Trying to repair my fixed blade!

Bobbyz24

Bobbyz24

Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
59
I am not sure how this happened. I have a ten yr old daughter that loves my knives so maybe that explains it. There is rust ( from hand oils ) and scratches on the side of the blades. I've taken 2 different grit buffer wheels to this thing with jeweled rouge ( it sure did shine up) but the scratches are still there. Any ideas?image.jpg
 
I'm far from an expert on this kind of thing, but... To remove scratches, you must use an abrasive that's at least as coarse as the scratches themselves. Jeweler's Rouge is super extra fine. Those scratches appear to be at least 320 grit, if not even more coarse. So, to really remove them, you've got to hit whole blade with the same grit. Then step through a progression of grits until you get to the finish you want. I'd guess you'd want to end at something like 600 or 800 for a sort of satin finish. 1000 and above are closer to a shiny finish.

Someone who's actually done this to a scratched blade is probably a better resource, but I think what I'm saying is correct.

Brian.
 
Thanks a lot. So I'm going to get a crash course in polishing before I ever swing a hammer. The only means of "polishing" I have are my 4.5" grinder and a vise. You recommend something like a cat paw over the whole thing and then step it up from there?
 
I have had good luck with Scotch Bright pads from the paint store on light scratches.
For heavy I go 400 then 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around a large pencil eraser and finish with the SB pad.
Just remember to go in the same direction and keep your lines strait and you will produce a nice satin finish.

EDIT:
The sandpaper around a pencil eraser sounds weird but works great.
It keeps the paper flat and really hugs the blade as it digs in and removes material.
 
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If your blade needs repair, it can't be fixed. It has to be either fixed or broken :D

What I used to refinish blades is one of the little wire abrasive puff wheel things for the Dremel. I have no idea what to call them! The give me a consistent satin finish. You can start with that, and if you want to go finer (or polish the blade) you can hand rub it with sandpaper. It isn't fun to do, and takes some time, but your finish will look nice.

Another option, if the blade comes out, is to stonewash it. It might look a little out of place on a more traditional knife, but if hiding scratches are your concern then stonewashing is your solution!
 
Is that a flat grind? If so light spray glue (on the back of the paper, just for tack) or otherwise secure 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to a bar of steel or hardwood (flat!) then rub the blade flat against the paper. Be careful at the plunge. Use a bit of wd-40 for better cutting on the paper. Use fresh paper.

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Use common sense, and be careful!
 
Lets pretend I'm a total newb to this. Do I go along the width of the blade, along the length of the blade, only apply pressure in one direction, etc. I am new to the knife world. That is not a flat ground blade, it was finished and polished at one time.
 
You'll need to go in both directions. It can be hard going from spine to edge, but it's necessary in order to refine the finish. Start with 400 and see if that's aggressive enough to remove the scratches and surface rust. Once you have finished with 400, move to 800, then double the grit from there. 800 will produce a nice finish. I'd stay away from the buffer all together.

If 400 isn't enough, try 320, but remember, you'll need to remove the scratches that you make.

It looks flat ground, but it's hard to tell with pictures. If you lay a straight edge (ruler, book, whatever) on the blade from spine to edge, is the side flat, or very close to flat?
 
I'm on the road right now heading home. I have 101 questions about various things I'd love to bounce off of you though
 
Picture is not very good, but it appears that the blade was originally finished in a cross-wise direction, and your attempt to remove the rust was in a length-wise direction. That contrast made it worse instead of better.

The first response is right on, you have to start with a grit as least as rough as the scratches, and move to finer and finer grits. I recently got a knife here on the Forum, a Bark River with a fairly high polish that the previous owner had done the same thing to. It looked awful with length-wise scratches opposite the original finish lines. He probably used some 400 grit paper. I clamped the handle in a padded vise so I could sand on the blade. gluing strips of wet/dry paper on a stick is a good idea unless its a hollow-grind blade. The stick (maybe 1"x8" allows you to control the sanding and keep the "grain" straight as you work back and forth. In my case I started with 400, then 600 and on to 1500 grit paper.

I stopped there because I like the satin look that 1500 grit gives, but in other cases have kept going all the way up to 8000 or 12000 grit polishing cloths for a high shine. Of course you can also use a buffing wheel and polishing compound, I've done that too --but beware, buffing wheels have a nasty tendency to catch a blade and throw it in any direction. More than one person has lost a finger that way.

My advice is to stay away from Dremel tool buffing; they work fine for some things, but I find it impossible to get a uniform finish over a large area such as the side of a knife blade with a dremel because the wheels are so small.
 
Well I attempted 400 grit wet/dry paper. Didn't do anything to the scratches. Went to 220. Same thing, no dice. Scratched the $&*% out of the blade. But the scratches are plainly there underneath.
 
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