When you guys do a brushed or satin finish, how do you go back and do the tang edge?

G

GrizzlyBear

Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
1,528
This is a problem I've been running into. Most of my blades have a light satin finish on them that I embellish on and make more pronounced or do a brushed type finish. When I finish my handles though, sanding through the higher grits, I wind up with near mirror polished tang edges...that don't really match the blade finish.

What do you guys do to fix this? Do you lay down tape on either side of the tang and gently go back over it to make it match? Or...
 
Yes... basically thats what I do... though most of the time I don't even bother to tape of the scales. Just use a backing that is thinner than the tang and go slow.
 
Cool, I have been running a line of blue painters tape on either side and finishing from there. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn't trying to over do something that had an easier fix. Thanks Rick.
 
Tape, and I wrap a piece of 600 grit or whatever around the square edge of a thin, stiff piece of leather and use it as a really small sanding stick to do the tang edges.
 
I figured you would want the spine finish to match the blade finish. Unless you are specifically going for that look?
 
On knives with an etched hamon, I often polish the spine to match the tang instead of leave the transition on the top of the ricasso area.
 
I do both. I polish the spine and satin the tang. For me it tends to be what the handle material is. Any wood type I do satin and other handle materials that polish highly I polish the spine blade and tang. I do all my wood finishes kinda satin so I'm finishing the top (spine and handle) at the same time. I just do the blade spine at the same time. I like the polished spine with the satin blade look. I do it on damascus too. Kind of balances the shiny of the edge.
 
Personally, I think it's easier to sand the handle to whatever grit you're taking it to before buffing, as well as a nice satin on the tang. Then apply painters' pin-stripe tape to the tang, leaving the scale exposed... go do a 30 second buff on the 1 scale that's fully exposed.... shift the tape around and do the other scale.

Rather than buffing it all out and then coming back and trying to hand sand a tang that has tape on either side of it... which sort of puts it down in a valley.

That's just how I do it though :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top