Thread: First Straight

Just a thought: keep in mind how fragile (razor thin) the edge of a SR is and don't apply too much pressure when polishing, and as HaiKarate (love that name) said, use something very non-agressive. A non-gritty toothpaste may not be a bad start or any metal polish that doesn't have much abrasive in it (flitz?).

If I'm going to polish this guy up by hand (no dremel or other power tools), would it be better to use fine steel wool or sand paper? Can someone tell me the pros and cons of using either? Also, if steel wool is good, which grades should I use? I have some grade "0" at home. Is that a good place to start?

A lot of questions, I know! But I want to be careful, as this is a full-hollow blade.

If your gonna use steel wool start with #0000. The wool does leave particles that you have to clean out really well as the wool rusts extremely fast. As for sand paper use wet/dry (the black stuff). My advice on wet/dry paper is use all your grit progression from the same brand! I use 3m. Brand A "1000 grit" might equal brand B "400 grit", If you get what I mean. You can usually get the fine 2000, 1500, 1000, 800 grits at auto supply places. Start with finest and test it "backwards" progression style with water til it starts removing what you want then reverse it back to 2000 or however fine you want to go. Im no pro but this works for me. The #0 wool will scratch it. Id start with a mag polish or something and see how it cleans up first. Most important TAKE YOUR TIME and go easy on the pressure. If its still in the scales be double careful or the torque might crack the scales at the pin. There are others here that will give you better advice im sure but this is my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by HaiKarate

If your gonna use steel wool start with #0000. The wool does leave particles that you have to clean out really well as the wool rusts extremely fast. As for sand paper use wet/dry (the black stuff). My advice on wet/dry paper is use all your grit progression from the same brand! I use 3m. Brand A "1000 grit" might equal brand B "400 grit", If you get what I mean. You can usually get the fine 2000, 1500, 1000, 800 grits at auto supply places. Start with finest and test it "backwards" progression style with water til it starts removing what you want then reverse it back to 2000 or however fine you want to go. Im no pro but this works for me. The #0 wool will scratch it. Id start with a mag polish or something and see how it cleans up first. Most important TAKE YOUR TIME and go easy on the pressure. If its still in the scales be double careful or the torque might crack the scales at the pin. There are others here that will give you better advice im sure but this is my 2 cents.

That is very helpful. Thanks!

To get the feel for it try something I had to do in metal shop class years ago. Get a piece of scrap steel, iron, spoon, knife, whatever and scratch it up. The uglier the better. Then work it back to a mirror polish. Thats good practice for sure.