Removing scratches on the front of guards?

racjarrett88

racjarrett88

Well-Known Member
I sometimes (usually) end of scratching the front of my guards on my hidden tangs and was wondering what y'all do to fix it and get an EVEN finish. I can get acceptable results but it's never as even as I want. Another question is how do yall finish(what grit) the front before assembly? Polishing? I use brass, copper,bronze,damascus etc

Thanks, Austin
 
Both the blade and the face of the guard should be completely finished when the guard goes on for the last time.

In my shop, damascus guards get finished to 400-600 grit, other metals get finished to 800 or 1000 grit.

May I ask how it is that the faces are getting scratched up during finishing? With the blade and guard face completely finished, if you're still getting scratches, I'd re-evaluate the rest of my finishing process.

If you do get a small scratch or scuff on the face after it's all finished, as hard as it is, I've come to just leave it alone. In my experiences, trying to fix it at that point will only make it worse. It would, of course, depend on what type of scratch and how bad we're talking about.

I've tried the taping up the ricasso carefully and sanding with steel wool, q-tips, popsicle sticks with sandpaper around them etc....and I've never gotten results that were satisfactory to me, hence the decision to leave it alone.
 
J. Doyle said:
Both the blade and the face of the guard should be completely finished when the guard goes on for the last time.

In my shop, damascus guards get finished to 400-600 grit, other metals get finished to 800 or 1000 grit.

May I ask how it is that the faces are getting scratched up during finishing? With the blade and guard face completely finished, if you're still getting scratches, I'd re-evaluate the rest of my finishing process.

If you do get a small scratch or scuff on the face after it's all finished, as hard as it is, I've come to just leave it alone. In my experiences, trying to fix it at that point will only make it worse. It would, of course, depend on what type of scratch and how bad we're talking about.

I've tried the taping up the ricasso carefully and sanding with steel wool, q-tips, popsicle sticks with sandpaper around them etc....and I've never gotten results that were satisfactory to me, hence the decision to leave it alone.
Click to expand...
Mr.Doyle know's his stuff! I think here, extra effort in prevention is much better than A LOT of effort in fixing it.
 
I do all my shaping after glue up so it is easy to get tiny scratches simply from grit getting rubbed off or blown off
 
As a fellow rookie at this I suggest the rough shape before glue up or tape off before sanding?
I found that if there is a minor fitment issue and the tape on the guard to blade area it keeps epoxy off the blade. Trial and error until tou find what works for you or another maker suggests something else.
 
Last edited:
Painters tape is your friend. Like John I finish my guard face and the blade before glue up. When I'm ready to work on the handle I often use painters tape to protect the guard and blade. If your using high carbon steel for the blade put a little wax on it first just to prevent the adhesive from tarnishing the blade
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top