Polishing flat ground blades with a disc

Frank Niro

KNIFE MAKER
I've had information telling me how to get a polish on blades with a worked down cork belt, but unfortunately so far have not been successful in getting the results that I expected. However, the other night Rod Nielson , suggested while at my shop why not try a disc with a thin cork covering and loaded with green chrome ? This was an easy move since I have one of his machines that has a magnetic hub so changing discs takes at least 15 seconds. I was out of the thin cork that works so well Ed Caffery recommended to be used so it took a day or two to get down to the auto supply store to get more. I simply loaded the cork surface while it was turning. The results were super !!!! I would want to take the blade to a no scratch pink buff after that but that would be it. A huge advantage of using the disc is not only to fully maintain your grind lines but I was running my disc at about 40% speed and the heat created was close to nil. I have not operated this for long so I can't report on the life of the cork. They do however stand up under the sand paper . If you have a disc grinder, be sure to give it a try. I believe you will be impressed. On the other hand don't look to this as a way to save time. Frank
 
Frank, Just so I am clear on this its two different menthods you are reporting on?

For fine polishing you are loading the cork with green chrome, OK, what is the last belt grit you at at before going to the cork & chrome?

Then you are using the cork as a backing for your different sandpaper grits, right?

Thanks.
 
Guy on another forum, Ed Tipton, uses a Sawzall. He grinds away the set in the teeth and removes the point. Then attaches a strip of sand paper to the blade with rubber bands or duck tape. He claims he is able to get into tight areas with it very easily. I dunno, may be worth a try.
 
I didn't really mean to do the two Laurence. But yes there are two separate things mentioned there. I grind down to 9 and some 6 on my folder blades on the belt grinder and then can go to the disc with the layer of cork loaded with the green compound. Frank
 
You guys know me ! I can mirror polish any steel including the CPM s I only use japanese waterstones up to 35,000 grit . Its the constant washing the blade and and rinsing off the debris , the loaded debris on most polishing techniques is what prevents most steel from attaining that mirror polish. It just scratces it up again. You can do almost the same thing with 2000- 3000 grit ,paper as it wears down, it makes a realy fine Polish . the water is the key . A good naguru stone can really help build up a fine slurry that helps your polish ......
But, that is my experience . Bubba
 

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I am always amazed at the results I get with my Nielsen Interchangeable Disk System. I have a pad on all disks I have one that I have a worn out abrasive disk (no abrasive left on it) that I put buffing compound on. I am making a new set of dies for my power hammer and had ground flat, on the belt grinder, the 3 X 3 inch flat area. Well, I thought that I had ground it flat until I moved over to the disk grinder and saw how out of flat it was. I was also able to grind faster on the disk grinder. Another tip that Rod gave me back when I started selling the disk system for him, I have one disk with a piece of short shag carpet glued on for buffing. It is so much safer than using a standard buffing machine. Because you are working on the flat side of the disk there is nothing to grab your knife out of your hand and then throw it back at you, usually about the time you get the knife really sharp. A few years ago a friend was using a buffing wheel and it grabbed the work out of his hand and threw it. We searched all over for it and never did find the piece. Several months later I was back in his shop and noticed that the piece was stuck in the peg board behind the buffer. If it had gone a little bit further into the peg board we never would have found it because it would have gone all the way through and into the wall cavity. Just think what it would have done if it had hit him in the stomach. Sorry that I got so far off topic. I just get carried away when buffing wheels come up.
 
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