hand sanding??? whats the big deal?

Guindesigns

Guindesigns

Well-Known Member
As i've standed before im still very new at this so my questions of the day is what is up with hand sanding is it just a kind of look people are going for or is it much more or less?? im confused on it and if it is a look can anyone show my the difference in another way compared to hand sanding??

-Young Pup
 
I can only answer for myself and the way that I do things but I only hand sand if I'm trying to bring out a hamon. Usually I machine sand out to 600 grit and then switch over to Scot-Brite belts for a satin finish. If I had sand, I machine sand out to 600 grit and then switch to 600 grit sheets lubricated with WD-40 and take it out to 1500grit before etching.

Doug
 
Hand sanding is a method of operation, as in hand sanding vs machine sanding. A satin finish is a fine, regular scratch pattern that gives the blade sort of a frosted finish. It can be done on a machine like I do or it can be done totally by hand.

Doug
 
If you are after a mirror polish? Many find hand sanding the best way to get every little mar out of the steel for a mirror finish. As others have said they will use a belt grinder to get to 220-600 or so and then its hand sanding to the finish they want.

I prefer a brush satin look for my working knives and use the machine up to 22-600 grit belts , then it's scotch brite or Cork belts to the satin look I want depending on the kind of knife.

Many find hand sanding a meditative and relaxing way to get the finish they want and I suggest you do it for a few blades to see and feel the process so you can learn if its for you? You will learn a lot about how steel finishes and that will give you more confidence in working with steel.

Each to his own!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
After nearly 25 years of doing this.....I can tell this much.....there is NOTHING that will lend more appeal and value to your knives then hand finishing time, or as I call it "hands on" time. I've taught a number of folks over the years, and the one thing that the majority of them needed, was to take the time/effort to do some "hand work" on their knives. One individual comes to mind, who at the time was selling the majority of his knives for $50-$75. He brought a couple of his "completed" knives, and I sat him at the vise and started pointing out "scratches" he had left in the blades/guards. It took him about 1/2 hour of "hand time" on each of those knives, and he literally turned two $50 knives, into two $125 knives (that's what they sold for at his next show).

There's a HUGE difference between a machine satin finish and a well applied hand satin finish. For lack of a better way to say it, those done completely on machines "look" machine finished. Those that are well done by hand have a totally different look/appeal.
 
Well it's 5 1/2 hours since my last post and I've been hand finishing two folding knives that I will complete tomorrow. After belt finishing the bolsters and scales and flat disk grinding the blades to 400 grit.
I hand sanded the bolsters and scales to 600 grit,put a satin finish on the bolsters,buffed the scales. I hand sanded one blade and finished it off at 400 grit,I have about another hour to finish the other blade also at 400 grit. I also sanded and buffed the heads of all 16 screws that will be showing when the knives are finished. All this hand work is essential to get the finish I want on these knives and I wouldn't settle for anything less.
So that's the big deal about hand sanding. Try it,you'll like it! :lol:
 
I have always thought a lengthwise, hand-sanded finish was one of the hallmarks of a handmade knife. A machine finish can be found on many handmade knives these days, but rarely on a high-end collectors piece, which says a lot IMO.

For me, hand-sanding is the final refinement of the geometry. I do most of my sanding with the sandpaper immobilized on a flat surface, and run the blade back and forth across it. I find that my surfaces come out flatter this way. I can take a blade with bevels that appear flat after grinding, and within minutes of starting to hand sand it is easy to see that it was not, in fact, flat. It does add quite a bit of finishing time and it may not make much difference to most folks who see my knives, but I get some satisfaction from taking this extra step and making the geometry "right" instead of "close enough".
 
Is it possible to hand sand to a mirror finish? I don't have and power tools but I like shiny things.
 
I would have to say yes it is being that a mirror finish is older than buffers. You would have to sand the blade out to about 1500-2000 grit with a lubricant, WD-40 is my choice, and that should bring you close. After that I would say something like a buffing compound on some leather. However, I don't see a reason to put a mirror finish on a blade unless it's to go into a display case. They aren't very durable in use. BTW, what I use as a buffer is a hand power drill with a buffing wheel and arbor. I clamp the knife in a vice or you could use a knife board and a clamp to hold it to the workbench. Then you just hold the drill by hand.

Doug
 
It's totally aesthetics. I can honestly say that whether or not a blade was hand sanded has never been part of the knife buying equation when I purchased a custom knife. It seems to be more important to collectors and those who prefer the looks of a hand sanded blade. Unlike many other makers, I don't mind hand sanding. I'm one who finds it rather relaxing. Of course, I'll use a Trizact belt up to an A30 before I start hand sanding. These belts give me a good foundation to start with.
 
Ok, thanks everybody im try it and see im actually working on a old knife for a friends, whose freinds was making him a knife but he died before he could finish it, he had it sitting around in the shed when his grandson got ahold of it and now it looks like its been though a blinder, ill have to get some pics of it up, but i think ill try to hand sand this one before that how it looks like the other guy did it. Does anyone know what size grit i should start with or even what kind of sandpaper i should be useing if not sandpaper than what and where can i find it??
 
Guindesigns said:
Ok, thanks everybody im try it and see im actually working on a old knife for a friends, whose freinds was making him a knife but he died before he could finish it, he had it sitting around in the shed when his grandson got ahold of it and now it looks like its been though a blinder, ill have to get some pics of it up, but i think ill try to hand sand this one before that how it looks like the other guy did it. Does anyone know what size grit i should start with or even what kind of sandpaper i should be useing if not sandpaper than what and where can i find it??
Click to expand...

If it's that rough? I would start at 220 grit and you want a wet & dry, metal sanding paper. Wood sanding paper id dry and won't work as well.

I like both, Norton Black Ice paper or my name sake, Rhino sand paper, start at 220 G then 400 G then as high as you want to take it?
http://www.onlineindustrialsupply.com/indasaproducts.htm

If you still see scratches after the 400 grit. Go back to 220 g at the crossing angle or even 120 G, on a machine or by hand. WD-40, Cool Tool cutting fluid, Motor oil or I like Simple Green soap to help in cutting when handsanding.

Enjoy!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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Liam:
If you hand sand to 2000 or 3000 grit with silicon carbide paper and water/oil you will be awful close. then get a basic polishing attachment that will fit in a 3/8" power drill and some green chrome oxide polish and off you go. you can end up with a see yourself finish. all it takes is time.
scott
 
I will look into it, I can't find any SiC paper higher than 1200 here. I will search for some and a polishing attachment. Is it a muslin one or what kind would I need to do it?
 
Doug Lester said:
I would have to say yes it is being that a mirror finish is older than buffers. You would have to sand the blade out to about 1500-2000 grit with a lubricant, WD-40 is my choice, and that should bring you close. After that I would say something like a buffing compound on some leather. However, I don't see a reason to put a mirror finish on a blade unless it's to go into a display case. They aren't very durable in use. BTW, what I use as a buffer is a hand power drill with a buffing wheel and arbor. I clamp the knife in a vice or you could use a knife board and a clamp to hold it to the workbench. Then you just hold the drill by hand.

Doug
Click to expand...
Hi, I have always gotten more oohs and ahs from my mirror finish blades but I do really like the lengthwise grain satin finish that I see on some really high quality blades . Sometimes I kind of give in and do the scotchbrite belt thing but I personally feel like I scrimped out a little.

Anyway my question to your comment is why do you say that a mirror finish is not very durable in use. I'm not knocking your statement, I really would like to know why it would not be as durable all other things being equal?
 
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