Swamp Rat stripping?

Shotgun

Shotgun

Joined
Feb 3, 2006
Messages
8,250
Okay so I'm really thinking of stripping my Howler LM and need some encouragement. I'm not much of a handyman and I don't own any power tools, not even a Dremel.:eek: I don't really care about deep tooling marks/scratches that just won't come out but more worried about how much work would be involved getting the pitting out and smoothing the finish with just sand paper. What grits does one normal start with and end at and how do you do the parts near the scales? Do you just sand both the Micarta and the steel or do you have to make sure to just do the steel.
 
Get some Bixx stripping agent from your hardware store (or home depot). Follow instructions on the container. I strip twice, once to soften it up and get the bulk of the coating off, the second time to get what's left. I use a fresh razor to to all my scraping and for edging around the micarta. I just carefully separate the coating from the steel right up against the micarta with the corner of the razor, then cut it off against the micarta at a 90 degree angle to the flat of the blade.

After you have it all cleaned up, mask off the scales with some strong tape (like duct tape) and use some 600 grit on a block (or preferably a foam sanding brick) to polish up the handle, butt, and choil. Make sure you don't go through the tape.

You can then take the foam sanding brick and with the foam side touching the micarta with gentle pressure, sand/polish up the flat right up against the micarta at the choil and at the butt if you've got a knife with a tang that sticks out at the bottom.

The easy part is polishing up the flat of the blade and the rest of the spine. 600 grit is good enough for a working blade. 800 tops. At least that's where I go.

If you want to see pictures, check out the thread I just posted in the Busse forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485061
 
Thanks that's a lot more info then I've been able to find searching. Your knife turned out good.
 
FWIW, I've used oven cleaner to take anodizing off aluminum, never tried it on steel. Hmm.....
I doubt it would work on ceramic or enamel coatings though
 
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