Satin finnish

I have been following this thread for quite a while now, but had not tried it until last night. DANG!!!!!.>>!!!!??!!!!!!....!!!!! What a huge difference. I absolutely despise hand sanding a blade I just hate doing, But now with the Mobil 1 it was not that bad at all. It took probley only 1/3 of the time as normal and it is probley the best finish I have ever put on a stainless steel blade. Thanks a ton Frank!!
 
Well I finally got to Wal Mart AND remembered to get the Mobil 1.... Haven't tried it just yet.


I was a bit puzzled at Wally world, because there are about 18 kinds of Mobil oil at the one I went to. The guy at the store was looking like he was gonna offer me some help/advice and I was gearing myself up for trying to explain it wasn't going into a car it was going on a knife blade! ;) Luckily he didn't ask huh1 :D

I walked off with a bottle and got about 1/2 mile from the oil (it's a Super Wal Mart) and realized it didn't actually say Mobil 1, it said something like Mobil Super 5000 or something.

So is there an exact bottle to look for??? I ended up getting the "standard" Mobil 1 - 30 weight.

I'll report back after giving this stuff a shot.

Thanks again Frank! :) Happy New Year!!! 2thumbs
 
Thank you Nick for "going for it" and getting what was the Mobil 1 I have no idea if that 5000 would work or not. I think I may have 10-30 in my shop perhaps for no other reason than that what was there because winter was coming and that's what they had out. I know if it works for you many more will try it. It makes this guy feel good to help others. Did I tell you I own the company? I hope not 'cause I don't. Frank
 
Okay, I went over both sides of this blade with 1500X Norton Black Ice and Mobil 1. I didn't get a perfectly clean finish, but it's completely possible that this is due to the fact that I may have done something wrong, or it's just too fine of paper for this technique.

Rather than just disregard this method, I plan on trying it on some other blades as well. If I based my opinions of my Burr King off of my first experiences grinding on it, I'd have said it didn't work either ;) :bud:

I decided it would make more sense if I posted some pics of what I'm talking about, plus Frank might notice something I could be doing different than he does. :)

This is my hand sanding set up. Note the Dock-Lite (the big yellow sucker). This is a light designed to light up the inside of 53' van style semi trailers. It puts out a LOT of light, as well as a 150watt "daylight" bulb in the other lamp.
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Is this the same oil all you guys have been trying?
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I can really see what's going on with this set-up.
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As you can see, it's a clean finish, but it's still "dirty"
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One last shot
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Even though this method didn't give me the same results (yet?) that I can accomplish with my regular old methods, it does seem to make the paper cut very well (which is especially odd for such fine paper ~in my experiences~)

I'll keep up on this.

Thanks Frank! :)
 
Nick, do you use a sanding block, or just your fingers? I'm no good at sanding yet so I don't know for sure, but if you are using fingers, they could act as pressure points which get sanded a little harder (Since you said it cuts well) than the other spots, giving a less than ideal finish.

Of course this is just a guess though.
 
Mike, I know how to get a clean finish... I've got about 30 different sanding blocks. The issue is trying to do it with Mobil 1 like the guys have been doing in this thread.

I figured out the finger thing about 15 years ago :p :D
 
NickWheeler said:
Mike, I know how to get a clean finish... I've got about 30 different sanding blocks. The issue is trying to do it with Mobil 1 like the guys have been doing in this thread.

I figured out the finger thing about 15 years ago :p :D
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to be insulting, Sorry. :eek:

How does a 1500 grit finish of your usual technique look compared to this?
 
Haha... not insulting at all Mike! :eek: huh1 :)

I really gotta work on articulating myself better... I tried to use the smilies to simulate the smirk on my face had we been talking face to face :D

I would say this 1500X is a little finer than what I would have gotten without the Mobil 1 (normally I use Windex above 600X)... I think you can see in the one pic it's pretty near a mirror.

I'd normally go over this now with a sanding block with a very hard rubber face on it. This one is getting etched as it was clay hardened.
 
