sandpaper

[kyle juedes]

What kind of sandpaper do you guys use to sand blades. Normal sandpaper? or do you spend extra money on aluminum oxide? I'm using the normal stuff and it seems to wear our real fast, and clog. By the way, this is hand sandpaper, not belt/disk sander stuff.

Thanks,
KJ

[JeridJohnson]

I have mostly used 3M wet/dry sandpaper for hand sanding anything 400 grit and over. For 120 and 320 grit I use shop rolls. I use more 120 and 320 than any of the other stuff.

Spend the money on good sandpaper. It will last longer in the long run.. Call Tru-Grit ( http://www.trugrit.com/ )and they should be able to help you out with all the stuff you need for a great price.

[JeridJohnson]

oh and by the way.. I do most of my finish sanding wet with water.

[AUBE]

i use mostly silicon carbide (the grey stuff often used for fine automotive bodywork) 3M makes great stuff but ive also found some quality off brand paper much cheaper. i use 120,220,320,400,600..the majority of the work being with 220. all paper i use is wet/dry and i do most my work wet, with water and a touch of dishsoap. ive heard some people have good results using WD40 as the wetting agent...i spend too much time smelling like grease at my "real job" to want to smell like it at home too. for some handle work i use the cheaper aluminum oxide paper to save money. if you havent already done so make some kind of jig to hold the paper or the knife so you can exert a lot of pressure(carefully of course..) while sanding...makes the job go MUCH faster.

-Jason Aube

[george tichbour]

Two preferances.......Cloth backed in all cases for tear resistance and aluminum oxide for durability.

I buy boxes of off cuts from my belt supplier.

[Osprey Guy]

If you're only looking to buy a small amount (like enough for one knife), 3M's wet/dry paper is available at any auto supply store in small packages of 5 sheets each.

Quite some time ago I read where someone was using Windex with their wet/dry sandpaper...I've been using it ever since. Works great (and very handy).


Dennis Greenbaum

Yeah Baby!

[TexasJack]

Same answer as above, except that I use Break Free (oil), instead of water or WD40. No smell, no dust, the sandpaper moves easily, and it's an awfully good rust preventative.

I also usually sand the wood wet (in finishing), using Danish wood oil.

[SteveS]

KJ,

SC paper is great on metal. AO paper is pretty good if it has a good glue. Garnet paper from the hardware store is awful on metal, grit comes right off.

For the finer grits, the optimum is 3m Microfinish belts, cut up. Cuts fast, lasts pretty long.

One thing I've found out is if it is going to take one sheet of paper to finish a knife, it will take one sheet. You can try and get by with half that by sanding for hours with worn out paper, but it won't save you a dime .. you'll still use one sheet.

In otherwords, change paper frequently. I only get about 5 little strokes with 320 before I have to change to a fresh spot on the paper. At 2000 you only get one pass.

Steve

[jeff Pena]

I am a new knifemaker and with the mounting costs of all my new shop equipment, I look for the best deal without cutting out quality. I recently bought 200 belts on ebay in various grits most were norton and in various lengths most were way longer than my grinder. But I cut them up and use them to hand sand, they really do a great job. For the 200 belts with shipping I paid about $30.00 and have enough sanding paper for I hope a year. I just typed in sanding belts and checked for a couple of weeks till I found a great deal. Jeff