Sandpaper -- Canada Edition

[Xenif]

Hi Fellow Canadian KKFers, where can I find a good source of good sandpaper for polishing? Rynowet Redline was recommended to me but rather expensive shipping, is there a Canadian source?
Whats an alternate brand you guys use or recommend (purchasable/accessible in Canada would be great)

TIA

 

[esoo]

Not sure what grit you're looking for, but have you checked Lee Valley Tools?

 

[tripleq]

I typically buy wet/dry automotive sandpaper from eBay. Plenty of sellers shipping from Canada selling everything from cheapo stuff to brand name (Never had problems with shipments from HK/China either). For knife work I've never had a problem with any particular paper and there are some good deals on combo packs.

 

[valgard]

I haven't found anything as good as Rynowet Redline yet. I just imported some recently.

 

[Xenif]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, i found the cheaper sandpapers to leave inconsistent scratches, you would think aluminium oxide is aluminium oxide ... Or maybe i just suck a lot at sanding.
@valgard My wife put some sense in me last night, I told her I didnt want to pay so much for sandpaper. She replied with, "How much did you spend on your last stone? Im pretty sure its more expensive then that sandpaper" ... She may have a point

 

[LucasFur]

I'm actually glad you brought this up.
Can anybody inform me about what i should be looking for in sand paper?
I Bought a few sheets at Lee valley tools, but i keep thinking the sand paper is for tools not knifes. I now only use the sheet i bought to sand down some handles.

What grit gives you that beautiful mirror polish everybody keeps telling me they did with sand paper?
I've used metal polish after my stone progression( which took a few hours) to then just see that the metal polish actually left deep scratches that look like horrible if you are holding it. But 3 Ft away looks completely mirrored.

Any advise about what you guys used/ bought?

Regards
L

 

[tripleq]

I'm actually glad you brought this up.
Can anybody inform me about what i should be looking for in sand paper?
I Bought a few sheets at Lee valley tools, but i keep thinking the sand paper is for tools not knifes. I now only use the sheet i bought to sand down some handles.

What grit gives you that beautiful mirror polish everybody keeps telling me they did with sand paper?
I've used metal polish after my stone progression( which took a few hours) to then just see that the metal polish actually left deep scratches that look like horrible if you are holding it. But 3 Ft away looks completely mirrored.

Any advise about what you guys used/ bought?

Regards
L

It kind of depends on the steel. My typical progression is to crosshatch increasingly finer sandpaper and finish with polishing compounds. I’ve used sandpaper as fine as 1500 but 1200 usually does fine. I’m not really fussy about what paper I use. Results seem to vary a lot more depending on how you use it. I find crosshatching to be an essential part of getting a good finish.

 

[valgard]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, i found the cheaper sandpapers to leave inconsistent scratches, you would think aluminium oxide is aluminium oxide ... Or maybe i just suck a lot at sanding.
@valgard My wife put some sense in me last night, I told her I didnt want to pay so much for sandpaper. She replied with, "How much did you spend on your last stone? Im pretty sure its more expensive then that sandpaper" ... She may have a point

Yes, and the cheap sandpaper wears down too fast, the redline stuff cuts much faster and longer.

This is 1500 grit Redline (after a progression including 1000grit right before)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnEiz7UAtCr/?taken-by=cev_valgard

If you look at that from a different angle will look pretty much mirror, but it's not truly mirror IMO.

@LucasFur Getting a clean mirror is a huge PITA, most mirrors you see on the internet are either from afar or a convenient angle but they still show thin scratches. I have gotten good results sanding all the way to 7-8K with sandpaper very delicately and then use some Micro-mesh pads to 12K https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002XVDYC0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 basically like a buffing and end with metal polish. Not sure what metal polish you have used but mine is pretty fine, it won't scratch but it will reveal scratches that were hiding and not completely erased. Again, I have only gotten one core that was near perfect eva using a magnifying glass, and that was fully on stones, and I will never do that again since it's pretty pointless beyond a knife for display and took an ungodly number of hours.

For the cladding the sanding (done right, thoroughly sanding at each grit and doing straight long pulls from heel to tip after 600 grit) is enough to get a pretty nice mirror, but the pads will buff it up a bit.

