I would be interested to hear how some of you go about doing satin handle finishes on "lower end" knives, where a more time consuming hand-sanded finish might not be needed. Specifically, I'm thinking of simple stabilized woods, where showing off the grain isn't a priority. Is there a belt/buffing progression you like that produces a simple but still pleasing finish?
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"User" handle finish?
- Thread starter Tenebr0s
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After rough shaping with the grinder, I then file the handles to pretty much final shape, then I hand sand from like 150, 220, 320, 400, then use a gray scotch brite pad and go over it with that. Not necessarily the quickest way to do it, but there is nothing like someone picking up one of your knives and saying "wow, that feels great!" 
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Sand it like Adam said. I stop at 800. It's really hard to get an even finish with a belt. Sanding the handle is one of the easiest parts of knife making. Buffing is what gives you the shine.
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- Oct 13, 2011
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I do all of my handle sanding in the "shoeshine" method until i'm happy with it. With the blade clamped in a vice and the handle toward you, take a thin strip of sandpaper and hold it by each end and just start sanding till all the scratches are uniform... move up in grit and repeat. it's best to put some duct tape or masking tape on the back of the paper strips to keep them from ripping or breaking.
TLR
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You also have to be careful with heat build up from a belt. Many knives get burn rings around pins from a second or two to long on the grinder. Worse it's possible with some epoxies to weaken the epoxy with to much heat.
I use the belt sander to bring it down to the thickness I want with a 120 grit belt and then hand sand from there. Hand sanding really doesn't take all that long. For a user finish on micarta or g10 I'll stop at 220. Wood just deserves to be taken up to the best you can get out of it in my opinion. With that said I'm not sure you really get much out of wood above a 600-800 initial sanding.
I use the belt sander to bring it down to the thickness I want with a 120 grit belt and then hand sand from there. Hand sanding really doesn't take all that long. For a user finish on micarta or g10 I'll stop at 220. Wood just deserves to be taken up to the best you can get out of it in my opinion. With that said I'm not sure you really get much out of wood above a 600-800 initial sanding.