Whats a good finish for CPM D-2?

sunny_2_75

sunny_2_75

Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
71
Hey Forum, I have some CPM D-2 being shipped to me. I have worked with it alittle. I know you can't get a mirror finish on it. I was just using a Scotch Bright Belt and I thought that looked ok. I am now kinda wanting to do a sand blast finish. Does anyone have experience with this? What kind of media is best for this? Pictures would be great? Thanks Sunny
 
I don't know about mirror finish, because I don't own a buffer. But CPM-D2 can take a very nice high polish, without the orange-peel look of regular D2.

Pretty much anything can look good with a blasted finish. There's no need to sand higher than 400 grit.
 
I have never worked with D2 but why cant it take a mirror finish? Ive heard that the higher the polish on steels, the more corrosion resistance it has... is this true as well?
 
These are CPM D2 Blades,
Belt sanded to A15 Trizact. Buffed with Green compond. It is near to a mirror finish but much better than regular D2.
I will be making a Chef knife out of the CPM D2 next week.

standard.jpg
 
catcalls said:
I have never worked with D2 but why cant it take a mirror finish?
Click to expand...

The short and not-very-scientific answer is gobs of alloy and carbides that make it look splotchy. You can polish it as much as you like, it will still have that orange peel effect - just shinier and more noticeable . The particle-metallurgy process eliminates this problem from CPM-D2, because all the carbides are very evenly distributed (this also helps improve toughness and edge-holding). I've seen this same problem on (imported?) lesser-quality 440C; the finer I sanded it the worse it looked. I have a few plain D2 blades that aren't finished yet, but other than that, I no longer use non "powdered" tool or stainless steels.
catcalls said:
Ive heard that the higher the polish on steels, the more corrosion resistance it has... is this true as well?
Click to expand...

Yes. Or more accurately, the rougher the surface is, the more likely it is to trap moisture and gunk that cause corrosion. So a very finely-finished blade will be closer to its very best corrosion-resistance.
 
This information is very helpful!! Thanks everyone! Mr. Loukides, those knives are beautiful!!!
 
Thanks for the Info guys. I wasnt aware that the CPM will offer an added ability to finish that way. The D-2 I have used has taken on the orange peel affect so I ended up with a satin finish with the scotch bright belt. Still need to know what type of media I need to sand blast. I am interested in how that will look and have never done it. Also while were on the subject of D-2, how close to a finished edge do you normally go before heat treat?....I am usually at about .030ish. Do you guys take it down further?
 
sunny_2_75 said:
Also while were on the subject of D-2, how close to a finished edge do you normally go before heat treat?....I am usually at about .030ish. Do you guys take it down further?
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Peters' requires .015, so I try to keep it over .020. So, .030 should be fine if you're willing to put in the extra effort profiling after HT.
 
The followingBlade Finish were done on Knives with K 110 Bohler Steel which is equivalent to D2.
I personally prefer stone wash as it has better stain resistance.


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Lately I've been doing a stonewashed finish on my CPM D2, but I also really like the way a machine satin finish looks and usually bring that to 400 or 600 grit. Like others mentioned, it's a bit harder to do a mirror finish, but I don't do mirror finishes on my blades so no worries here.

Here's one I just finished up in CPM D2, stonewash finish....

10-7-2012ModelOneCPMD2CFandOrangeG-10003.jpg
 
jonnymac44 said:
Lately I've been doing a stonewashed finish on my CPM D2, but I also really like the way a machine satin finish looks and usually bring that to 400 or 600 grit. Like others mentioned, it's a bit harder to do a mirror finish, but I don't do mirror finishes on my blades so no worries here.

Here's one I just finished up in CPM D2, stonewash finish....

10-7-2012ModelOneCPMD2CFandOrangeG-10003.jpg
Click to expand...

Tell us(me) about how you achieve this finish!
 
That finish was done by finishing the blade on the grinder to 400 grit, then it was blasted with 80 grit garnet media with the blaster set to 90 PSI, then it was tumbled in a vibratory tumbler with coarse ceramic media from Mcmaster Carr.

Thanks!
 
Love the looks of the blasted and tumbled blades...Do you you the triangular or cylindrical ceramic?
 
Matt, thank you. Yep, that's the material. Really pricey, but I'm liking it.

Sunny, I actually use a combination of both, 50/50. Get the coarse.
 
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