chasing scratches

6

69*camaro

Well-Known Member
Building a hunting knife for a friend for Christmas. All done but time to buff, found a scratch in the stainless bolster that I could not stand. Back to grinder and whoops, just ruined the bolster completely. It seems I am having a tough time with the stainless bolsters lately. I am getting marks that do not polish out completely smooth. I used to think building knives was fun!!!???
 
It can happen .and unfortunately it did.
Do a better viewing of before any polishing and if there still is scratches when you are into the final finishing then remove them with hand sanding. Frank
 
I feel your pain. Any chance you can make a 'design' change and match the sides? Just a thought...Teddy
 
Every time you change grit in hand sanding, get every scratch out from the previous grit, changing direction 45° to see when to change again. It takes time and patience if you seek perfection.
 
I'm on the same page as LRB.... I change directions when changing grit size to make sure all of the scratched from the pervious grit are gone. I also use an overhead adjustable light to get the glare on the shinny surface just right so that I can see any un wanted scratches that need to go...
Jeff
 
Time to throw on the fine Scotchbrite belt for a quick design modification.
I still wonder why I chase a high mirror polish sometimes but you gotta have a plan B just in case.

Rudy
 
thanks guys! I am trying to make palm swells on the handles and having trouble nicking the bolster. I need to rethink the process. That one was really aggravating!!!!
 
Don't use "polishing" or buffing to remove scratches.
ALL! scratches need to be removed up to and beyond 2000 grit before you buff.
And stay away from the grinder when doing ANY finish work.

And, one tip on scratch removal: When sanding out scratches, you're not sanding scratches. You're sanding everything that's not a scratch. :3:
 
I have been using boss's Norax belts and taking everything to 5 microns. Will the 2000 grit get me a finer finish?

Karl, that is a good reminder about sanding everything that is not a scratch. When I forget that I usually end up with a mistake.
 
Rudy joly taught me a trick. I went to using trizac belts. From 220 right on up to 3500. I go through every grit lightly. Then after I go through all belts I buff lightly with green then over to pink..

Now on the flip side. Before I move onto the green and pink wheels , I sometimes use felt wheels with grey on one then green on the other before I move onto the the soft buff of green and pink.

When all else fail ( which has been happening to me lately ) just give it a satin finish. Grab some 12 or 1500 and sweep the bolsters. I'm actually starting to like that look better .. The bolster don't scratch by looking at them anymore . Lol.
 
Thanks Mike.
On top of all that....If a full 2" belt is interfering with shaping your handles, which I think was the original problem. I use a 1" belt to blend the bolsters and entire handle. The 1" belt gives much more control and conforms better in slack belting. Better radii and rounding of tight angles. Angle and pressure plays a big role but that's something that you have to perfect on your own. I also loosen the belt tension on my machine (B-2) but that's not always possible on some machines.Try new things. Also like I said before....have a plan B, tape and a scotchbrite belt.

Rudy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top