plunge lines

H

Hoyts n Mulies

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Hi guys, I could use some help. How do you finish sand in and around your plunge lines? I always have 1/32" there that I cant seem to get at.

Thanks
 
I now do sweeping plunge lines. I like how they look, and it is incredibly easy to sand them. When I did straight plunges, that last little bit was always a pain. I used a small stick and a lot of patience.
 
I have a brass bar with leather glued on one side and warped around one corner kinda rounds it out and gets into the plunge but I also do a sweeping plunge
 
I use very small die sinkers double ended Swiss files in a variety of shapes to correct any grind faults. I then use small pieces of 400 grit cloth backed abrasive under the curved file and rub away until it's the correct shape and smoothnes. It takes time and patience.

Terry
 
I've done it a lot of ways, and it still varies from knife to knife. I have a palm sander which I've modified by mounting a piece of micarta with the edges beveled to match a typical plunge. I mount this upside down in a vise and glue some sand paper to it. Turn it on and work the plunge into the edge of the micarta to work out the vertical grinding marks.

As I've gotten better at cleaning up the plunges with higher grits on the belt grinder, I don't have to go to the palm sander as much.

I use a flat piece of micarta with a sharp edge and work the plunge as I sand the bevels. I also use a piece of angle iron with leather attached and work that into the plunge. I've used razor blades with sand paper over the edge. I've used a piece of leather by itself with paper over the edge. I've used just sand paper folded upon itself several times to work into the plunge.

I've also used cratex (rubberized abrasive) cones in a dremel. I like this as it gets the scratches out and makes the scratch pattern match the direction of a hand finish so it blends in nicely as you work your bevels. Just be careful about overdoing it or you'll have a groove at the plunge.

A lot of different ways to skin the cat. It all depends on how bad of shape your plunges are in when you start sanding. I try to clean them up as much as I can on the grinder up to about 600 grit, and then I start sanding. Makes the cleanup much faster by hand; however it always takes time to clean it good.

--nathan
 
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