How to Avoid Scratches on the Metal "Spines" of Knife Kits?

[penicillin]

Yeah, this is the penturning website, but this forum is the best fit where I am already a member.

My folding knife kits are coming out with too many heavy scratches on the metal "spines" that are sandwiched between the two wood scales. I cut the scales on the bandsaw close to the shape of the handle, glue them to the handle, and then sand until the wood is flush with the metal parts. It is the same method that I see in YouTube videos. The people in the YouTube videos don't show the "spines" much, but when I catch a glimpse, they seem to have the same scratches that I am trying to avoid. I want to upgrade my work from scratched to polished, the way they look when the parts come out of the package.

I've thought about trying to rig a flush trim router bit to match the wood to the metal using a bearing, but that would mean gluing and trimming the first scale separately first, then gluing the second scale. I'm not sure if that would work.

I've thought that perhaps there is a way to sand with finer grits up to the point of polishing the metal; would that work?

I am out of ideas, and I would like to make better knives. Any suggestions from people with more knife making experience would be welcome.

I am not a "knife person", so please forgive any incorrect terms or confusion. All I want is to make a few gifts with the best quality I can achieve, considering that I am starting out with a mix of ordinary folding knife kits from Rockler and Woodcraft. They are nothing special or fancy.

 

[Stubach]

I would think that using finer and finer grits would get you to a polished state and depending on the scale material would give them a fully polished look as well. I'm know a knife maker at all, yet, but would think this would work. When I watched forged in fire I seem to recall the top tier guys always taking their handles to a polishing wheel on a grinder to clean them up and make them look really nice.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Yeah, this is the penturning website, but this forum is the best fit where I am already a member.

My folding knife kits are coming out with too many heavy scratches on the metal "spines" that are sandwiched between the two wood scales. I cut the scales on the bandsaw close to the shape of the handle, glue them to the handle, and then sand until the wood is flush with the metal parts. It is the same method that I see in YouTube videos. The people in the YouTube videos don't show the "spines" much, but when I catch a glimpse, they seem to have the same scratches that I am trying to avoid. I want to upgrade my work from scratched to polished, the way they look when the parts come out of the package.

I've thought about trying to rig a flush trim router bit to match the wood to the metal using a bearing, but that would mean gluing and trimming the first scale separately first, then gluing the second scale. I'm not sure if that would work.

I've thought that perhaps there is a way to sand with finer grits up to the point of polishing the metal; would that work?

I am out of ideas, and I would like to make better knives. Any suggestions from people with more knife making experience would be welcome.

I am not a "knife person", so please forgive any incorrect terms or confusion. All I want is to make a few gifts with the best quality I can achieve, considering that I am starting out with a mix of ordinary folding knife kits from Rockler and Woodcraft. They are nothing special or fancy.

I am not an expert either i have restored only one small cleaver till now. I used sandpaper first to clean the epoxy drips and then i used my dremel tool with a wirebrush bit ( the fluffy one) to polish. After that i polished the whole handle with a flannel wheel. I stupidly decided to use ca glue for the wood handle which meant a lot of work but at the end the result was very nice.

 

[penicillin]

Some additional information for clarity:

I have tried the "sand with increasingly finer grits" approach, but once any mechanical sander has touched the metal between the two knife scales, it leaves marks in the metal. The marks were too challenging for me to sand or smooth out of the metal.

 

[monophoto]

I recently restored a serving fork for a friend - https://www.penturners.org/threads/something-different.171877/. Same concern - how to trim the edge of the scales without leaving ugly marks on the exposed edges of the metal shank. The shank was only about 1/16" thick, but side-to-side scratches would show.

I used an old bench chisel to trim the edge and remove any glue squeeze-out., passing the chisel along the edge longitudinally so that if there were scratches, they would be lengthwise and therefore less visible. Initial shaping was done using a sanding wheel on the lathe, but final sanding was done by hand using progressively finer grades of sandpaper, but always making sure to sand lengthwise so that any scratches would be longitudinal. If there were scratches, I couldn't see them.

The other issue here is that if the timber used is light in color, its possible for metal particles from sanding the edge of the shank to be embedded in the timber leaving dark spots. Again, sanding lengthwise minimizes this risk.