 

[Xenif]

I agree with that, camera suck at capturing minute scartches, it can look great on a video but the naked eye sees so much more. If I want a very polished surface I go with a CrO on cotton, but as mentioned, it will reveal scratches, even really really tinny ones.
At end of the day I wonder why I even bother getting it perfect, since it hids under a layer of patina anyways.
I'm still exploring this world, how do you guys get you iron clad to not scatch while polishing your core to almost mirror. Moreover, how to get stainless clad to be hazy while mirror on the core !?!? Kind of mind boggling when I see it done like on the Hinoura I just got

 

[valgard]

I agree with that, camera suck at capturing minute scartches, it can look great on a video but the naked eye sees so much more. If I want a very polished surface I go with a CrO on cotton, but as mentioned, it will reveal scratches, even really really tinny ones.
At end of the day I wonder why I even bother getting it perfect, since it hids under a layer of patina anyways.
I'm still exploring this world, how do you guys get you iron clad to not scatch while polishing your core to almost mirror. Moreover, how to get stainless clad to be hazy while mirror on the core !?!? Kind of mind boggling when I see it done like on the Hinoura I just got

If done on stones, shine the core to the max and then use a slow soft stone to get the soft iron to haze while not affecting the core much. Another option is using finger stones or stone mud on some not too hard media, pretty much the same principle (shine first and then get an abrasive that will only work the soft iron).

 

[tripleq]

I agree with that, camera suck at capturing minute scartches, it can look great on a video but the naked eye sees so much more. If I want a very polished surface I go with a CrO on cotton, but as mentioned, it will reveal scratches, even really really tinny ones.
At end of the day I wonder why I even bother getting it perfect, since it hids under a layer of patina anyways.
I'm still exploring this world, how do you guys get you iron clad to not scatch while polishing your core to almost mirror. Moreover, how to get stainless clad to be hazy while mirror on the core !?!? Kind of mind boggling when I see it done like on the Hinoura I just got

Oh yeah. The CrO on cotton is a good one for rust removal without resorting to those erasers too. As for mirror valgard is right. They are a PITA. I find they increase stiction too.

 

[valgard]

When I shine the core on stones I typically just get the cladding pretty polished too and then go over the cladding to smooth the finish. If using sandpaper I just do the whole thing.

 

[tedg]

Most auto parts stores ( O'Reilly, Discount Auto etc.) carry sandpaper down to #2500. In my area most sell 3M, I've not used anything else to compare it to, but it seems to get the job done nicely.

 

[Ruso]

Canadian tire wer/dry sandpaper in automotive section. Whatver brand it is (I belive its 3M).
For perfect mirror you will need some kind of buffing or metal polish compoud. Cant recommend any though

 

[RDalman]

Second choice after rhynowet redline is mirka imo. Keep the polishing fun and don't split any fingers up please

 

[zizirex]

Canadian tire wer/dry sandpaper in automotive section. Whatver brand it is (I belive its 3M).
For perfect mirror you will need some kind of buffing or metal polish compoud. Cant recommend any though

Yes, Especially the Trizact series. it is a little bit expensive than regular sandpaper, for finer grit you can buy lapping film from Lee Valley

 

[pd7077]

Another Rhynowet redline user here. It beats anything I’ve purchased from my local hardware and automotive stores...by a mile

 

[quantumcloud509]

I would like to second Micro Mesh, it’s really expensive and works really well.

I would also like to add that mirror polishing to 12000 grit creates too sticky of a knife. Not much fun to unglue cucumbers and apple sliced from a knife.

 

[valgard]

I would also like to add that mirror polishing to 12000 grit creates too sticky of a knife. Not much fun to unglue cucumbers and apple sliced from a knife.

It certainly worsens food release, but if the grind is right they won't glue to the knife. I just polished a knife to mirror and release was still pretty good because the grind was good.

 

[quantumcloud509]

Are you working with an S grind or something of that nature? I haven’t had much exposure to cool stuff like that yet.

 

[valgard]

Are you working with an S grind or something of that nature? I haven’t had much exposure to cool stuff like that yet.

no, the grind is nothing exotic, proper thin behind the edge and blended shindig is what it looks to me.

Here's a video where you can pretty much see the grind:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm3kSnTj3QV/?taken-by=cev_valgard

And a couple cutting videos:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnCCJu0A-cZ/?taken-by=cev_valgard


As you can see nothing is glued, the carrot slices fall off quite easily even though the mirror finish worsens the release as you pointed out, just not to the point of making them anywhere near glued unless the grind allows the food to conform to it.

 

[pd7077]

Micromesh is okay. I’ve gotten good mirror polishes with it, but the non-MX line (higher grits) cuts very very slowly.

And I agree with Val. While a mirror polish worsens food release, good geometry will prevent crazy stickage. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an S-grind either.

 

[quantumcloud509]

Halcyon forge seems to be all the rage right now haha that is an extremely beautiful blade.

Yes, I will agree- some of the micromesh cuts very slow and going all 9 steps with it from 1500-12000 takes a few cups of coffee and a quiet evening with plenty of peaceful music in the background and the lights turned down.