i put a mirror polish on my Shigefusa (not scratchless, but it's bright and reflects beautifully), but i'm kinda sick of the tendency to pick up small scratches. i tried using a fairly coarse wet/dry, tonight, and i actually managed to make the polish brighter! any suggestions?
Get a rust eraser. I think I have this same one and it has worked well for me: http://korin.com/Rust-Eraser-Sabitoru
I bought mine from Jon, but I don't think it's listed on his site. You should ask him about it.
i actually own one, i've just never used it on a finish like this before. i'll give it a shot, thanks! i'm guessing moving the knife against the eraser is the way to go, just like finishing with sandpaper...
hmmm, well, it's a start. the rust eraser doesn't remove much metal, so this'll take a long while. well, better to take off too little material than too much, and it's easy to get even lines.
I think you could move the rust eraser if that's easier for you. I laid the knife down on a soft surface with the handle hanging off (so the blade is flat on the surface) and went at it with the rust eraser and a good bit of pressure until the scratches I didn't want were gone. The eraser itself doesn't leave very deep scratches so it wasn't hard to even things out after that. I just ran the eraser in straight lines over the knife a bunch of times with decreasing pressure until I got the best finish I could. I still couldn't get perfectly straight lines because it gets a little tricky around the handle, but it's pretty good.
Edit: I forgot to add that if you have fingerstones or just some kind of slurry off of any stone (except something super coarse), that may help speed up the process.
Wait, don't you have fingerstones? Herrroooo
i put the eraser on one of my DMT no slip pads, positioned the ferrule against the edge of the eraser and then pulled the knife. it's the same way i use sandpaper.
Chocera #400 or Suehiro Rika for finer.
Be interesting to see what a muddied-up King #800 would do.
you....you're kidding, right?Originally Posted by Seb
Chocera #400 or Suehiro Rika for finer.
Be interesting to see what a muddied-up King #800 would do.
I've polished a couple of Shigefusas to a really nice satin finish using 220 wet/dry sandpaper. Put the knife in a knife vise if you have one, put the sandpaper on a sanding block backed by hard rubber (buy one if you don't have one). Lubricate with water with a couple of drops of Dawn added. Polish in one direction only (heel to tip is recommended). Very important: change sanding sheets every time you turn the knife over to work on the other side of the blade. Strive to move the sanding block in a straight line.
I've tried going to 300 and 400 grit, but this starts to give a polished finish, so I always drop back to 220.
Here's a picture of one I just finished:
P.S. I polished the hagane on a Woodcraft buffer, but that's a whole 'nother story.
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