sanding sponges

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brachal

Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
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Hello, Forum. I don't post often, but I enjoy reading here almost every day.

I'm about to go start sharpening the dull spots on my khukris. For whatever reason, not one of the three is sharp the whole length of the blade, and I have trouble sleeping with a dull knife in the house. Anyway, I found some Norton sanding sponges at the Home Depot (60,100,150 grits), and they seemed like pretty ideal, pre-made, "sandpaper and mouse-pad" sharpening tools. I put a very nice edge on the very dull karda that came with my 18" WW2 with them, but I thought I'd check and see if anybody had any experience with them or advice.

Thanks!
 
brachal said:
Hello, Forum. I don't post often, but I enjoy reading here almost every day.



I'm about to go start sharpening the dull spots on my khukris. For whatever reason, not one of the three is sharp the whole length of the blade, and I have trouble sleeping with a dull knife in the house. Anyway, I found some Norton sanding sponges at the Home Depot (60,100,150 grits), and they seemed like pretty ideal, pre-made, "sandpaper and mouse-pad" sharpening tools. I put a very nice edge on the very dull karda that came with my 18" WW2 with them, but I thought I'd check and see if anybody had any experience with them or advice.



Thanks!
Click to expand...



Brachal, welcome to the forum! I have thought the same thing and think they would do fine for you. I have used them with some success. The only thing I would mention is that you have to be careful on your larger blades not to let the rear portion of the sponge contact the sides or top of the blade and scratch it up. With a mousepad piece and strip of sandpaper you can limit the amount of abrasive you use, but the sponges that I have are typically larger. I have an old section 5" long of 2" wide x 1/2" thick keyboard wrist rest, made out of the foam mousepad material, that is the perfect size for a wrap of sandpaper, and allows me to limit how much is in contact with the blade.

I have to say though that since I got a 1X42 Kalamazoo last year I do far less hand sanding.

Others here are far more expert than I am though so I'll let them chime in. In any case, hope you stick around, and it is strongly recommended that you read the safety sticky at the top of the page!


Norm
 
Sanding sponge fan here:) While it is easy to scratch the bejeezus out of the blade with them, I like them because i'm lazy and all of my khuks get scratched to some degree anyway. Generally, I start fresh with every new khuk. I go out and buy a sponge and several grits of sand paper.
I use the sponge until I max out what it is going to do to the blade, then it's a series of duct taped grades of sandpaper over the sponge to finish it up. Typically, I end up with a convexed edge that will shave hair.

Oh, and by the way, WELCOME!:)

Jake
 
Thanks for the tip. THey don't end up being too soft? I have a mousepad backed with wood, that has give, but its not squishy. I haven't had great success with the method, but have had some okay work.
 
Thanks for the advice, y'all. I sat down with the M43 last night, and was able to put a good edge on it. Not shaving sharp, but it'll cut paper and is plenty sharp enough for wood/yard work. I think I can get it sharper with a little more work.

The sponges didn't scratch to blade too badly. I want my knives to be sharp; I don't care if the blade is "pretty." :)

These sponges didn't seem too squishy; I'd say just about right, but then I'm new at convex edges.
 
I let others post who know more about sharpening than I . Are you speaking of the 3X4 inch sponges like the ones put out by Sandvik ? Do they come in various grits ? which ones did you have the most success with ? Thanks and welcome to the forum .
 
Kevin the grey said:
I let others post who know more about sharpening than I . Are you speaking of the 3X4 inch sponges like the ones put out by Sandvik ? Do they come in various grits ? which ones did you have the most success with ? Thanks and welcome to the forum .
Click to expand...

I don't know the Sandvik sponges. The ones I bought are from Norton Abrasives:

http://www.nortonconsumer.com/Data/..._line_edit.asp?ele_ch_id=L0000000000000002566

about $4 each at Home Depot. Hope that link works.:)
They're 3x4 and the grits are 60, 100, and 150 -- from coarse to fine. I started with the coarsest and then moved through medium and fine. I'm not scientific about it; just moved to a finer grit when it felt right and finished up with the chakma.
 
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