320 Handsanded Finish

Justin W.

Justin W.

Well-Known Member
Hey guys like many of my fellow knifemakers I HATE HANDSANDING! It’s so tedious and it honestly can be soul crushing if I working on a batch of blades. Typically I take my blades up to a 600 grit hand satin. It’s clean and seems like a good working finish. My question to you guys is what’s wrong with a 320 grit finish? I came off the grinder at 400 grit and then I started my handsanding process but this time once I got done with 320 I was taking a look at the blade and realized how much I liked the heavily brushed look!

lol I swear I’m not trying to half-ass this but I am curious and would like to hear the opinions of some of the guys on here

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There's nothing at all wrong with a good 320 or 400 grit finish.

But why is going higher a big deal? How long does it take you to do a 600 or 800 grit finish on a 4" blade?

Once you have a good 320 or 400 finish it should be a breeze to take it to 800......like maybe 10-15 minutes more per side and a few strips of paper.
 
J. Doyle said:
There's nothing at all wrong with a good 320 or 400 grit finish.

But why is going higher a big deal? How long does it take you to do a 600 or 800 grit finish on a 4" blade?

Once you have a good 320 or 400 finish it should be a breeze to take it to 800......like maybe 10-15 minutes more per side and a few strips of paper.
Click to expand...
Yeah I can definitely understand that point too! Once the scratches from the belt grinder are gone things normally move along pretty quickly
 
You can make a 220 grt look great if it's nice and even,on most user knives I stop at 400. One thing about leaving off with a lower grt say below 400 is that that finish seams to attract rust on a bare carbon steel blade.
 
Hand sanding doesn't have to take a long time. This or that type of paper, or stones or what type of oil/spray/lubricant you use isn't the key. Getting good on the grinder is the key. Being able to get CLEAN, FLAT grinds that are even with no dips or humps or facets is the most important key to speeding up hand sanding.

This hunter size blade will only take 25 mins per side MAX to get it to a clean 1000 grit finish.

 
J. Doyle said:
Hand sanding doesn't have to take a long time. This or that type of paper, or stones or what type of oil/spray/lubricant you use isn't the key. Getting good on the grinder is the key. Being able to get CLEAN, FLAT grinds that are even with no dips or humps or facets is the most important key to speeding up hand sanding.

This hunter size blade will only take 25 mins per side MAX to get it to a clean 1000 grit finish.

Click to expand...
I’ll be the first to admit my flat grinds need to get a lot better
 
I typically do a 400 grit finish. I like the look and nothing wrong with going higher or lower. Heck I did a 60 grit and quit right off the grinder on a folder I made myself and love the look.
 
I've started going to an 800 finish on the blade with 400 on the flats. I should have at least one to show done this way this coming week.
 
I guess I’ll be the one dissenting opinion here, but in my opinion, that finish looks “unfinished” to me. I’d rather see a final finish like J.Doyle’s “before hand sanding” than a hand rub that stops at that coarse of a grit. Just my opinion.
For something that will hopefully last a hundred years, what’s a couple extra hours of sanding? :D
 
I like a little higher grit finish too. 600 satan or 800 hand polished. Justin’s knife probably looks better in person not that it looks bad now but photography will make everything stand out. Hey Justin, try opauls suggestion on the gray scotchbrite pads. He brought it up awhile back and I tried it. I really like it, you will too. :)
 
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