What do you use for a backing when hand-sanding knives?

L

Leon Husock

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Jul 17, 2019
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I've been using a 2x4 with the end cut to a point (general shape of a picket fence post) and then I tape a piece of shop towel to it so the other side doesn't get scratched up by residual sanding grit. The shop towel always tears pretty quickly though, so I'm wondering if anyone has a better method than this?
 
I use a piece of leather stapled to a 2x4. I have to clean it periodically to get rid of the grit, but it's held up quite well and provides a good surface to lay the knife on.
 
I have been using an old scrap of treated 1x1, mostly sanding with no backing. The block is about 6" long, and it is perfect for half a sheet of paper at a time, just wrap it around a couple times and unwrap as you use up a section. Its treated, so spray it, dunk it, abuse it any way you like and it just looks like a gray piece of junk wood no matter what.

I have a second one that is only about 2" long with a sturdy shop towel wrapped around it with blue painters tape to hold it in place which is only used in pull strokes at higher grits. I have never needed to replace the backer.
 
I realized you were asking about a support backer, not a block backer. I have a piece of poplar screwed to an old sawhorse 2x4 clamped in my vise. I use a cheap C clamp to hold the knife to the poplar. I dont clean it religiously, mostly just spray it off with a squirt bottle set on jet, and a quick wipe. At final grits, I do just slip a small piece of shop towel between the blade and poplar.

Poplar is soft and cheap. This piece had a slight upward warp, which I like for supporting thin blades with distal taper. I sawed off the corners a little too, similar to a fence post.
 
Leon Husock said:
I've been using a 2x4 with the end cut to a point (general shape of a picket fence post) and then I tape a piece of shop towel to it so the other side doesn't get scratched up by residual sanding grit. The shop towel always tears pretty quickly though, so I'm wondering if anyone has a better method than this?
Click to expand...
Blue painters tape ON blade not on tool
 
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For a base, I welded 2 pieces of angle iron together to make a "T," and shaped the nose of it like a bullet. That goes into a vise. I put blue painters tape down on the surface, then clamp blades to it.

I made sanding sticks out of phenolic and wrap strips of sand paper on them. I need to go back and rewatch the Nick Wheeler video on hand sanding. Seems like he used steel ones to avoid blending grind lines, something I struggle with.
 
Piece of steel, then a piece of steel with leather glued to it do final pulls.

Search YouTube, hand sanding 101 by Nick Wheeler. That video series will change your life.
 
I tape up the side of the blade that I am not working on and do one side, clean that side, tape it with a couple layers of painters tape and then work on the other side. Putting something on the piece the blade is clamped to does nothing since the dust can still get onto that face of the blade and will scratch it up.
 
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