How to make wood handles shiny and smooth?

That's a pretty big jump in grits Pedro,but give it a try and see what happens.
The couple of times I have gone higher than 800, the next grit I used was 1200,
and honestly,there was only a slight difference that I could tell
(on wood that is: steel will show the difference).
The automotive supply stores don't carry higher grits?
1200 isn't unusual to find there,and some carry higher than that.
Maybe your best bet is to order on-line from one of the knife supply folks here.
I'm sure someone can fix you up with what you need.
 
automotive supply stores?

My problem with online is that I have almost no money to buy supplies with ( I haven't tried making a knife in over 4 months because I have no steel nor wood to work with.) and I have pay shipping+supplies so im trying to find stuff around my area.
 
I hear ya brother, I'm pretty much in the same boat.
Most automotive body shops/paint shops/supply stores carry wet-dry sandpaper,
often up to 1000-1200 grit.
Also,check local marine supply stores,I found some 3M wet-dry up to 1200 grit
at a marine supply store in my area.
(for when they do hull prep for paint)
Seriously though,unless you're doing a $10,000 exhibition grade collectible knife,
600-800 grit will do you plenty well!
99% of the knives that have seen time on my bench felt smooth and silky
with 600 grit and a bit of a buffing with a wax sealer/finish.

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Haha alright :) thank you very much for answering all my questions, it was a tremendous amount of help.

P.s. That is a very nice knife right there :)
 
I've found up to 2000 grit 3M paper in the automotive section at Walmart. In my experience things like Desert Ironwood just start to show their real potential at 600 grit.
 
I use 3M micron-graded finishing paper to polish wood. I think that it's designed for precious-metal work, but I love it for wood. The cloth like texture makes it easy to get into contours, and each sheet lasts almost forever. You do have to order it, though (I use the jewelry supply company Rio Grande).

This box was simply sanded to 8000-grit. I lightly oiled the maple parts, but the pink ivory and ebony are raw wood.
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Phillip
 
Haha alright :) thank you very much for answering all my questions, it was a tremendous amount of help.

P.s. That is a very nice knife right there :)

I'm right happy if anything I've said helps ya brother.
There are a million ways to do most anything, but some things just have a systematic way that gets best results,
and sometimes we all find something that works best for us.
Oh,and that knife? it was all done to 600 grit,handle and steel (hand-rubbed satin finish) :)
 
That is a beautiful knife ill tell ya :) It just made me realize you don't need a mirror finish to make a beautiful knife :p
 
Yeah. I rough shaped a lot of that box with 50-grit on the spindle sander, the rest was done by hand. First I progressed through 220x with standard sandpaper, then moved from 400 through 8000 with the finishing paper.
 
does skipping from lets say 600 grit to 2000-3000 grit either not do anything to the wood or just take a lot of work to get results? I don't have enough money to really spend on 800-1200-1500-2000-2500-then 3000, so if I could skip that would be great.
 
Thanks Pedro,it's a lil' 3 Finger + design of mine called the Maverick,
and Jeff Mutz is the fella who made the blades for me.
440 C stainless and a good heat-treat,and this lil'
sucker cuts pretty impressive for a small knife.
The real beauty of a knife is how it performs,
but if it looks good doing it,well that's just gravy!
:)
 
The basic rule of thumb is that you can double the number each time you switch grits. This can be fudged a bit with experimentation. Too big of a gap will waste time and never really achieve the desired results.

My favorite progression for knife handles goes: 60(ao), 100(ao), 220(sic), 400(finishing paper), 1200(finishing paper), 4000(finishing paper) and maybe 8000 for the harder woods.

The finishing paper works better than regular automotive abrasives for a few reasons. The texture of the paper itself is better: softer and more flexible. The abrasive grit is micron graded AO instead of silicon carbide. This abrasive is less aggressive so it acts like a finer grit and helps burnish the wood's surface (presses the fibers together resulting in a harder surface). It also cleans the dust off as it cuts. This is especially nice when using light and dark woods together. Regular sandpaper will stain light-colored woods.

Phillip

p.s. I looked at the knives your referenced. The finish on those handles looks like something you could achieve with Tru-Oil and 0000 steel wool (after proper sanding of course). They are polished, but not super shiny (or at least it looks that way). The steel wool will leave a lower polish than 8k sandpaper.
 
Ironwolf- Haha right on! :D Although I've never been a fan of the utility of 440C i've never tried it with good heat treating. Im trying to get my hands on O1 at junk yards right now if im ever gonna make a knife by the end of the year :p

Phillip-so from what grit sandpaper would I start usnig the steel wool?
 
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What is the brightest red or green colored wood you know thats good for knife handles and would they need any kind of oil protectant?
 
Yeah. I rough shaped a lot of that box with 50-grit on the spindle sander, the rest was done by hand. First I progressed through 220x with standard sandpaper, then moved from 400 through 8000 with the finishing paper.

Phillip,that box is stunning man!
Thanks for the info on the sandpaper,I'm gonna stock up and start using that asap!
 
Ironwolf- Haha right on! :D Although I've never been a fan of the utility of 440C i've never tried it with good heat treating. Im trying to get my hands on O1 at junk yards right now if im ever gonna make a knife by the end of the year :p

Phillip-so from what grit sandpaper would I start usnig the steel wool?

I'm not sure when it would be best to use steel wool. I always polish fully with sandpaper and bring the finish back down with the wool (if desired). I'm sure this is not the most efficient route.

As far a a red colored wood goes, the first things that come to mind are bloodwood, cocobolo, padauk, and amboyna. Bloodwood will have an advantage in that the color won't darken as much with age as the others. On the downside, it's rather plain. All of these woods will look good with an oil finish, with coco and amboyna being denser and less porous.
 
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