Holy.... This guy is on a whole other level. Holding a perfect angle against a powerful belt sander with no guide is one of those things that looks easy but is next to impossible to accomplish. In a world where nearly all precision work is done with the use of purpose built computer guided machines people with this level of skill are the stuff of legend. So much priceless hard won knowledge in this video.
Awesome video. I love how you patiently show the knife, hold it in front of the camera, and give the viewer plenty of time to look from different angles. Too many knife makers just flash up the knife for a second then crack on... so you have to keep stopping the vid to take a look. Great video, great skills, +1
Wow...I was looking for tips to polish my motorcycle parts. I couldn't stop watching. A true master.I bow before you. Now about my exhaust down pipes, lol
Sir, What a Beautiful Knife, and it is SO refreshing to find someone that takes This much Pride in their Work. Thank You So Much for your Video, and your Work Ethic !!!
Excellent video. What I learned the most from this is the amount of time it takes to polish to a mirror finish. You spent all day - and a long one at that - polishing that knife.
I can't say enough kind words about your work. Your knives are absolutely amazing and the one you made on video is a true mirror polish to me, sure, there is always someone better but holy crap I hope I can hold your standards some day. I hope one day to do this.
That was a really nice video, and it fully demonstrates why highly polished blades come at premium cost. The amount of skill and time involved explains it all! Thank you for making this video.
I work at a chrome plating shop and we sand and buff in house. All types of metals. I've done plenty of stainless knives. They make abrasive compounds for the woven cotton wheels too that you should consider. I stop sanding at 320 and work the rest out on the cotton wheels with finer grit, then to the final buffs with the green compound.
Looking at my old Buck 119, you'd never guess that it's 440C like the one in your video; you did a marvelous job polishing that blade. I hope to see it at the museum some time.
I second that. I just stumbled across Bowiemaker by accident today and I think hes awesome. He can barely finish a sentence without dropping 2 or 3 really useful tips or facts. The guy is dripping with knowledge. Really impressive.
Beautiful work, thank you for sharing the whole process. I just began polishing knives and I see that you holding the knife in a horizontal position. Other RU-vid buffing clips show people who keep the knife in a vertical direction. What is the best way?
Man you did a hell of a job with that mirror polish . I started working on blades about 2 years ago . I get worried about blades heating up while buffing because it can throw out the rockwell in the temper which can lead to chips on the edge or edge rolling . I just always keep the blade moving and dont bind to hard on it because the more pressure you put on a blade then the the hotter it would get quicker . im still in training my friend . I been a trim carpenter for 20 years so this working with steel is pretty new to me so any advice is very much appreciated .
Where's the secret sauce? You Sir are craftsman at the highest level, i appreciate your knowledge. I have been sanding/polishing for a week with a fraction of your results!
Thanks so much for your time and video. Very informative. I would like to see the finished knife if possible before you send it to the museum. Keep up the good work!
You can see the finished knife here: scontent-1.2914.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10574396_676733092405494_329690463929307340_n.jpg?oh=463b756301d753e3d050b1be491464f6&oe=54D7C827 . As it turns out, I did not donate the knife to the museum because the National Knife Museum closed about the time that I finished it. Instead, I donated it to www.kniferights.org as part of their fundraising efforts.
Hey Mike, beautiful blade! It takes a lot of hard work to put out a quality custom product. People really don't understand how many hours go into making a custom knife. If you charged by the hour, the knife would be unobtainable for most customers, so people should never scoff at the price. They should respect the hard work that goes into making a fine piece of craftsmanship like your knife. The work that goes into a custom knife is tremendous, and the customer is getting a quality, hand-made product, forged and made in America. I was wondering, the buffing wheel on your right side looked glazed over with compound. Usually one would take a rake to the wheel, to get all of the old compound and grim off of it. Is there a specific reason you use the wheel like that? We all have our own methods when we work, so I'm sure there's a reason for yours. I was just curious. Great job, and thank you for the demonstration.
Beautiful work. Quick question on buffing compounds . When you use a colour , let’s say white on a wheel can you put other colour compounds on that wheel or is that wheel then only for white compounds ?
hey mike great work. i need to polish a sword made from 1060 high carbon steel, should i use the same method as the knife ?? or shuld use water on the belt yo keep the temp. down ??
How does there farrier rasp handles do? Man that is awesome at 800 grit thank you for saying that thank you for these whole sharing of this whole video may I ask how much one of those mirror knives go for? Wow yes I see that very nice great job.
Question about a related project I'm working on. I am going to mirror polish a high-carbon steel knife ( and i understand that's a challenge in and of itself, but) polish then, hot blue or gunsmith blue the polished blade blank in the bluing. then dry cloth polish the finished. I saw a 1911 pistol that that the treatment, and the dark blue shining was really slick google 1911 blued mirror thoughts?
Is there a particular direction you start with, Mr Carter, or do you just work across the direction of the scratches? OK working on the lower portion of the wheel is understood but at some point you have to polish the main bevel. I ask because I have polished hundred of brass castings but never anything as pointed and with a bevel and an edge such as a knife and I should imagine that a careless move would catch the knife and throw it at your leg.
Hi, first up I must say that you certainly know what you are doing, you are nothing but a true artisan if ever I saw one, great work. Could I ask if you would respond with the "TYPES OF BELTS & GRITS) that you use or recommend to use so as to polish up a blade that has quite a number of scratches in the blade. I have a number of Japanese steel and stainless steel blades that I would like to polish up to a mirror finish. Thank you.
Police scanner in the back ground my type a guy..Lmao thanks for the video I have been doing this by hand no power tools it takes me like a couple weeks to get that status
If I am going to polish non stainless steel such as knives I make from railroad spikes or old rasps and files, what should I use instead of the green compound for stainless steel? Should I still use the soft treated wheel for the finishing polish? Also, what type of wheel do you use for the black compound? Thanks
Im having a hard time with my 5160 spring steel and my 1060 high carbon steel with trying to get a mirror polish on my katanas . I have sandpaper all the way up to 5000 grit and I have a sisal pad for my buffing wheel along with the denim pad and finishing pads for my buffing wheel . I dont want to heat up the steel on my katanas because I dont want to ruin my rockwell or tempering in the steel . I figure that I'll just get it as good as I can and just let it be . if I can get them real close to a mirror polish then I'll be happy .
