Thread: Pits in New Razor While Buffing

Hi Guys,
i am making a few razors out of some CPMS30V steel i had on hand. i have not used this steel before and have come across a problem i have not had before.
i followed my usual routine for stainless steels - belt grind down to 600 grit, drop back to 360 to begin hand rubbing with wet/dry paper with water and bicarb soda, progressing up through a few stages to 800 grit. Then send out for vacuum heat treatment {this time to 58 Rockwell}.
On return back to hand sand with wet/dry, water and bicarb 800, 1200, 1500 & 2000grit. Under a magnifier with fluro light (you know the round ones} it looks good with only the 2000 grit scratch pattern - very fine.
Then i buff with green compound followed by white - both on soft cotton buffs.
This time, after the green {haven't gone to white yet} on half the blades i have had very small, random pits appear. There seems to be no pattern and it is not on all blades or both sides every time that has appeared.
i am looking for a cause. i keep the buffs and compounds in sealed plastic containers in the workshop to avoid contamination. Due to the lack of pattern and it being pits and not scratches i tend to discount contamination anyway. Could it be inclusions in the steel revealed when a very fine layer is buffed off? Really could not see them before buffing; and buffing for me is a very light finish after all the hand work. As i said, have not used this steel before and i have not had it occur with any of the other steels i use in knives and razors.
Any feedback from the voices of experience will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks & Regards,

I have no idea what the cause could be but I have two words for a solution...

satin finish.

While I haven't worked with it personally, I have heard that S30V doesn't take a mirror polish well. Something to do with the carbide structure. Try CPM S35VN for a similar steel that takes a high finish, it was developed to finish better than its predecessor.

I have no idea about on Str8's but my Knives that are in CPM-S30V take a great mirror edge. Maybe a bad batch?

I think that has to do with how hones and buffers polish steel in different ways. It's possible to put a great looking edge on D2, but that alloy is famous for the "orange peel" look when you try to buff it. I'm guessing that hones cut different carbides fairly uniformly, while a buffer will cut the softer ones more aggressively.

That would explain why it looked just fine until you started buffing.

Thanks Guys,
yeah - i don't seem to have a problem getting a great finish on D2, so i figure if i keep using this steel i just need to experiment more with finishing techniques, or go back to others. i have a a few knives in this underway and the performance of edge strength and edge holding coupled with the extra work {even annealed it takes more work than RWL34, 440C or similar - maybe even a little more than D2} will decide if i pursue it.
Thanks for the input.