Old dog. New trick.

Dennis Morland

Dennis Morland

KNIFE MAKER
I have been making knives for around 10 years. The learning curve never stops growing. Mike Miller sent me these abrasive sticks and told me to use them instead of sand paper when hand sanding pre-heat treat. Especially the plunge line. AMAZING!! One third the time and no hand pain. Thank you Michael Miller.

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What are the dimensions of the stones? Are they strong enough to use alone, or do you need a backer bar to keep from breaking the stones?

Like Bob, I'm more interested in using them post heat treat. I'm on the Boride site now looking at the CS-HD (General Purpose Silicon Carbide for polishing up to 63HRC).

BORIDE CS-HD Silicon Carbide Mold Polishing Stone - BORIDE Engineered Abrasives

CS-HD General Purpose Polishing Stone: Compared to the CS or CS-M, CS-HD has a harder structure & breaks down more slowly. Can be used to polish even the hardest die & mold steels. Great for use on EDM surfaces.
www.borideabrasives.com www.borideabrasives.com
 
Those are on my list to get.

I bought diamond stones - electroplated from Amazon - up to 2000, for finishing but they didn't give the look I wanted. I went back to 600 sandpaper finish for now.
 
John Wilson said:
What are the dimensions of the stones? Are they strong enough to use alone, or do you need a backer bar to keep from breaking the stones?

Like Bob, I'm more interested in using them post heat treat. I'm on the Boride site now looking at the CS-HD (General Purpose Silicon Carbide for polishing up to 63HRC).

BORIDE CS-HD Silicon Carbide Mold Polishing Stone - BORIDE Engineered Abrasives

CS-HD General Purpose Polishing Stone: Compared to the CS or CS-M, CS-HD has a harder structure & breaks down more slowly. Can be used to polish even the hardest die & mold steels. Great for use on EDM surfaces.
www.borideabrasives.com www.borideabrasives.com
Click to expand...
I think I have the kit AM-2. Stones are 6x1/2x1/8.
 
I used some other EDM stones post HT on Magnacut. 400 grit EDM stone took about 10 minutes on a 4" blade drop point over 1" wide to get a nice 400 finish on one side, only using the 400 stone and going from a 320 belt finish that had deep scratches left over from 36 and 80 grit belts.
 
I mainly use them post heat treat. You can really find out how the grit marks are camouflaged when you hit them with the 220 git. I have even taken them to 1200 grit with the stones. I use them with an oil and it seems to help removing when it is a slurry.
I can thank Jerry McClure for showing this old dog this trick.
 
mike miller said:
I mainly use them post heat treat. You can really find out how the grit marks are camouflaged when you hit them with the 220 git. I have even taken them to 1200 grit with the stones. I use them with an oil and it seems to help removing when it is a slurry.
I can thank Jerry McClure for showing this old dog this trick.
Click to expand...
The AM-2 stones do fine for post heat treat? That's good to know. The description infers that they give a better finish, being a softer stone.
 
Use them like a chisel. Using a corner works well, using flat doesnt cut as efficiently. I tried to use them flat and they sucked so they sat in a drawer for a year. Then I saw a video, learned how to use them and they work much better when used properly!! Wd40, windex or tapping fluid work well as a lubricant.
 
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Taz575 said:
Use them like a chisel. Using a corner works well, using flat doesnt cut as efficiently. I tried to use them flat and they sucked so they sat in a drawer for a year. Then I saw a video, learned how to use them and they work much better when used properly!! Wd40, windex or tapping fluid work well as a lubricant.
Click to expand...
This makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the tip! I think I'll give them a try. Personally I don't mind hand sanding but there are definitely times when I need a much better way to get into recesses and plunges where wrapping paper around a piece of bar stock, leather, or even a file just doesn't do what I need to do. I don't come from a machining background, so stuff that might be common sense to those guys never even occurs to me. Posts like this are great for that reason alone.
 
I got some 2 Christmas ago, the Geisswein ones. Tried them flat on a blade, they sucked. Broke one, too. Then I saw some posts and video's on how to use them and tried them again. Love them! There are all different grades and hardness, too.

Another good post about them with some different ones used:

Which EDM stone works best on Magnacut? Let's find out!

I called Boride abrasives and they were kind enough to send a sample pack of 3 of their recommended stones for tool and stainless steel. I requested 400 grit as that's what I finish at on my belt grinder and I wanted to see which stone would remove the scratches quickest. They also included a...
knifedogs.com
 
I only hollow grind and use a chisel edge to clean scratches up. I learned to go across the hollow on an angle to keep full contact with the steel.
 
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