There
are many ways to reach the desired finish on your knife
- from hand sanding up through the various grades,
to
hi-tech micro finishing belts and diamond finishing
pastes. No one way is right or wrong, your knife will
be judged on the finished product and not the system
you use to get it there. The process you adopt and
master
depends more on your dedication to achieving a good
finish than anything else.
I started my system way
back in '85 on a hobbyist budget, by gluing odd belt
material around home made wooden contact wheels to grind
my first blades, then going on to a finer paper for
the finishing. Although slightly more refined today
the basic process remains very much the same. If you
are having problems in this area, perhaps you'd like
to give it a try.
Image 1
Once the heat treatment of your knife is complete your
first step should be to sand the ricasso and any other
flat areas on your blade.
The guard has been cut
to fit the notch in the blade and will have its slot
cut once the ricasso has been sanded to 1200 grit. For
further information, view the Guards and Bolsters articles
by clicking here.
Image 2
Prior to heat treating, the blade and flats were finished
on a 220 grit belt and disc. The flats are now sanded
as shown on the disc running at +- 950 r.p.m. - Note
the position the blade is held on the disc which spins
clockwise and pulls the knife directly away from your
left hand while the champagne cork gently applies pressure.
Use 400, 800, and 1200 Wet or Dry paper (used dry).
It is advisable to blast the paper with hi-pressure
compressed air to remove/unclog the disc of all metal
dust frequently.
Image 3
The blade should now look something like this - the
flats finely sanded but now extend onto the tang and
have thickened along the top edge of the blade.
Image 4
The tang should now be carefully sanded against a dull
50 grit disc to ensure it is flat (all possible warpages
removed) and the run-out is in line with the back of
the guard position as shown, refer to the Tapering Tang
article by clicking here.
Image 5
At this stage we take time off to complete the guard,
so it is ready to fit the knife once we have completed
the blade. If you end up scratching the ricasso or blade
in this process - rather now than once you have finished
the blade.
To
continue this tutorial click here.
.
