Specific hand sanding question

Chris Railey

Chris Railey

Well-Known Member
I am going to try another first for me and sand to 1000 grit then back to 600. My plan is to go straight back to 600 grit after 1000 and only sand one direction concentrating on a uniform scratch (satin) finish. Since I have not done this before am I missing something?
 
The biggest hurdle is avoiding "fish hooks" in the finish.....those are areas, usually were a pass starts or ends. It's nothing more then just a VERY slight sideways motion that naturally occurs with the way your body moves, and will appear as a "smear" in the finish. It might take a bit of practice, but the key is even strokes, both in speed and pressure. OR.....you could "cheat" like I do and use one of these for the final finish......

handblock.jpg


;););)

Those are my "secret weapon" for satin finishes...... you really have to try hard with them to leave any fish hooks.
 
Chris Railey said:
I am going to try another first for me and sand to 1000 grit then back to 600. My plan is to go straight back to 600 grit after 1000 and only sand one direction concentrating on a uniform scratch (satin) finish. Since I have not done this before am I missing something?
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Why wouldn’t you just cross hatch sand to 600? It seems to me that by going to 1000 first, you’d get bright spots between the 600 scratch marks. I’m really asking here because I have no clue.
 
I'm kind of in the boat as Kevin. Why not just stop at 600. Do clean pulls one way and call it good. Why put all the work into 1000 grit only to go back down?
 
From what I have heard from others, taking it beyond your target finish grit, you are assuring there are no deeper scratches waiting at target grit that may show up in a more unforgiving light. I do this with my belt sanded finishes as well, seems to work well.
 
Chris Railey said:
Thanks Ed I have been looking for an excuse to buy one of those I guess this is it.
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Those sandflex Ed recommended are very handy. He suggested them in another hand sanding thread I started and I bought them right away. And I'm glad I did.

There are 3 grits. Course, medium and fine. I suggest you get all three. They're pretty cheap and well worth the money.
 
So, Ed. Just out of curiosity (I'm very interested now), you use the medium for a satin finish. What kind of finish does the fine leave?
 
Motor City Mike said:
Those sandflex Ed recommended are very handy. He suggested them in another hand sanding thread I started and I bought them right away. And I'm glad I did.

There are 3 grits. Course, medium and fine. I suggest you get all three. They're pretty cheap and well worth the money.
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Already otw from Amazon.
 
So, Ed. Just out of curiosity (I'm very interested now), you use the medium for a satin finish. What kind of finish does the fine leave?
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These actually don't do much cutting, it's more of polishing the finish grit you've already applied. I find that the medium has just enough grit to clean up a 600 grit finish, and the Fine clean up 1200+ grit finishes well.
When I first saw these, the folks at Tru-Grit sent them to me to "test". I thought they were like the sanding sponges you see in hardware stores...but they are MUCH harder and denser...... kinda like a hard eraser with grit in it.

I also use them for satin finishing the fronts of guards, and a bunch or other chores where things need "cleaned up" but not scratched up.
 
Just question in the procedures of use Ed; do you hand sand to straight 600 first and then use the hand block, or from a toothy 600 hand sanding?
 
Not sure what you mean by "straight 600" and "toothy 600"? Not knowing that, I would say that it's one of those things you'd have to experiment with, and figure out what works best for you. As most things with building/finishing knives, there's no single, exact methodology that is gona give each person the results they seek.

What I do is hand sand/finish as I normally would, and use the hand block as the final finish. I always fully finish a blade prior to installing a guard or bolsters.....that way the finish is smooth and even at the blade/guard juncture. For me, any time I've tried to do the final finish on a blade with a guard/bolster in place, it never works out..... generally I get "fish hooks" just in front of the guard/bolsters..... so I don't do that anymore. :)
 
Johan Nel said:
Just question in the procedures of use Ed; do you hand sand to straight 600 first and then use the hand block, or from a toothy 600 hand sanding?
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My first plan is to sand 220-500-800 then finish with the block. I will evaluate and let you know how that works. Plan “B” will be 220-500-800-600-block for finish. I am shooting for a nice satin finish.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
Not sure what you mean by "straight 600" and "toothy 600"? Not knowing that, I would say that it's one of those things you'd have to experiment with, and figure out what works best for you. As most things with building/finishing knives, there's no single, exact methodology that is gona give each person the results they seek.

What I do is hand sand/finish as I normally would, and use the hand block as the final finish. I always fully finish a blade prior to installing a guard or bolsters.....that way the finish is smooth and even at the blade/guard juncture. For me, any time I've tried to do the final finish on a blade with a guard/bolster in place, it never works out..... generally I get "fish hooks" just in front of the guard/bolsters..... so I don't do that anymore. :)
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Sorry about my vague descriptions, Ed. I was referring to handsanding to a 600 with j-marks or 600 in one direction, as in final sanding.
 
Chris Railey said:
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My first plan is to sand 220-500-800 then finish with the block. I will evaluate and let you know how that works. Plan “B” will be 220-500-800-600-block for finish. I am shooting for a nice satin finish.
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Looking forward to your feed back.
 
OH! OK! Sand straight! If you put "fresh" J-hooks in, the hand block doesn't have enough grit to completely remove them. It just smooths and cleans things up.... doesn't do a great deal of cutting. It's more of a finishing versus a setup tool.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
OH! OK! Sand straight! If you put "fresh" J-hooks in, the hand block doesn't have enough grit to completely remove them. It just smooths and cleans things up.... doesn't do a great deal of cutting. It's more of a finishing versus a setup tool.
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To make sure I understand, you would sand to 600, finishing with single direction pulls then clean up and final finish with the block? I am just looking for a good place to start. My satin finish does not compare to yours...I am trying to get better.
 
Yes, that's the way I do it. The hand block isn't something that will allow you to get away with anything, nor is it anything "magic".....it just makes the finish of the end product much nicer and easier. (less frustrating).

I guess the best way I could describe it is..... like a buffer, you can't remove heavy grit scratches with a buffer.....all that will do is get you "buffed over" heavy grit scratches..... kinda the same thing with the hand block. The best thing about the hand block is that you CAN go back and forth, and not get the J hooks that you would with sandpaper.....well, maybe you could, but I never have. :)
 
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