Finish and Polish for Knives

I have finished a few knives using SuperGlue after reading many posts about it and I like the way it finishes up. It seems to be really durable as well. I tend to have some difficulty cleaning and polished where the super glue covers the metal of the blade, for example, on the spine. it is quite possible that some of my difficulty stems from lack of cleanup before applying the glue. That has certainly been the case at least once. If anyone has any tips for finishing the SuperGlue over metal, I would appreciate it. My typical process is to clean the handles, apply a couple of coats of SuperGlue, let it dry then wet sand with about 400 grit. Apply another…

How do ya'll store sand paper? I have sand paper scattered through my shop and makes it hard to find the grit I'm looking for sometimes. I am just trying to find a way to store the sand paper that comes in piece about the size of a piece of copy paper. Any body have and easy way that doesn't take up much space? Thanks in advance! Littleblacksmith

So i have access to some Red oak and White oak, and i was wondering, if i use this for knife handles and such does it need stabilized? Since it's a harder wood i wasn't sure, and then to piggy back on that, do you finish the wood first (i use linseed oil) then stabilize, or stabilize then finish?

Finished a letter-opener with some scrap Damascus steel. Well mostly finished still have to attach the purple heart wood handle. I have taken it to a 1200 Grit finish and etched in a 5 to 1 mix of ferric chloride and water. Just wondering how much different it will come out if I take it higher to say 2000 grit sand.

The only way I have been able to get ferric chloride is to order it in the powder form..I have a pound coming..Does anyone know what they usual powder=water ratio is? What works best for you?

Hey Folks! I found some great reference material in the Knife Making Classes section... I learn something new each time I go there! I didn't see much on finishing micarta, however. What's your guys favorite way to finish micarta? Do you polish it up? Do you leave it rough? I've been sanding to a 200 grit and hitting it with a light coat of mineral oil to make the layers really pop... but I'm not too happy with my finish. Thanks!

Hey guys so I am trying to experiment with different coatings and such, I have tried ceracoat wich I like the options everything from black or earth colors even bright colors, however I would like it to be a lil more durable, I had tried that specificly because I figured regular paint would wear and scratch off pretty quick. yes it is more durable than spray paint and more even profeshional look but I wish it was alil bit more durable has any one used this is there any tricks to get it wear less? what about dura coat ?? I haven't tried that is it any better, I also did one or 2 blades cold blue and its ok, I sand blasted one knife, I am just playing around right now and a…

Let me begin by saying that I am no pro. I hope one day I can be as good as some of the smiths on this site. I also apologize for low picture quality. Anyways, I just finished up this knife last night. It's far from perfect, but I am satisfied with it. The heat treat went very well, it fits my hand nicely, its sharper than sharp and it holds an edge well. But I am not a very good wood worker. The scales are rudimentary at best. The edges all the way around the scale are rounded, but the surface is flat. It feels a little too "square-ish." Any tips for a newbie? How do some of you guys make the scales so beautiful?! I know, practice, practice, practice, but anything …

Not for sure where to post this, so here it is. Has anyone ever stacked and glued up pieces of flooring tiles to make handle material? I know it's kind of far out, but I saw some green, blue, and gray tiles the other day and brought some home. I haven't glued any up yet, but I cut a few into scale sized pieces. They do kind of have a chalky residue when you cut them. Any experience? This may be a fruitless endeavour. I'll post the success or failure. Thanks.

Looking for opinions on epoxy what do you guys use

Is it possible to stabilize wood with tung oil?

So when i first started doing my knives using damascus steel i etched them using boiling vinnegar. Then after that i was told it didnt need to be boiling and that it could just be room temp vinnegar. And then somone suggested i might see better results by using coffee. So i decided to give it a go and here are the results. Now im happy with the etch for the most part but this etch method has left the steel with these weird colours on it, kinda gold to almost a grey blue. Is this the normal effect of a coffee etch? Also this was after 1.5 hours of etching. Over all while the coffee definately works im not quite happy with it. Il be stripping this one off and trying to etch…

I like a bump and grind as much as the next guy, just not so much when I'm finishing up a blade. Has anyone found seamless belts for 2x72 grinder - especially for the finer grits (300+)? So far my Google-fu is weak or it just doesn't look like anyone produces such an item. If no such creature exists I'm looking for recommendations for 2x72 belts that don't have much bump at the seam in the finer grits. It's not enough of a problem at the low end to worry about, but it surely can be annoying on the others.

