Recommendation? Wet Sanding

Travis Talboys

Travis Talboys

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
Messages
442
So I have been meaning to ask this for some time now, but I keep getting distracted. I do a lot of wet sanding on my blades, and have using water exclusively. No other reason for this other than its cheap and readily available. I use Rynowet paper from 180-1000 grit. My question is, what do others use, and why? Is the something else I can use that will either speed up the process, or enhance the sharpness of the paper?

Thanks in advance,
Travis
 
Well, I'll tell you how I do it. I start grinding with a used 36 grit belt, then go to a 120 grit, then to 220 grit, then a Norax 22 belt and end with a Norax 16 belt. Then I start hand sanding with 800 grit Rynowet and finish with 1200 Rynowet.
I sand dry. It does use more paper, but I like it because I can see where the scratches are. Also if I am going to etch the blade I don't need to clean it off.
Doing it this way I can hand sand to 1200 grit in less than five minutes each side.
I know this is different than how others do it but after a lot of experimenting I have found this works best for me.
 
Tom Lewis said:
Well, I'll tell you how I do it. I start grinding with a used 36 grit belt, then go to a 120 grit, then to 220 grit, then a Norax 22 belt and end with a Norax 16 belt. Then I start hand sanding with 800 grit Rynowet and finish with 1200 Rynowet.
I sand dry. It does use more paper, but I like it because I can see where the scratches are. Also if I am going to etch the blade I don't need to clean it off.
Doing it this way I can hand sand to 1200 grit in less than five minutes each side.
I know this is different than how others do it but after a lot of experimenting I have found this works best for me.
Click to expand...
Off the powered sander and straight to 800? That’s some skill. You have any pics of finished work?
 
Dawn dish soap or simple green. A quarter teaspoon of baking soda can also help control the flash rust that forms.
 
Pictures
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Going from 36 grit to 120, to 220, to 22 Norax to 16 Norax makes it easy to see scratches from previous grits. While grinding I turn the blade at 45 degree angles to see if I have gotten all previous scratches out.
A year ago I wouldn't have thought it possible to start hand sanding with 800 grit but finishing with the 16 Norax makes it possible.
 
Beautiful work Tom! No belt between the 220 and the 22 (which google shows is about 800)? I’m intrigued 😁
 
I have found the Norax 22 and 16 make a huge difference in how much hand sanding I need to do.
For many years I would go to Norax 22 and then start hand sanding with 400 grit. Then some 400 grit I had was contaminated and left deep scratches, so I skipped the 400 and started with 500. I found it was just as easy. Then I decided to skip the 500 and start with 600 grit. I found that worked fine.
Then within the last month or so I decided to use the Norax 16. Now I can start hand sanding with 800 grit.
I dry sand. I use up more sandpaper but I can see where I need to sand.
I also use sanding blocks I made out of 2x4's. I grind with a ten inch wheel so I traced the outline on a 2x4 and cut it out. I attached a piece of leather on the block. I use a paper cutter to cut the sandpaper into strips.
I have a different sanding block for each grit.
With the sanding blocks I can push down hard and that leads to faster sanding.
I will try to post a picture of my sanding blocks.
In order for this to work all previous scratches need to be removed when grinding. I have lots of light and really look the blade over before I move on to the next grit. It is a jump to go like from 220 to the Norax 22 but I find the 220 grit scratches are easier to see.
This may not work for everyone but it works for me.
 
Those are very cool, Tom. I will have to look into those belts. Thank you to everyone else for your advice.
 
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