Mirror Finish?

[Addammer]

Hello all,
For my birthday I recieved a Scorpius, and I love it! The way it fits in my hand is incredable. I read some of the reviews on these forums and it sounds like you guys don't have too many complaints about it either.

I wanted to know if it is possible to polish my knife to a "mirror" finish? Either the blade or handle. I have read things about flitz, but mostly on information on how to get scratches out of the finish. Does anyone have a certain chemical that they find works best?


Thanks,
Adam

[Ted]

Yes, that should be possible.

Start with a medium grit sandpaper, and then go all the way to a high grit.

For finishing, you can use a Dremel with a soft thingy and polishing paste.

I'm actually planning to mirror-finish the blade of my Strider PT this weekend :eek:

[dsvirsky]

I'm actually planning to mirror-finish the blade of my Strider PT this weekend :eek:

:confused: As much as I hate a bead blast finish on a blade (my SnG is digi-camo), why would you even think of "mirror-finish" and Strider in the same sentence? :confused:

Now, a satin finish, or even a nice hand-rubbed one, that'd be good.

[Ted]

:confused: As much as I hate a bead blast finish on a blade (my SnG is digi-camo), why would you even think of "mirror-finish" and Strider in the same sentence? :confused:
Now, a satin finish, or even a nice hand-rubbed one, that'd be good.

Wel, because I can :) - because it's my knife :p - because I'm curious how it looks :D

[Addammer]

Yes, that should be possible.

Start with a medium grit sandpaper, and then go all the way to a high grit.

For finishing, you can use a Dremel with a soft thingy and polishing paste.

I'm actually planning to mirror-finish the blade of my Strider PT this weekend :eek:


Ted,
Can you give me some grit numbers? Is there a certain direction I should be sanding? Are there any tutorials or DIYs out there?

For the polishing paste would I use something like mothers mag?

Thanks,
Adam

[spydutch]

Welcome to the forums Adam :cool:

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: Mr. Ed Schempp says that s30v can't be mirror polished as the carbides pull out of the martensite and scratch at high grit levels. I've heard nothing 'bout vg-10 though. :spyder:

[smcfalls13]

VG-10 will mirror polish very easily. Heck it comes just a few steps shy of mirror polish as is.

I can see a blurry reflection of myself in the blade of the Persian, so mirror polishing it would take a negligible amount of time, I would think.

[dsvirsky]

If you must do it, start with a 600 grit wet/dry to remove the bead blast. Which direction (axis) you want to start with doesn't really matter, since you'll be alternating each time you go to a finer grit sandpaper. You will want to either dull the knife first or invest heavily in bandages.

After you've removed the bead blast, go up to 1,000 grit and sand in the other direction until all the 600 grit scratches are gone. Then, go up to 1,200 grit and sand along your original axis until the 1,000 grit scratches are gone. Repeat the process with 1,500 grit, 2,000 grit, etc..

However, as Michael has already pointed out, S30V does not mirror polish well.

[smcfalls13]

Wel, because I can :) - because it's my knife :p - because I'm curious how it looks :D

You know we're going to need pic of this ;)

[The Deacon]

VG-10 will mirror polish very easily. Heck it comes just a few steps shy of mirror polish as is.There is even one Spyderco model in VG-10 that came mirror polished, the 25th Anniversary Delica.

IMHO, mirror finish looks pretty on a display piece but is not really practical for a "user". But, as Ted pointed out, each of us is free to do as we please with our knives.

[smcfalls13]

There is even one Spyderco model in VG-10 that came mirror polished, the 25th Anniversary Delica.

Didin't the first run of Moran's come mirror polished as well?

[Blades]

Adam,
Welcome to the Spydie forum!!! :)
I would do a search at Bladeforums about mirror polish. It takes alot of work to do it right, but it can be done. Good Luck.



Didin't the first run of Moran's come mirror polished as well?

Yep. Sweet looking knives. I have one that I carry in my slingbag every day.

[Pete1977]

I spent the day today mirror polishing satin finished knife blades on a few production models, including a winchester CRKT M-16 clone, a small gerber pocket knife, a kershaw vapor 2, a point guard, and a well used endura SE. of all of these, the little gerber came out the best. It is my brother's edc, and now it is "semi-custom" !!! ;)

The Endura took a very high polish, but the blade of the gerber was like a brand new SAK blade. The vapor was the least mirrored of the bunch, and the point guard came out pretty decently if I may say so myself.

I started with 220 grit on the winchester, but the scratches were kind of difficult to get out. On everything else, I used 400, 800, 1000, 2000 and mothers polish for the final step. on the point guard, between the 2000 grit, and the mothers, I used a piece of steel wool. I am going to try and find some flitz or simliar polish tomorrow, as well as 600 and 1500 grit paper.

pete

[TheKnifeCollector]

I personally HATE mirror polished blades, but it IS your knife!! I hope you get it to your liking!! Strider and mirror polish, in the SAME sentence, GASP!! That is sacriligious to ME. I wish you bot success in mirror polishing YOUR blades!! Show us pix, if you can when you are done, please!

