Trying for a mirror polish and have been from 800, 1200 on the belts three times and same for the buffing wheels for green and white compound. Never seem to get the high degree of shine I expect and at some point will have to finish this up for the new owner. Learning that I have to do each step twice as long as I think I should and end product comes out nicer. Starting to think I should have gotten 8" wheel buffers instead of the 6" Starting to think I need to make a stone washing rig and save myself a lot of time
Looks fairly mirrory to me. I think we all know i am a novice but do you do any hand sanding before buffing? Could it help to hand sand perpendicular to the belt even with the same grit? ....since all the marks that are visible , even though they are few, seem to run the same direction. I am just guessing here and more for my own curiosity.... cause the shiniest I get is with an a30 trizact on bevels lol.
You know I typically sand by handle at 90 to the belt, this time tried the scotchbrite belts and going lengthwise. A little bit easier but not necessarily any better
I have been meaning to get a conditioning belt of some sort to try. I just have a 1x30 though .....maybe even just a disc for my angle grinder. You know John...those little doodads you been making out of your fancy wood scrap would make very cool fobs for a knife lanyard ...or is that their intended purpose?
They were just me staring at scraps and wanted to try grinding for decorating steel for practice and before I knew it I had a half dozen. Daughter said I should ask five bucks for the big beads minimum and ten dollars for the UlU as pendants or necklace. So off into jewelry country I go. Lanyard beads will be in the mix as soon as I get a lathe. Have twelve in maple burl with some having clear red that are going to get decorated. Should bring the ladies to the table and maybe even sell a knife
The best investment i made for polishing were cork belts. They can be messy but man do they work well. I have an 800 grit cork that i load with green compound, and a 1200 cork that i load with white compound. After taking the belt to around 750 on a Norax belt, i switch to the corks, and they work excellent. They actually produce less heat it seems than the cloth buffer and work faster too. Aftergeting the cork belts, all i ever use my buffer for is handle work.
I dug through my pile of belts and I have a couple cork belts and a leather one. Going to use them on the next knife I will be finishing tonight I also tried a J-flex belt in 220 grit on a little stainless knife and it was very nice running and better finish than a couple of the ceramics I have. Going to have to get a few more of them next time I order belts.
Holy cow love the belt time you've put on this... it looks amazing to me you should be proud my friend!
The sheath and cover photo, on its way to the customer bit of a scratch that is all gone, would have a picture but rearranging living room and moving workshop to spare bedroom spent a bit of time with the leather strop and green compound to bring the cutting edge up to a mirror shine. Really need pictures after the touchups but it is getting boxed up tonight and off to its new home. Hate this part where I really like it and want it for myself but it has to go
