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Stupid Question

dredd8

dredd8

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
1,137
OK, here it goes.

I have a finished knife with a beadblasted finish. Is it possible to remove the beadblasting somehow and get it to a satin or even mirror finish.

I am just not sure what the steel is like underneath the blasting.
 
Are talking about a textured paint finish of some kind?

If it's just bead-blasted plain steel, the question of what is underneath is kind of baffling.
 
No texture, no paint. Bead blasted. I did not know if the blasting would make the steel "underneath" rough.
 
you should be ok, but it all depends on how deap the bead blasted finsih is. but i dont see a problem in removing it, bead blasted finish is just what it states its a finish just like satin is a finish so i dont think it should be to deap. what do the other makers think?
 
Beadblast is pretty tough to remove enough for a nice polish finish. The trick is sanding off the tops of the tiny hills so that they all become one smooth surface. It's a lot of work. A scruffy wheel can turn a beadblast finish into a satin finish fairly easily.
 
Just look at the bead blast as a 120 grit finish. Work it down with 150 grit until all the evidence of the bead blast is gone. It can be done on a grinder or by hand . Just a bit of elbow grease.

Chuck
 
dredd8 said:
OK, here it goes.

I have a finished knife with a beadblasted finish. Is it possible to remove the beadblasting somehow and get it to a satin or even mirror finish.

I am just not sure what the steel is like underneath the blasting.
Click to expand...

No trouble at all, Depending on the manufacturer. On some knives you will find deep grinding scratches left behind. (bead blast hides those, that's why it's used) I rubbed out a cold steel uwk knife for a friend last week and it took me about an hour and a half to get to 400 grit.

If the blade is flat ground just wrap some wet dry paper around a piece of thick plastic like 1/4" plexiglass and wet it with some soapy water and rub. If the blade is hollow ground wrap your wet dry paper around a thick piece of leather (like sole leather) Hard rubber will work too.
 
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