Thread: Starting grit.

What grit would you recommend to start with? This is my first shot at cleaning up a blade. Thanks.

And I don't really care about the etching.

I am a fan of saving etches when possible, but to each his own.

To start evaluating take a hardware grade SE razor blade and scrape off the rust from spine toward edge. Depending on how much of the pitting you want to remove will dictate how low in grit to go. 600 grit would be safe for evaluating the depth of pitting. Likely 320 or even lower will be necessary to get rid of the damage.

Jonathan

I usually start at 600 grit and evaluate whether or not to go down. If I have to go down in grit size I keep dropping back by standard grit sizes (600 to 400 to 320 to 220 to 180 to 80 to will there be any metal left).

my normal pattern in 280, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 but so far i have found that 280 won't get rid of pitting fast (thats ok with me because i like to save the etching where possible) it means that you have to have the patience to continue to work at it till it reaches the point you are after.
if you really want to smash it out fast and clean it up with out worrying about the etching go right back to 60 or 80 grit but you have to put in the time at some of the higher grits to make sure you have gotten rid of all of your previous sanding makes with the rougher grit. use inox or wd to wet sand it.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

I usually start at 600 grit and evaluate whether or not to go down. If I have to go down in grit size I keep dropping back by standard grit sizes (600 to 400 to 320 to 220 to 180 to 80 to will there be any metal left).

^yup. This...

I start with steel wool and metal polish to see how hard the corrosion is. If the wool isn't making a dent I usually move to 400 grit paper.

400 is a good point for start. I recommend save the etching

2000 and work backwards...then go forward. It will shine. Use the same brand as you progress...different brands of paper can mess up your work. Mask that etched writing with lacquer and tape.you can work around it. Wipe it off when done.. and please post an after pic..wet sand it the whole time.

Yes good recomend..save the etching..400 here is very rough but ima sure he gets it. Id say 2000 and go back to 1000...the paper here is fickle.. 400 in Turkey might be 1000 here..not sure. Consistant sand grades would be nice.