Thread: How to Get that Mirrored Finish

It is not a dramatic frown, and can be fixed. Honestly the hone wear and the pitting will be the worst of it. It will be good to work on that blade. It is a great teacher.

Originally Posted by RezDog

It is not a dramatic frown, and can be fixed. Honestly the hone wear and the pitting will be the worst of it. It will be good to work on that blade. It is a great teacher.

Awesome, that's a relief. I really appreciate your input.

As far as fixing the frown, hone wear and pitting, are the tools necessary available at a local hardware store or will I have to order supplies online?

you really should read through that file first. The stuff you need to fix the pitting as best it can be fixed is available at the hardware store, the hone wear is not something that the average guy can fix. In order to do that you would need a proper grinder, which is typically a 2x72 belt sander. They are not cheap and come with a long learning curve. There are many things that are beyond the realm of us mere mortals.

And don't use a dremel tool...to much can go wrong. I smoked one of my best blades with a dremel tool...and I use grinders ,sanders, cut of tools, for 40 years doing autobody work...and that dremel still bit me !!!

When you see true mirror finish on things like watches for instance they have heavy duty high speed polishing wheels with specialized compounds to get that effect. You can get close with the right sandpapers like the kind auto detailers use but it's a big job to do it by hand.

Ok great. I have a bench grinder I might try and find some polishing wheels for. Until then, I'll probably just stick with sand paper. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on a polish?

It will take you a while but any metal polish will do. Maas and Mothers are both very common.

Originally Posted by veritas24

Ok great. I have a bench grinder I might try and find some polishing wheels for. Until then, I'll probably just stick with sand paper. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on a polish?

Good luck with that.

I say this because your idea is a recipe for disaster. I've no idea if you have any experience with buffing wheels and grinders. If you do, disregard any or all of the following. If not, the possibilities for train wrecks are endless.

First issue is safety, a cloth wheel can impart a lot of its energy into whatever just got snagged by it. Whatever got snagged will most likely be removed from your hands before you know what happened, that's when the fun starts. If it catches on part of the grinder, it will most likely break. If it doesn't catch on some part of the grinder, it will most likely depart the wheel in a yet to be determined direction. If it hits something soft, like you for instance, it may not break. It might leave a nice gash or hole to let you know you messed up. It could just as likely end up hitting the floor, bench, wall, or ceiling. Gloves will help but they are clumsy. Eye protection is a must. Even a dull razor will cut the HELL out of you given a chance.

Next issue is heat. Friction from the various grits of buffing compounds creates heat. Get the blade hot enough and you now have a razor shaped object. Hollow grind razors are very thin, heat builds quick, doesn't take much to wreck the temper in search of the high shine.

All this being said, not trying to talk you out of your quest, just trying to give you a heads up for some of the myriad of issues that are associated with rebuilding/refinishing something with only one moving part.

LOTS of info on this site. Do your research before you bail off head first. All the things I mentioned above have happened to me. I learned the hard way before algore invented the inter-web.

Good luck and have fun.

Originally Posted by veritas24

Ok great. I have a bench grinder I might try and find some polishing wheels for. Until then, I'll probably just stick with sand paper. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on a polish?

I may be wrong, but I have always thaught that for the mirror finish, you need to sand through to 2500 grit with the sand paper, then switch to a felt/cloth wheel , and the polish compound you would want would be Red oxide (jewellers rouge)
I am no expert but I think that is the best way and the closest a non 'professional' can get to "mirror polish"
I know I am coming to this thread a bit late, but if you are still debating how to go about it, this might be an avenue to explore
good luck, all the best