Knife Polish

E

EnviroDaren

Active Member
My company produces abrasive powders for industrial polishing applications and one of my goals is to determine the best format for this material as a product for polishing knives. Here's a link to one of the powders we make, called Mg-35. Our latest focus is on synthetic spinel powder/diamond, which is similar to Mg-35, but much harder and more abrasive.

Would a dry powder be ok or do knife makers prefer the abrasive in a liquid suspension or a cream? The powder is very dusty and becomes airborne easily, so using it dry requires a dust mask.

The material is a ceramic powder with diamond fused into the particles. As it is being used, the larger particles break down, which enables polishing from a coarse surface finish to a mirror-like appearance in one step.

I can send a few samples out to anyone interested in evaluating it. Thanks!!
 
I would give some a try, I take knives swords and gun's to 2000 and 5000 grit and have a dry compound that I mix with with water and use on a piece of damp levi to give it a final polish, I do all this by hand, always looking for something better. E-mail me and I will send you some pictures of a RR spike I just finished, forgot how to shrink my pictures so can't post here. Deane oldcat35o@sbcglobal.net
 
oldknife said:
I would give some a try, I take knives swords and gun's to 2000 and 5000 grit and have a dry compound that I mix with with water and use on a piece of damp levi to give it a final polish, I do all this by hand, always looking for something better. E-mail me and I will send you some pictures of a RR spike I just finished, forgot how to shrink my pictures so can't post here. Deane oldcat35o@sbcglobal.net
Click to expand...
That's cool, Dean - I'll email you and check it out. And I can send you a few samples too if you email back your mailing address.
 
Bjmac said:
I would like to try it, especially if you make a paste of it. I like a mirror finish on my blades and currently hand sand to 12000 grit.
Click to expand...
My industrial clients ask for similar particle sizes but they always buy dry powder. I think a paste is a good idea and I am going to be developing a few prototypes to have guys like you check them out. I can either sent you some powder now or we can wait until I've produced some pastes - just let me know. You can email me directly with your mailing address: Daren@EnviroDiamond.com
 
Thanks, Deane, for providing those really cool pics of the knives you polished with the samples I sent you. Much appreciated!! I tagged your Instagram account and I recommend that you post more pictures of your work there so that anyone looking at EnviroDiamond from a knife polishing product perspective may find your stuff. Your work looks great and it's eye-catching - just putting that out there.

Here are a few pictures of one particle created by our process. They are not typical single crystals of one material. Instead, they are "polycrystalline" meaning every particle is comprised of many smaller ones stuck together. In industrial polishing this is a good feature and typically drives the price of the abrasive very high and the feature is therefore restricted to pure diamond products.

When you check these out, keep in mind the relationship between Grit and Microns regarding particle size:

1 micron = 14,000 grit
3 microns = 8,000 grit
4 microns = 5,000 grit
5 microns = 4,500 grit
18 microns = 1,050 grit

Image_0001.jpgImage_0003.jpgImage_0005.jpgImage_0007.jpgImage_0009.jpgImage_0015.jpg
 
FYI: We have produced a polishing product we call SuperHero Polish that is a non-toxic liquid suspension of synthetic spinel, which also contains diamond. You can check it out through our website www. EnviroDiamond.com. We produced this material by detonating dry ice and a powdered alloy of aluminum and magnesium. There are videos on the site that show how we make the abrasive if that is of interest.

If you look at the pictures above, imagine this abrasive working the surface of your metal while polishing. The weird shapes create shallow U-shaped gouges rather than deep V-shaped cuts, which is what all conventional abrasives achieve when you use them. The result is a smoother surface with greater reflective qualities.

Interestingly, we have determined that a very coarse version of the same abrasive polishes hard metal without significant scratching because the particles are very friable or crumbly. They break down into smaller particles as the product is used, resulting in a grinding/polishing cycle per application.

When sourcing your polishing materials, what are your thoughts on a two product system? One is a liquid suspension of the very fine fraction, for mirror-polishing, and the other is a coarse fraction, which could be thought of as a grinding aid. The grinding aid will work the surface, remove deeper scratches and then offer some polishing. As a final step, use the finer product to finish the job.

What is your typical objective when considering a new product? When you polish your work, is 'smoother' more important than 'faster'?

I would appreciate any feedback - thanks.
 

Attachments

  • SHP Promo Bottle - Cropped.jpg
    SHP Promo Bottle - Cropped.jpg
    340.9 KB · Views: 5
smoother is definitely more important. ease of application is second. I replied to your first offer, but you blew me off then didn't show up here till now. how am I (or anyone else here ) supposed to believe you or you're claims?
 
Bruce McLeish said:
smoother is definitely more important. ease of application is second. I replied to your first offer, but you blew me off then didn't show up here till now. how am I (or anyone else here ) supposed to believe you or you're claims?
Click to expand...
Hi Bruce, I just read your message and checked my emails. You had reached out and I said I would send you powder to make your own paste. To the best of my knowledge I sent samples out to everyone who asked for some. However, I also recall that three recipients never followed up to share their polishing results... perhaps you didn't receive the package? I will verify what happened when I get into my office computer tomorrow.

Regardless, I would be happy to send you samples of the synthetic spinel/diamond powder and the coarse material if you promise to try the material and share results. Pictures would be great. I can send it in a paste format, but mailing powder is more convenient. I still have your address on file and will reach out via email.

Thanks for sharing your pov regarding smoother versus faster.
 
thanks for the reply. you are correct in that I didn't respond to you as I had no reason to as I had nothing to respond about. I would like to try the powder. I'm absolutely willing to make my own paste . I've several knives on the bench that are ready for final finish, so the timing is correct.
 
Bruce McLeish said:
thanks for the reply. you are correct in that I didn't respond to you as I had no reason to as I had nothing to respond about. I would like to try the powder. I'm absolutely willing to make my own paste . I've several knives on the bench that are ready for final finish, so the timing is correct.
Click to expand...
OK - I will send something out next week.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top