cedarghost

Hi Theo, can you send me a PM as well? Is this open to novice/journeyman knife makers as well?

Wish I could get the pictures to show up in the knife making thread. Hard to visualize some of the stuff.

Thanks Steve. Good stuff. Yes they are running the right direction and they're not Nortons. My low grits (up to 120)are Norton's and are plenty smooth. this is the debone suggestion I've had for trizact so I ordered a couple. will report back the results

I know I have a few issues with my grinder I need to sort out, but I'm looking for recommendations for 400 -1000 grit belts, 2x72. i use norton 46, 80 and 120. No problems at all. My 220 and 400 belts are super thin and "bump" when grinding on the platen. These belts are so thin that they twist up all over themselves after you take them back off and hang them up. I think that's a lot of the issue. My 600, 800 and 1000 belts bump a little bit but not as bad as the 220 and 400. The main problem I have with the 600 - 1000 is that they are the grey colored belts and they sometimes leave grey streaks on the metal and especially wood of a handle. Thanks in advance.

Makes sense!

Will do. Thanks for the point in the right direction Thomas.

Awesome. What do you recommend as a masking agent?

Top knife was the first, bottom was the second. Ignore the other issues like the liners. Learned a hard lesson there...haha

Sometimes my mind takes flight when it should be sleeping and thus was the case in the wee hours of the morning today. For some reason I got to thinking about damascus (my wife says I always have metal on the brain). Anyway, maybe one of you well-rested, wiser, guys can answer this fore me. Is it possible to get a different degree of etch on the bevel and the flat of a damascus blade by etching with FC or your normal agent, then sanding the bevels and re-etching with something milder like coffee or vinegar? Someone has to have tried it, right? As always thanks in advance!

Just to report back. I used blue painters tape on the spine of the knife and it worked great. Most of the tape peeled off and the rest was easily cleaned up by hitting it with acetone and then 1500 grit.

Hahaha! Thanks! I have some. Didn't think to try it but will be worth a shot.

Thanks for confirming.

How would you do something like this on a full tang knife? Epoxy the material together before attaching to the knife? Thanks,

Yes. A respiratory and ventilation is definitely in order!

No doubt. Much appreciated

Got it. I read "lapped or buffed". Need my glasses! they are lapped belts.

I can use them for slack grinding. In need to build a contact wheel attachment too. I think that would do ok. I don't know if they're lapped or buffed. How can you tell?

Not sure if this is the place for this post or not. Im having an issue with a couple of belts I just got in. They make a rhythmic chatter when I'm grinding on the platen. I was able to turn my grinder down with one of them to minimize it. The other I just had to toss out because they were putting marks in the blade. I suspect "throw them out" and buy better belts is the advice I will get here as other belts don't chatter at all. Safe to assume it is the seam in the belts and is there anything I can attach to the platen to minimize the chatter? Im going to buy better belts but I bought ten of the 40 grit, which is what I'm getting chatter on. Two so far. I'd like to use them but if they have to go I'll just chalk it up to getting what you pay for. As always, many thanks for sharing the advice and wisdom of experience!

Good advice. Thanks. I'm glad you said that about the gel. I had been thinking of trying it out. To read your explanation answers the questions I had.

It is with the metal Frosty. And I should probably have read the directions....

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 coat. Wet sand with 600 then 800. Apply another coat then wet sand starting with 800 out to 2500. Polish with red, white, then green clay. I have used it over wood , resin cast handles and ram's horn. Thanks,

VERY cool. I have been thinking about casting egg shell. I'll have to move that goal closer to the top of the pile and do some research after seeing this.

Man I like that blade design. I have been thinking about making a "cleaver type knife" forlack of a better description and this looks like it would fit the bill. That maple looks good too. What did you finish it with?

I agree. Still a way to go and still learning something with each one. This was the first stacked type handle I have done. On the next one I will tape up the guard REALLY well. Trying to regrind and polish the guard after the handle was done was a big challenge for me. Also could've have clamped a little tighter but I misplaced my 12" bar clamp and didn't realize it until I needed it. Next time, everything gets laid out and ready to rock before I start gluing it together. Thanks for the honest feedback. Always appreciated. I built a 2 x 72 and it made a BIG difference over my Harbor Freight grinder. That and experience. I wish I could have cleaned up the spine a little better on the pine cone knife. I finished with CA glue and guess I didn't have it as clean as I thought before I started putting the glue on. Another lesson learned. Thanks Theo. That means a lot coming from you. Still a long way to go on fit and finish. I run into things every single knife that I haven't ran into before and learn a little at a time. The epoxy cleanup still stresses me out with every blade! Much appreciated. The 2 x 72 helps a lot along with the bubble jig. That and just grinding every spare minute I get.