[Rob]

Two additional suggestions for mirror polishing:

1) Sometimes it helps to back up the sanding paper with something hard like
a piece of thick leather, wood, Micarta - basically whatever you've got around in your shop that has the right size. It not only helps to apply pressure even on the surface but also prevents you of sore fingers. Handrubbing a blade to a mirror finish takes hours and pressing the paper down with nothing but your fingertips will get you a couple of days with aching joints ;)

2) Get sanding paper up to the fines grit that is available. Most of the times it's 1000 or 1200 (at least here in Austria). Finer grits are difficult to find and most of the times a little bit pricey. However, 1200 is more than enough if you're abe to use power tools. If you hand rubbed the blade correct to a 1200 grit finish (i.e. no, and I really mean none at all, scatches from the grit you've been using previous to the 1200 are on the surface anymore), then it's quite easy to polish the blade with a buffing wheel. For the blade of a folding knife a small buffing wheel that can be found in hardware stores is sufficient. If you have a bench grinder and if you can manage to get a buffing wheel that fits into it, I'd go for that. The bigger the better. When you are able to use different wheels also get different buffing compounds (coarse to fine). USe the buffing wheel like the sanding paper before: polisch out all scratches from the paper in a different direction then take the finer compound on an other buffing wheel and finish the blade again in an other direction. This can also take its time but it's way more comfortable than the paper.

Warning: Buffing wheels tend to "grab" blades. Be sure to have a firm grip on your knife and work carefully. One of the knives that I made myself once got airborne due to a buffing wheel and believe me, this is not a stunt that you want to pull off! If the engine of the buffer is strong enough, you'll never have enough time to duck and cover :)

Happy polishing!

@ Adam: Welcome to the forum! :D

@ Ted: Mirror polishing a Strider? Sounds interesting at least! Be sure to show us some pics when you're done! :cool:

Cheers, Rob

[The Deacon]

Didin't the first run of Moran's come mirror polished as well? Question is, were they VG-10? Perhaps Blades will answer that. I don't own one, so am not sure, but the timeline lead me to believe they pre-date Spyderco's first use of VG-10. If I'm wrong on that, then yes, it would be both another, and the first, Spyderco to use mirror finished VG-10.

For what it's worth, the CF Walker is mirror finished as well, but not VG-10.

[spyderwa]

The first Moran was VG-10 with mirror finish. There is one on ebay right now only it has the Moran signature in Gold which was only on the first ones. Later in black.

spyderwa

[The Deacon]

The first Moran was VG-10 with mirror finish. There is one on ebay right now only it has the Moran signature in Gold which was only on the first ones. Later in black.

spyderwahttp://paulberetta.com/images/ani_gifs/footinmouth.gif I'm feeling double dumb right now, just looked at my Moran (black signature, leather sheath, not sure of the grind), and by golly, it's mirror polished VG-10. :o

[ghostrider]

Wouldn't rust prevention be an advantage of mirror polishing? I thought this because I thought it would mean a less porous surface, providing less area for moisture to accumulate.

I polished a Kershaw Whirlwind once with Flitz. Got a pretty decent shine to it and could see my reflection pretty well. Tried the same treatment on my Endura FRN, and Rescue Jr. with very minor discernable results.

[spyderwa]

A mirror finish in theory is less likely to get rust. In real world use it is more likely to show any small scratch or discoloration. A brushed finish is much more usable in everyday use. A mirror finish is like a black paint job on a car. When it is clean and polished it looks great. If you drive it it shows every nick and scratch.
I had a Delica that was scratched up so I decided to refinish it. I used multiple sandpaper grades with a flat backing as recommended. After many hours I ended up with a very nice knife. The only problem is that it is very slippery,(I did the stainless handle as well), and it shows every fingerprint. I love the knife and it's appearance now, but I will probably never use it.
A good mirror finish is a lot of work. Using a brushed finish or bead-blast finish covers up a multitude of machining flaws and save the company a lot of money. That is probably why the later Morans dropped the mirror finish and convex edge.

spyderwa

Rare Spyderco Website
www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

[J Smith]

Heres a very easy way that I just tried on a piece of steel.
I just picked up a couple packs of Dremel finnishing abrassive buffs,pack 511 and 512.The 511 pack has 1 corse and 1 med grit the 512 pack has 2 fine.In very short time I had a mirror finnish by going over the steel with the med grit followed by the fine and then a polishing with one of the felt drum polish pads with blue jewelers rouge.

[Mr Blonde]

Furthermore, wouldn't a mirror finish improve the cutting ability of a blade? Less friction with the medium you're cutting? In that sense, a non-military owner of a Strider should be more than happy with a mirror polished blade. It could make it a better cutter. I would love to see Ted's mirror polished PT!

Wouter

[Ted]

Wasn't it Bob Loveless who said that all hunting blades should be mirror polished?
And, wasn't the PT designed to be 'invinsible' ... (quote from Mick Strider)
Mirrors are pretty invinsible to me. Whenever I look in one, I only see myself...not the mirror... :D
Anyway, I'm getting close on the PT. It's a lot of work. :o

[Mr Blonde]

Keep it up Ted, you're a braver men than me, "messing" with such a prized knife! :D

Wouter

[J Smith]

Just finnished my CF Militaries clip,pivot and clip screws last night.
I also replced the stock screws with a flatter head torx screw.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v493/u812/c74ac85d.jpg

[dialex]

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum and enjoy your stay here. I can also testify that VG-10 takes a nice polish easily. I did this to my VG-10 Delica. Not quite an inspired thing, I may add. All those finger prints and tiny spots were much more obvious, so I restored the blade to a matte finish. But it can be done, OK.