Thread: hand sanding

As the title implies I'm hand sanding a blade. I was just wondering what grit progression I should use seeing as how I started at 220. Any insight would be appreciated.
David

Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

Originally Posted by bulldog

As the title implies I'm hand sanding a blade. I was just wondering what grit progression I should use seeing as how I started at 220. Any insight would be appreciated.
David

TheBaron posted some good links.

I am curious how bad the blade is and what the
goal is. My general thought is to use a couple
passes of the finest grit you have to get some
visibility into the damage.

I am a minimalist....
If you start with 220 you are starting with 220 grit
scratches that you have to work out. If you start
with 8K or finer wet/dry emery and can see that
you are making progress no need to jump back to
a coarser grit.

One possible goal is to polish down and into the pits
with a cotton tip and CrOx so it is easy to clean the blade
and the original etching is still visible and sharp and
the bulk of the blade is bright.

Another goal is to grind the heck out of it and turn it
all into a mirror finish.

Like honing use a marker on the surface to make it
easy to see the progress and process.

It was pretty bad. I had taken a course grit dremel sanding wheel to it. I don't have the equipment to regrind it. All I have is two hands and some wet/dry sandpaper. I want a mirror finish. I'm not expecting all of the pitting to be taken out. The etching on the blade is already almost non existent. I'm not worried about it. Just the name on it.

In general, you can get the job done by doubling grits 220-400-800-1500, but its easier if you have some intermediate grits between those. You'll need to go 1.5k-2k plus polishing to get a mirror shine. Be forewarned, its alot of work.

It is a lot of work but worth it in the end if you take your time and progress through the grits slow.

I would also suggest being cautious on the dremel sanding. Dremels can cause an uneven grind pretty easy.

Originally Posted by Pete_S

In general, you can get the job done by doubling grits 220-400-800-1500, but its easier if you have some intermediate grits between those. You'll need to go 1.5k-2k plus polishing to get a mirror shine. Be forewarned, its alot of work.

+1.

If you follow my handsanding guide (the wiki link), you'll end up with a smooth mirror polished blade. The lowest grit is determined by the amount of damage on the blade. 220 is good if there isn't too much damage or if you don't mind some leftover pitting.

And when I progress to higher grits, I usually use every grit rating I have (320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000). This sounds silly, but it is more efficient doing this than skipping grit levels. Removing 220 grit lines with 400 grit paper can take a long time. Removing them with 320 grit and them removing the 320 lines with 400 goes faster.

What we need for this kind of work is a one inch belt sander that turns really slow, maybe 50 rpm and uses belts that start at about 400 grit. I think I will work on that.

That's called an electric file.
ou can buy them at many diy stores for a reasonable price.
Black and decker makes one for example. mount it in a stand, and you're ready to go.