After doing that, I refinished the scales on all our kitchen knives with similar success.

Incidentally, regarding the assembly sequence - because I was restoring an old piece of cutlery and wanted to reuse the existing rivet holes with wooden pens, I opted to glue the scale on one side first (using epoxy). After the epoxy cured, I drilled small guide holes through the existing rivet holes and through that scale before gluing the scale on the other side. After the glue cured on that side, I then used those small holes as guides to drill larger holes through both scales that were perfectly aligned with the holes in the metal shank. Finally, I glue in the pins. That approach took a little longer than doing the glueup in one step, but the result was exactly what I wanted and I think it was easier than trying to carefully measure for the holes. (I keep telling myself that I do this for fun - taking a bit longer is not a problem.)

 

[hooked]

It is probably not the technical answer or best answer to your problem, but it works for me. I am also a rookie and have only made one model of folding pocket knife. I was following instructions online but always got scratches on the hardware. So what I have done is take one kit and treat it like a pen bushing. I use double-sided tape and shape the handle on my "bushing kit." I don't care if I scratch up the kit because I only use it for shaping the handle. I pry the handle off when done shaping and put it on the new identical, scratch-free kit.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Some additional information for clarity:

I have tried the "sand with increasingly finer grits" approach, but once any mechanical sander has touched the metal between the two knife scales, it leaves marks in the metal. The marks were too challenging for me to sand or smooth out of the metal.

Well don't expect to remove scratches from metal without serious effort. The steel used for knifemaking is hard especially if the blade is inox. I found the dremel assortments especially the fluffy one very handy. There are two grits and you need both inmo. Cheers.

 

[Roly]

Could you put a couple of layers of tape on until sanding is finished. I know that some luthier suppliers sell heavy duty thick tape that resists sanding. I got some but it was too awkward to use on pens but would probably be fine for knives. If you look at the site for "Southern Tonewoods" you should be able to pick up its brand name

 

[monophoto]

Could you put a couple of layers of tape on until sanding is finished. I know that some luthier suppliers sell heavy duty thick tape that resists sanding. I got some but it was too awkward to use on pens but would probably be fine for knives. If you look at the site for "Southern Tonewoods" you should be able to pick up its brand name

Interesting thought, but probably not applicable.

If the problem were to prevent scratches on the blade itself, tape might be an answer. But as I understand the question, the issue is the metal tang that fits between the two scales (the bright bit with the red arrow in the picture). That tang is thin - perhaps around 1/16" thick - so I can't imagine that it would be possible to apply tape to the tang that would protect it from sanding scratches and still allow the edges of the scales to be sanded.

 

[penicillin]

Louie (@monophoto) is correct, It is that thin metal "tang" between the scales, like where the arrow is in his photo and the same on the opposite side. My knife kits are slightly different than the photo because they are folding knives, but the problem is the same.

I actually tried tape, but it didn't work. Don't forget that if you glue both scales as instructed, the "tang" is slightly recessed, so it is hard to get the tape in there, then trim it, and then sand. The tape didn't hold.

I am still hoping to see more ideas before I head back and work on them some more. My appreciation goes out to everyone who is contributing to this thread.

 

[MillerTurnings]

Do automotive stores still have pinstriping tape? That used to come in very thin widths.

 

[isaacrapelje]

I like to use the 3M sanding pads, they are almost like steel wool. You can get them at Home Depot. It does take a lot of time to finish a knife. Especially if you want a mirror finish.

 

[penicillin]

I like to use the 3M sanding pads, they are almost like steel wool. You can get them at Home Depot. It does take a lot of time to finish a knife. Especially if you want a mirror finish.

Thanks. I keep a box of gray 3M pads and also 0000 steel wool for woodworking. I'll give them a try on the "bad" knives to see if they can clean them up. I doubt it - the damage is too deep and irregular.

 

[penicillin]

I give failed-but-functional pens to the local public library - they always need pens.

-> What do people do with failed-but-functional knife kits?

 

[SpiritRider]

I hand carve to fit and sculpt. On the stone handles I have used a dremel and slow speeds