A short post here on how I got a mirror finish. I did mirror finished years ago, but quickly fell out of love with a mirror finish when I realized how quickly they got scratches and stuff during use. Plus it was fairly time consuming, sand to 1200 grit at least before starting with a buffer. A couple weeks ago somebody posted a link to this video:
and I was sorta impressed with how fast a mirror finish could be achieved. So, I ordered the buffing kit he links to. https://www.redlabelabrasives.com/p...-airway-buffing-wheels?variant=42927625076980
I normally use a 1/4hp 1750 rpm motor for buffing and it works good for wood and stuff like that. The 3450 rpm 1hp motor I used for these buffs is sorta scary it's so fast.
You can see what I started with at bottom of image, just rough metal. I put a 400 grit finish with the 2X72, then used the pink wheel and rouge, then green, then white. That mirror finish looks better in person than the photo, and from start to finish including mounting the wheels was less than 10 minutes. Yes, I was impressed for less than 10 minutes work. You can see some pits I didn't grind out with the 400 grit belt, but it shows what can be done.
I think I'll put a mirror finish on my next folder, or some knife anyway. I still don't think a mirror finish is good for a "user" knife, not if you treat a "user" knife as rough as I do anyway.
I normally use a 1/4hp 1750 rpm motor for buffing and it works good for wood and stuff like that. The 3450 rpm 1hp motor I used for these buffs is sorta scary it's so fast.
You can see what I started with at bottom of image, just rough metal. I put a 400 grit finish with the 2X72, then used the pink wheel and rouge, then green, then white. That mirror finish looks better in person than the photo, and from start to finish including mounting the wheels was less than 10 minutes. Yes, I was impressed for less than 10 minutes work. You can see some pits I didn't grind out with the 400 grit belt, but it shows what can be done.
I think I'll put a mirror finish on my next folder, or some knife anyway. I still don't think a mirror finish is good for a "user" knife, not if you treat a "user" knife as rough as I do anyway.
