Stabilized Zebrawood questions

[irona]

I have some stabilized zebrawood handles that I'm almost finished with. This is my first time using this material. How high should I sand it too, and can I use boiled linseed oil on it? How do I finish it?


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[Fochops]

If it's stabilized than I'd sand it to 800 then buff it with white buffing compound. I have good results with that!

 

[irona]

If it's stabilized than I'd sand it to 800 then buff it with white buffing compound. I have good results with that!

Thanks, but I don't have a buffer yet, should I get one (is it worth it)? What should I do instead?


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[Fochops]

Thanks, but I don't have a buffer yet, should I get one (is it worth it)? What should I do instead?


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Do you have a bench grinder? If not I would highly recommend one. 6" is fine, get one on Craigslist if need be. Buffing wheel from harbor freight is $5 and compound is $4. It's indispensable at times.

Otherwise work your way up hand sanding doubling the grit each time. Finish up to 1000+ grit and it should be polished up. The handle below was about 5-7 minutes on a buffing wheel.

 

[irona]

Do you have a bench grinder? If not I would highly recommend one. 6" is fine, get one on Craigslist if need be. Buffing wheel from harbor freight is $5 and compound is $4. It's indispensable at times.

Otherwise work your way up hand sanding doubling the grit each time. Finish up to 1000+ grit and it should be polished up. The handle below was about 5-7 minutes on a buffing wheel.

Nah, just a belt grinder. I'm thinking about getting a $40 cheapo buffer from harbor freight though. Thanks!


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[Fochops]

No worries! Good luck!

 

[kuraki]

The harbor freight buffer is fine. I use mine all the time. Their buffing wheels are crap though. For what they cost at HF, order some online from a supplier that come with the correct hole for the arbor without any spacers. I fought with the HF buffs and the silly stamped arbor spacers for an afternoon and then threw them all in the trash.

 

[irona]

The harbor freight buffer is fine. I use mine all the time. Their buffing wheels are crap though. For what they cost at HF, order some online from a supplier that come with the correct hole for the arbor without any spacers. I fought with the HF buffs and the silly stamped arbor spacers for an afternoon and then threw them all in the trash.

Thanks for the tip. Do you have a link to the wheels you got?


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[S.Alexander]

You don't have to power buff handles. With this handle I sanded to 2000 grit, then hand buffed with a clean cotton cloth. Then I applied two coats of truoil. The handle isn't as glossy this way, but I like it.

 

[john april]

you can buy a mandrel for an electric hand drill that will hold a buffing wheel, then clamp the drill in a bench vise. thats about the cheapest way to start power buffing.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Many woods and other materials, especially ivories, do better with hand finishing. The 3M sanding sheets are the perfect thing for this. They come in color coded packs of six sheets from 400 grit to 8000 grit (green,gray,blue,pink, mint,white - 400,600,1200,4000,6000,8000). They last a long time. They are good on steel, too. They are water proof, and work well for wet sanding when finishing a hamon.

Sand your handle to 400 on the belt sander, then hand sand with SC paper at 800 and 1000 grit. Use the 3M papers next, starting with the 400 grit green and proceeding to at least the pink 1200 sheet. The last three sheets take only a few extra minutes, so why not do them, too.

To touch up a handle at a show, just give it a good hand buff with the pink. These papers will also take care of a smudge or dark spot on a blade you discover at a show, or when looking at one of your knives at home.

Tip:
Take a magic marker and put an X on the back of the white 8000 sheet when it is new. After using it it is nearly impossible to tell the front side with the abrasive from the cloth back. Store the sheets in a zip lock bag to prevent contamination from loose grinding grit. They can be stored together in one bag, as they don't shed grit. Use them until they are worn out.