There are so many different approaches to finishing a blade I'm not even about to add mine here - just a different variation of the same theme.

But I will add a quip or two about some things I've learned:

When you're sanding out scratches, you're not sanding scratches. You're sanding everything that's NOT a scratch. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//unsure.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':unsure:' /> Right?

A "scratch" is a void down IN the steel. So you're just trying to remove all the "tall" spots down equal to the bottom of the scratches.

If I just hit the blade a few strokes and see that I have a LOT of work to do, I don't sit there and try to sand them all out. I go back to the grinder and do a better job on the last grit that wasn't finished correctly.

Then go back to the hand-sanding station.

I could elaborate on my 10 years of ground up restoration of concert grand pianos - but I won't. I'm not saying I'm any good at it, but I will suggest that I know what it takes to get a flawless finish in 7 feel of mirror finish black lacquer.

That's where I learned that a decent mirror polish is NOT the product of a lot of expert polishing.

A good mirror polish is the product of a lot of good SANDING!

Just like on a knife blade, a good hand sanding job is not the product of a lot of sanding.

It's the product of good GRINDING.

Accurate grinding is the foundation.

Great subject this month since I have several blades ready to be finished after finishing the Intro class two weeks ago. Finally got my KMG delivered and set up in the shop last week. Still adjusting it a bit. Since grinding is the foundation for a good final finish, what are some suggestions on tweaks to make it smoother? Ceramic platten? Platten clearance distance from top and bottom wheels? It is in direct vertical alignment with the wheels, and the blade contacts the upper wheel if I do any vertical grinding on the ricasso. Seems it would be better if it had say a 1/6 or so clearance.

Thanks in advance!

Bob

Bob,

You are correct, some clearance on the platen is helpful, at least for me. Otherwise, you will most likely end up inadvertently contacting one of the idler wheels and grinding a groove in your knife (where you don't want it). How much clearance is really a matter of personal preference. I have not used a ceramic platen...I hear they're nice, but I haven't had any issues with the stock platen that comes with the KMG. I actually ground the leading and trailing edges of my platen to help ease the friction on the belt---just a little. By far the best thing you can do to know where to refine your set-up is to just get grinding...you have chosen an excellent piece of equipment. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//cool.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

Thanks Ed, I made a slight adjustment and it made a big difference! I'm finishing a small hunter and using the grinder on the handle. I used a bunch of the suggestions and ideas others posted regarding finishing. Very helpful and working great! Thanks!

Just a thought I had driving down the road the other day:

Do most of you all hand-finish by holding the blade and moving it along the abrasive (abrasive being on a flat surface), or securing the blade and moving the abrasive over it? Or is there some preferred combination of the two (if so, at what grit does it make sense to switch from one to the other)?

Ed

Hello Ed;

As far as hand finishing,the only time I hold and move the blade over the abrasive is on a surface plate to finish the ricasso. All other sanding is done with the blade clamped.

Russell

G'day all, I'm going to jump in on this one. I think its great to be able to see other peoples methods whether it be on the forum here or in others shops. Being from down under we do ( or at least I do ) <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//blink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /> things a little different.

I finish grind at 400 grit, then hand sand at 320 or if I've had a couple of high speed wobbles during the grind I'll go back to 240 grit. This is where I do things a little different. I rub the knife on the paper, not the paper on the knife. The same way as a lot of Asian polishers use except I use wet and dry paper with WD 40. I find this method much quicker for me. I'll attach a couple of pics of my setup. Basically it is a horse or big bracket if you like, that I clamp onto my work bench. It has a piece of micarta attached to it as my sanding surface. I lay the paper over the horse with a couple of weights attached to spring clamps. I also clamp the paper onto the horse. And away you go rub rub, rub rub until you get to the desired finnish you want. If I want a 600 grit finnish, I go to 800 grit and then go back to the 600. My final finnish is put on with the paper on the blade. 1 pass from plunge line to tip, clean piece of paper, repeat until I'm happy. Like most its the only way I've found to get rid of those nasty fish hook marks.

Cheers Keith

Keith,

I like that set-up. I've been finish sanding with the knife on paper as well because I get really sharp lines, but kept reading others were using paper on knife. My method is using a marble tile with the entire piece of abrasive (9x11) clamped down. However, I have trouble utilizing all of the paper without multiple resets (takes time). Your set-up looks like it resolves that issue for me, so it's out to the shop to make another jig <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//cool.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' /> By the way, I have a 2x4 on edge, bolted to the bench which I can swing out of the way when not in use, then swing out and support with set of sawhorse legs (very stable). I didn't think of the steel backer...that really would work well. I guess you could even make special shaped "dies" as a backer piece to get to challenging places/shapes too!

Hey Ed, I think most, if not all, affix the blade to a stationary object, and move the abrasive, with some variety of backing (i.e. sanding sticks, faced with leather, rubber, cork, etc, or nothing) across the blade. Now, the subsequent techniques for interfacing said abrasive to said blade, vary, depending on maker, desired finish, etc.

Edit: This came late, I didn't reload for some reason.. Anyway... It still applies.

Just a small addition since everything I do is pretty much the same. On most of sanding at lower grits I use different sticks going from 3 inches wide to about 2 inches wide to match the sanding paper that I have on rolls. However, when I get to the final sanding I use a 1 inch stick with cork glued to sanding (flat) side of the stick. I said flat because I want all my sanding sticks to be as flat as possible and I check every so often to be sure. The cork does a couple of things. With sufficient pressure it will conform to the shape of the blade where it is convex. At the final grit I am not trying to take of any previous grit marks as much as I am trying to get a uniform set of lines (usually 1200 or in some cases 800 grit). The cork allows me to vary the pressure and on these final passes I have found that helpful. It also allows me to place the paper lightly right next to the plunge line and then as I drag the sanding stick towards me with increased force I smoothy rotate the stick from the edge to the full surface. What this does is help in avoiding the slight movement of the stick when I first press it on to the blade so I do not get undesired scratches one inch (width of the standing stick) from the plunge line. I only use the cork sticks on the blade and never the ricasso.

Dan Petersen