Finishing Blades

[brandon0403]

Is it possible to complete a knife blade from start to finish on a grinder? I see lots of folks do the rough grinding on a grinder but finish the blade hand sanding. For a beginner is advisable to finish via hand sanding or just stick with it and learn to finish the blade on the grinder?



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[Steven Long]

The only thing I dont finish on a grinder are the flats. Can't ever seem to get good results so I hand sand that area.

When starting out, hand sanding was the way to go for me. I was able to finish a few knives that looked like turd from the grinder, then as I got better, the grinder became my friend.

 

[Rudy Joly]

You're pretty safe hand sanding unless you're really confident with your machine.
That being said.....I do all my operations with a belt, even the flats all the way to a mirror polish if needed. This requires mostly a lot of practice, some special improvised do-dads and lots of different grit belts. Up to 4500 grit. A cork lined platen is indespensible for the higher grits, it takes the bump out of the joint and lets you push when needed. Careful with the pushing, you'll wind up with a slight convex. I'll also bump up the tension on the belts after 600 grit. I use my Bader II, it lets you adjust belt tension tight as a banjo string. A light touch is best at the higher grits. It pretty much boils down to time/experience and knowing your machine.



Rudy