High polish, or satin finish?

With all the stainless materials for blades, fittings we have available, a satin finsh is probably adequate, as far as stain resistance goes.

Is appearance the only reason we choose one finsih over the other? A satin finish is really beautiful when done by you guys who really know how to do it right.

Steve,I prefer a satin finish on all mine,to me it adds texture and rythm,which I find lacking in a mirror polished knife.Just my opinion.

I love a good satin finish. I also like a good polish. As if that were a surprise!

Thanks for the comment.

I agree Steve. While my foray into tactical knives has gotten me doing mostly brushed finishes, I'm increasingly attracted to mirror polishes for some of these knives. A highly polished blade becomes almost invisible unless a source of light reflects directly off of it. Any maker who has done a show in a room with halogen lights in front of a black ceiling knows that the only thing you can see in a mirror polished blade is a scratch. Everything else is black.

I've tried to explain to folks that the perfect mirror polish is a dark mirror. Anything less than perfect will not reflect black as black; the best it will do is gray.

Also a mirror polished finish is certainly the most corrosion resistant.

What I'm liking most lately is a mirror polish on the grinds and a brushed finish on the flats.

And then there is CPM-3V for which the choices are only one. It won't polish, no matter what I do!

Those are some very interesting thoughts, Jerry. I certainly do remember the lighting last year at the Denver PKA Show. That was very revealing as to just how "perfect" a polish one had on his blades.

Ya gotta admit that a high polish will resist corrosion better. These steels, generally, do have a lot of chrome in them, however. Still working on my CPM-3V blade. Maybe a diamond cork belt? Hey, it'd only cost about $500, or so. Pretty tough stuff!

Steve, I just this week tried something new with finishing belts and it seems to work extremely well. I got what Bader calls a Non Fray Contact Wheel. It is a cloth based contact wheel that is specifically for "finer finishes". It really makes the finer 600-800 grit belts work much better, though it is a bit dicey around the gind line, running up on it if allowed to. I've notices that cork belts do that as well. Still I was able to go back with a 600 grit belt to make the grind line all crisp again and was extremely pleased with the finish I got on a couple 3V blades I'm doing. I went from a relatively fresh 220 belt directly to a slightly used 600 and erased scratches like magic. Nothing has even worked with 3V like that in my experience. As I get more experience with it, and after it has worn a little, I'll let you know if I still like it as much as I do now. At the moment I like it a LOT!

Great news, Jerry. I'll check out the wheel with Bader.

Anything to enable success is good news.
Thank you.

Since the majority of the knives I make are intended to be users I prefer a satin finish.
there are two reasons for this
1) because to me it looks cool
2) people dont seem to be as afaraid to use a satin finished knife in the field.

Having said that I love a well done Mirror polish!!!

For the max amount of corrosion resistance though Mirror polishes are the way to go.

Regards

Eric

How do you guys get a good satin finish on your blades? could you take us through the steps.

thanks,
stan

Stan,

Here are a few tips that have made the difference between a good finish and a great finish for me.
For cutting, I use soapy water. I've tried all the other stuff, from Cool Tool II to WD-40. The soapy water doesn't smell foul or haze the steel, cuts well, and cleanup is easy (just wipe it off).
I usually start with 400 grit, and end with anything from 600 to 2000 grit. The exact order is 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000.
I use a shaped piece of hardwood for the backing. Mine is a half-round piece that has the edges radiused for getting the plunges.
Be sure to change your cutting angles when changing grits. This, combined with good incandescent spot lighting, will let you know when the old scratches are out.
For the final grit, wrap your block in some light, flexible leather and sand in one direction (from the plunge to the tip). Try it out, it makes a big difference in the finish.
As a final added touch, I hand rub with diamond polishing compound. I start with 3000 grit and follow up with 8000 grit. Be sure to go with the 'grain'. This gives your finish some lustre without removing your satin finish.

Brett

Thank you.

Those detailed steps will be appreciated by anyone interested in the process.

I have glued a piece of heavy leather, with slightly rounded edges, to the back of my sanding block and it runs up and into the plunges nicely.