I was just wondering if anyone uses a oscillating sander for knife making? I recently noticed one at my local homedepot and thought it could serve many purposes for curved handles and tight to get places when doing stock removal? Anyone think its worth it? I am new to all of this and figured i might get a few tips to help me out, Thanks for all the advise,Charlie

One problem is the abrasive sleeves. they are meant for wood and if you use it for wooden handles it will work fine. If you use it on metal the sleeves will not last long. That areas you would use this on for wooden handles is small and can be hand sanded in a fairly short time with abrasives wrapped around a dowel.

I use a snap on Dual action sander (air powered) for LIGHT stock removal (using a coarse, i.e. 60, 80, 120 or 180 grit sanding disc) and intermediate polishing. This is different from the sander in your pic (but is a similar principle) as it is a hand held tool that takes abrasive sanding discs.

A sander like this would normally be used for bodywork prep and paint removal in an automotive sprayshop.

It is a good CHEAP (but only compared to) substitute to belt sanding or grinding equipment that you can MAKE DO WITH if you are a beginner, but can only do so much.

I still like them, though. They can do a nice polish if you have the skill to keep them flat.

I used to use something completely different, but to the same end.

Have a look here

Laventrix knife forum

I would have probably bought that machine instead of the mandrels.

I use a Radiusmaster grinder now and make most knives using the 3 wheels on the Radiasmaster now.

As intimated the sleeves might wear out quickly, the mandrels did but made a big difference with finish.

Stewart