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Work in Progress, My CGFBM
- Thread starter rangerover_95
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
- Messages
- 1,047
Looking great there!
I bet you could hardly recognize it, huh...... Thanks a bunch again Josh, I couldn't be happier right now! I hope you get another CGFBM, and when you do, send it to me and Ill throw a razor sharp convex on it for you!!!!
Good luck with that SMF, I see you have it up for trade. I hope you get something really nice in trade for it!
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
- Messages
- 1,047
I havent actually ever used the commercial paint strippers, I am sure they work really well. I actually used pure Acetone on my knives that I have stripped. The coating turns gummy in texture after about 10 minutes, and I usually use a heavy scotchbrite pad or a rough grit sanding sponge to coax the rest of the coating off. I did it to my ASH and my GW, but this FBM came to me pre-stripped. The acetone didnt react too bad with the handle slabs on both knives, it mainly just turned them really light, temporarily.....
As for the satin finish, I found the best grits to use are 220 to start, and remove dimples, and finish with 320-400 grit. I used three 5-packs of sandpaper with the ASH, 2 at 220, and 1 at 320.
I placed the knife completely flat on the leather covered notebook ( I really like this setup, the pressure of the knife on the sandpaper keeps it stuck to the leather through friction alone), and for rough removal, used moderate pressure and circular motions. This seemed to do the best at aggressively taking off the dimples. Every time I thought that the paper was not cutting anymore, I took the knife and beat on the piece of paper, while still on the notebook, like a rug. All the loose metal dust blew away, and I could used the paper once again (every sheet usually lasted one clearing of the dust, and on the second clogging, were worn beyond effective use).
It just takes lots of time, and elbow grease, but I dont have to worry about damaging the heat treat of the blade. Luckily I like doing mindless tasks like this in my free time, or else it would have driven me nuts I have a feeling.
As for the FBM, I have used almost the same materials, but I took the sandpaper, and cut it into 1" strips that I folded over and over to give many fresh surfaces to cut at maximum effectiveness. I held the FBM in one hand and with the folded piece of sandpaper I used my thumb to sand the edge. I like being able to feel the edge as I sand, so I think that is the most controllable way to sand such a small area. I will take some in progress shots when I get back to sanding, but for now I am enjoying this sweet new edge on the FBM.
When I first got the knife, I put a quick convex on it and took it chopping. It was a phenominal chopper, but it wasnt biting quite like I had hoped it would.
With this new edge, I thinned it out a lot. I took my katana off its stand for the first time in a while and studied the edge on it. I like the zero bevel design, so thats what I was aiming for with the FBM. I was initially hesitant to chop with such a thin edge, but INFI gave me confidence.
I will have to take some shots of the beast in action, but this guy will handily out chop my katana, and that thing is over twice as long and a little bit heavier overall.
I found a log that was about 14" in diameter, and had been sitting and drying for years I'd guess. That FBM would take 3/4" in deep bites out of the log with every chop, and even after an hour or so of chopping, was still razor sharp and had zero chips, dents, or dings in the blade......
I toyed with taking off the CBT, but the fact is that it just plain works. I would baton the knife into the fat end of the log as deep as I could get it, and with little effort, the knife would pull away easily. Its not like some of the videos I have seen with guys and their FFBMs, looking like village folk trying to get Excalibur free of the rock.
I really like this blade, and cant wait to get my hands on some new INFI, I feel the need to get a blade in the 8" realm....FSH, NMSFNO (I know Im a fool for not picking one up at the BCS while still available) something like that....
As for the satin finish, I found the best grits to use are 220 to start, and remove dimples, and finish with 320-400 grit. I used three 5-packs of sandpaper with the ASH, 2 at 220, and 1 at 320.
I placed the knife completely flat on the leather covered notebook ( I really like this setup, the pressure of the knife on the sandpaper keeps it stuck to the leather through friction alone), and for rough removal, used moderate pressure and circular motions. This seemed to do the best at aggressively taking off the dimples. Every time I thought that the paper was not cutting anymore, I took the knife and beat on the piece of paper, while still on the notebook, like a rug. All the loose metal dust blew away, and I could used the paper once again (every sheet usually lasted one clearing of the dust, and on the second clogging, were worn beyond effective use).
It just takes lots of time, and elbow grease, but I dont have to worry about damaging the heat treat of the blade. Luckily I like doing mindless tasks like this in my free time, or else it would have driven me nuts I have a feeling.
As for the FBM, I have used almost the same materials, but I took the sandpaper, and cut it into 1" strips that I folded over and over to give many fresh surfaces to cut at maximum effectiveness. I held the FBM in one hand and with the folded piece of sandpaper I used my thumb to sand the edge. I like being able to feel the edge as I sand, so I think that is the most controllable way to sand such a small area. I will take some in progress shots when I get back to sanding, but for now I am enjoying this sweet new edge on the FBM.
When I first got the knife, I put a quick convex on it and took it chopping. It was a phenominal chopper, but it wasnt biting quite like I had hoped it would.
With this new edge, I thinned it out a lot. I took my katana off its stand for the first time in a while and studied the edge on it. I like the zero bevel design, so thats what I was aiming for with the FBM. I was initially hesitant to chop with such a thin edge, but INFI gave me confidence.
I will have to take some shots of the beast in action, but this guy will handily out chop my katana, and that thing is over twice as long and a little bit heavier overall.
I found a log that was about 14" in diameter, and had been sitting and drying for years I'd guess. That FBM would take 3/4" in deep bites out of the log with every chop, and even after an hour or so of chopping, was still razor sharp and had zero chips, dents, or dings in the blade......
I toyed with taking off the CBT, but the fact is that it just plain works. I would baton the knife into the fat end of the log as deep as I could get it, and with little effort, the knife would pull away easily. Its not like some of the videos I have seen with guys and their FFBMs, looking like village folk trying to get Excalibur free of the rock.
I really like this blade, and cant wait to get my hands on some new INFI, I feel the need to get a blade in the 8" realm....FSH, NMSFNO (I know Im a fool for not picking one up at the BCS while still available) something like that....