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Nick. I like your combination of lights. Is one a halogen? I use a flourescent and an incandesent but this is just to let you know. I believe what you are getting is as it could possiblely be for the grit you are using. I believe I did say 600 was about it for me. Did the first grades come up easier than in the past? It maybe that at a certain grit size you will have to revert to your experienced way of doing it. And as I did also say I just don't know on getting to that "clean" finish.Sure is easy to tell if the sandpaper is cutting or not, just as you said. I sure appreciate your trial. I think I may try finer grits on the next SS one I do - just a folder size blade though. Frank
 
Frank I appreciate your help and willingness to share.

I spent some time with a knifemaker several years ago that was really negative and close minded towards anything other than HIS WAY. I never want to be like that.

It dawned on me that I pretty much was being that way about this Mobil 1 stuff before.

This has all reminded me that just because I have come to some reliable ways of accomplishing what I want to, there are certainly other methods that could be just as good if not BETTER.

One of my other orders is a smaller blade with a 320X finish... I will definitely try it on that one.

Thanks for making sure I keep my eyes and ears open Frank cool 1 2thumbs

I do think this helped the paper cut a little faster. I think with the coarser grit it will make it cut a lot faster.
 
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Well if I was going to have another sign signature yours would be one of the few I would grab at. The first one was from my knife maker friend Harald Moeller. I did ask him if I could use it. He respectfully replied and explained it was a "signature." Hiis goes something like this. "Fine craftmanship is always in style" Frank
 
Nick, I have extremely limited experience with this so far (not to mention even more limited skills ;) ), but that finish in your last pic looks a little bit like when I tried this and I didn't have the blade wet enough with oil (ie, I would put a good amount of oil on to start, sand for a while, and when I would wipe it off to check progress I would tell myself there was still enough lube left on the paper and parts of the blade and continue sanding.) It SEEMED like keeping it loaded with oil helped with that problem and minimized those swirls if not eliminating them altogether. Again, I don't really have enough experience with this to be definitive, but you might try making sure it's good and wet if/when you give it another shot.

Paul
 
Well now, Paul, that is important. It's not as if a damp piece of sandpaper will do it. I make sure I get enough on the blade so that it is "wet" all over.
I was hoping to do another small blade make and satin finish today, but a visit from some of my family and a rotten cold limited my time out there. Frank
 
mobile1

I tried it, I liked it!

What do you use Frank to get inside the grind of a hollow ground knife? I use a 8 or 10" wheel. I tried last night with a rubber pad using finger pressure but saw quickly that I was loosing line crispness. Any suggestions?

Thanks-
 
Here's what I use. It has worked well for my folder blades. I don't do any fixed blade work. I do almost 100% of my blade grinding with a 10" wheel. I have a piece of canvas micarta about 1" wide in an arc of an 8" circle. The arc is about 1 1/2' high at the mid point, and allows me to hold on better than a thin piece that follows the arc. I cut strips to use on this. Frank
 
Frank,

I may have to put you on my 'Hero' list.

I started reading this thread shortly after it started and thought your advise merited a try so I got some Mobil 1 when I went to the store.

I am doing some stock removal knives out of 1084 with a differential quench and I took the finish to 800 grit. I would say I cut the hand sanding time at least in half with no hooks. After I etched them, I hit one on the buffer with white compound on a loose buff and it is an almost mirror etched finish if that makes any sense.

When it warms up enough around here to get back in the shop/garage, I will get them finished up and post some pictures.

Thanks Frank. I am really impressed.

Carey
 
Well, dang it. I thought I was through spending money on knife stuff for this week but it looks like I'll have to go buy Mobil 1 now. WD 40 works fine so far, but I'm willing to try anything that cuts the time spent on my least favorite part of knifemaking in half.
 
The folder I have the 416 bolsters on is my first tactical. The blade is S30V. It's the first of that kind I've used. Gee did the Mobil 1 do a nice job for me !! I only went to 400 grit on this one It looked good, so I stopped. No, I'm not selling the stuff. Frank
 
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