authentic varnish/finish

[Orcrist]

so i've been making knives since 2003 and i'm now trying to get all the right touch ups. i'm at 1500 grit sandpaper right now, and it gives such a shine a chick could do her hair looking at the thing. i'm looking for paper around 3000 range but i cant seem to buy it at any of the local hardware stores ect. i've heard something about pens and fine sandpaper? and the big question is where can i find colophony rosin. crystalized pine tree sap. i know plain rosin is used for violins ect. but i cant seem to find colophony anywhere. i'm using it for a beeswax/rosin/turpentine farnish on the blade. plz let me know if theres anywhere you can buy it, or possible a better varnish. i'm looking for something really old school though... like a couple hundred years old school :confused:

[Drewed]

I googled "colophony rosin for sale" and got:
Colophony Pine Rosin
and
TalasOnline.com - Colophony Rosin

Don't know if that helps in BC or not.

[HWooldridge]

Toothpaste works pretty well for high shine past a certain level of grind - so does a product called Simichrome.

[ThomasPowers]

Anything after 1600 is *modern*; as my primary focus is pre Y1K we usually go with 1: nothing, 2: Beeswax applied and then heated to soak in and then burnished/buffed 3: one of the drying oils like linseed oil, walnut oil, etc. (note using the old versions maye require extra work to get them to polymerize, sunlight helps!).

Now for bone/ivory sifted wood ashes applied with a little water and then shoeshined with a strip of woolen cloth can get you a finish folks will swear is buffed with a powered buffer (Theophilus mentions this in Divers Arts written circa 1120 AD.)