Buffing compounds

[Dan W]

Need some advise.
What buffing compounds, grit, etc is the best to use on knives?
I'm not a big fan of highly polished blades but am trying to achieve a semi polished finish.

[LDW]

Hey Jafo, personally I have started only using the finest grit or polish. For years I was searching for a miracle compound to make things go easier, even found some that would produce sparks from the buffing wheel but it dried out very easily and got hard as a rock. I have learned I can hand sand with various grits of sand paper to get a mirror finish within about 2 hours on most blades. I start with 220 grit usually sometimes rougher, and go all the way to 2000 grit if wanted. Once you get past 400 grit its easy to clean a blade up with 600 then 800 ...

Edited September 19, 2008 by LDW

[Rich Hale]

Compounds and types of buffing wheels are rather specific to the type of steels you use. I use mostly Stainless and put all of my information on mirror polishing in bp0235 that bp should resurface in the not too distant future. I think the absolute best semi-poflished finish in myopinion is to take it all the way to mirror polish and assure there are not flaws. Then hand sand with a small ,contoured block with some 600 wet or dry paper useing long carful strokes to prevent fish hooks when you change directions. The flat of the blade in the rikasso area has to bee done before fitting the guards. If you contact any of the knife materials suppliers and tell them what steel you use they will guide you to the right stuff. I personnally deal with K & G in Lakeside AZ as Ken ,the owner is a knife maker. If you have a 2" X 72" inch belt sander they make a huge difference in finishing a blade. I can plish a four inch hunter to mirror in less than a half hour and the time spent on a buffer is less than five minutes of that. As LDW says above, it can all be done by hand if that is what you have to work with.