Spent 3 hours polishing a knife blade with the wrong compound...

I was working on a custom folder I'm making for a friend in Denver, and I kept getting these awful swirl marks on the blade. Tried three different buffing wheels, changed pressures, even slow the motor down. Nothing worked. Finally a guy at a knife show told me I was using a cutting compound meant for soft metals, not stainless steel. Switched to a green stainless-specific bar and the mirror finish came up in about 20 minutes flat. Has anyone else burned time on the wrong grit or compound before figuring out the right stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanw312d ago

Man I feel your pain. I spent two weekends trying to get a mirror finish on a little paring knife before I realized I was using the same white compound I use for brass. Felt like such a dummy when I finally grabbed the right stuff and it just worked.

brookethomas2d ago

And here I was thinking white compound was just white compound, like all sandpaper is just sandpaper. Guess I gotta start labeling my bars like they're lab chemicals now. At least you didn't try using rouge on a mirror finish and end up with a pink knife.