to expand...
Nope, no more than it being made in China, Japan, Taiwan or America, out of sub-standard materials with low quality control standards.
 
Welcome WillG. This is a sx-year-old tread. Look at the dates of the last couple posts before replying to threads you pull up when new.
Also, fill out your profile so we know where you live and a bit about you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top