Thread: Handsanding.. Sanding sticks?

Here is a great video from Bladesmith’s Forum.com, part of their Artic Fire Video series, (In the Forum/video section), with ABS Mastersmith, Don Fogg, polishing a 6 in section of a sword blade, from file to 2k mirror.

It is almost an hour long but, packed with many nuggets of great information and tips on hand sanding, accumulated from years of practice and shared by other metalsmiths.

One of the big take-aways from Don, is about quality sand paper, not all fine grit sand paper is alike. Quality sandpaper will outperform cheap sandpaper… every time.

Don does ramble a bit, but the video is definitely worth watching in its entirety. Don also talks about re-inventing the wheel discovering things alone, by ourselves or how sharing information can cut the learning curve learning from others mistakes, triumphs, sources and tips, as we do here.

It is great that others have documented these videos of craftsmen, like Don Frogg so his knowledge is passed on, his craft does not die and his skills live on… in others.

Don Fogg Video

P.S. Make sure to watch the entire video, the end shows why Don Fogg is a Master-smith.

I go by hand and with corks.
I got some Japanese alternatives to EDM stones, 600 and 1k. work very well for me.
I then switch to SiC 1k and 2k powders.

I purchased my stones from Falcon Tool, Falcon Tool Catalog The stones that I find the most useful are the ones graded PO the are silicon carbide and kind of soft-ish (more so than the other stones) I use them in the 220 thru 600 grit range they leave a nice finish.

The soft-ish stones will eventually wear to the hollow of a blade. I like the 1/4 width the best.

I use them with kerosene, orderless mineral spirits, or wd40, depending on what I grab first.

The grit seems to be the same as American sandpapers.

They do not completely replace sandpaper but they have their place.

Falcon tool used to have an offer where you could buy a bag of reject and broken stones for a big discount. I purchased my stones by buying two bags of broken and reject stones. I could not find the offer in their new catalog. It might be worth calling them and asking if they still offer to sell the reject polishing stones. I got a grab bag variety of stones so I could try all the various types.

Charlie

http://youtu.be/fapSimz7ikw