I know and understand that most folks HATE blade coatings of any kind. I would still like to try some and judge for myself. Many factory knives are being done with newer products that appear to hold up better. Please don't give me all the negative reasons why they are 'bad'- have heard them all for years. Anyone have first-hand recent experience with black blade coatings that work? What did you use? How has it held up for you? Thanks, Dave

hey guys so what I have figured out about this orange peel texture that shows up sometimes is I think it comes from heat and its only on the surface (or at least not all the way through) I had originally noticed this when I would temper a blade low on purpose then grind it do a brass rod test and re temper until its good I have done this on new steels or when I change something in the heat treat. I have recently noticed it showing up on a couple blades when I am grinding them. these blades were not re tempered they were profiled hardened liquid nitrogen and temper. so maybe one of you guys can educate me on this a lil as far as where it comes from and if there is a way to…

Hey guys....so i got some white diamond compound for use on handles...so i used it once or twice on a buffing wheel. hadnt been used enough where it was loaded and starting to cake on the wheel yet. so i was using black g10 handle material and did the shaping on the grinder then when i went to move to the buffing wheel i was stupid usually i clean it off before i buff this time i didnt i wiped the handle (with my shirt) and took it right to the buffer the wheel instantly turned black (it did buff the handle fine) i guess all the exxecess residue on the black g10 transfered to the wheel. so now my question is is that wheel contaminated should i only use that buff on handle…

Hey guys so i had some one ask me about if i could coat a knife black at the time flat out no.....but got me thinking i like that look myself on certain knives even grey or tan SOMETIMES. so i did some research i heard about moly coat but the 2 that keep poping up are dura coat and cera coat.......has any one ever done this any ideas on what companys are better or worse or even colors that came out good i would appreciate any info i deffinitly want to try it but its not cheap so i dont want to waste too much money experimenting if some one can help wit that THANKs guys

hey guys so today i was working on a blade and these weird circle like things show up on the blade....at first i thought it was a finger print or ya know how while grinding you dip the blade in water to cool and the water dries and leaves a spot that is exactly what this looks like but this wont wipe off or even grind off! i started to notice it about 220 grit and 400 and 600 (thats where i stoped for the day since i was getting fustrated) but these marks are still there in the exact same place (so i know its the same mark not a series of them) i have NEVER seen something like this and its not to distinct like i said looks like a fingerprint and you gota catch it at the r…

Ok so people have started ordering some knives from me and for the most part i have been comfortable with the orders as they are nothing fancy. However i just got one that i have never heard of before and wanted to know if anyone has any expierience with it. One of the guys I work with has asked me to make a 6" hunting knife from damascus, he wants to use some wood that he has lying around the house for his handle material but he wants it to be able to be removed. Like he wants to be able to just take that wood off if he wants and replace it with a different material or reshape it or change it out so its more comfortable in the left hand or the right. Im sure pe…

I'm getting ready to apply my handle scales on a black bush craft style knife I made out of a old file. my question is that I think it would look good with copper liners and pins. I have never done copper pins but have worked bronze and brass. copper is a lot softer and I would like to avoid any issues. any tips would be appreciated.

Hey guys this may seem like a strange question but anyway i am in the middle of creating a couple '"prototype" blades for testing and if things go well i am going to make a couple of each design to sell (i have a few people waiting for me to sell some) but i am also making a knife for a friend and she wants pink handles...ok no problem there but i dont want a plain knife with just pink handles it needs to have something else to the design first i thought bolsters but brass and pink would look horible so SS and pink might look ok but i am NOT polishing this blade since she will be using it for light stuff and when you polish that kinda knife it scratches bad and i dont t…

Good Afternoon everyone, I've been working on a batch of Puukkos (a Finnish general purpose knife) for practice and have encountered a problem while grinding the bevel on the cutting edge.I'm finding that the grinding is actually distorting the curve leading to the tip. I'm afraid this may be due to over-grinding on my part (grinding until it's sharp), or maybe my setup (blade champed to the table, using an angle grinder for rough work and then a handheld belt sander for refining the bevel and cleanup). The only other thing I can think of is that I may be doing things out of order. In what order do you guys put edges on tools? I've attached an image to try …

Team, I have been trying to locate a cup grinding wheel with rubberized diamond abrasive. I have seen this used by a knife maker in Alabama. I have a resin bonded cup wheel which works well but sometimes chatters. Anyone know of a source for this.

Hey guys quick question. right now i have the kmg grinder with a flat platen and a small contact wheel. I just ordered a 10 in serated contact wheel.My question is what can i accomplish with the wheel that i couldnt with the platen. I ordered it for 2 things i want to try and learn how to hollow grind and also i want to be able to get those long sweeping rounded grind line that people keep telling me it is MUCH eaiser to do with a wheel. but i dont want to limit my self i want to try everything i can with this wheel and i am sure there are some things i am not thinking of that can be done with a wheel. thanks guys

Im looking for a good belt sander for forging knifes any good places to buy one?