There
are many ways to reach the desired finish on your
knife - from hand sanding up through the various
grades, to hi-tech micro finishing belts and diamond
finishing pastes. No one way is right or wrong,
your knife will be judged on the finished product
and not the system you use to get it there. The
process you adopt and master depends more on your
dedication to achieving a good finish than anything
else.
I started my system way back in '85 on a hobbyist
budget, by gluing odd belt material around home
made wooden contact wheels to grind my first blades,
then going on to a finer paper for the finishing.
Although slightly more refined today the basic
process remains very much the same. If you are
having problems in this area, perhaps you'd like
to give it a try. |
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Once the heat treatment of your knife is complete
your first step should be to sand the ricasso and
any other flat areas on your blade.
The guard has been cut to fit the notch in the blade
and will have its slot cut once the ricasso has
been sanded to 1200 grit. For further information,
view the Guards and Bolsters articles by clicking
here. |
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Prior to heat treating, the blade and flats were
finished on a 220 grit belt and disc. The flats
are now sanded as shown on the disc running at +-
950 r.p.m. - Note the position the blade is held
on the disc which spins clockwise and pulls the
knife directly away from your left hand while the
champagne cork gently applies pressure. Use 400,
800, and 1200 Wet or Dry paper (used dry). It is
advisable to blast the paper with hi-pressure compressed
air to remove/unclog the disc of all metal dust
frequently. |
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The blade should now look something like this -
the flats finely sanded but now extend onto the
tang and have thickened along the top edge of the
blade. |
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The tang should now be carefully sanded against
a dull 50 grit disc to ensure it is flat (all possible
warpages removed) and the run-out is in line with
the back of the guard position as shown, refer to
the Tapering Tang article by clicking here. |
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At this stage we take time off to complete the guard,
so it is ready to fit the knife once we have completed
the blade. If you end up scratching the ricasso
or blade in this process - rather now than once
you have finished the blade. |
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