Tom Militano
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What is the best media for a bead blast finish on blades. Maybe I should have said what is the most common used, I don't want to have to sell my truck to buy some.
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Bead Blast Media
- Thread starter Tom Militano
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They sell glass beads designed for bead blasting. Should be able to get them anywhere they sell guns and cabinets.
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I get my glass beads from MSC. www.mscdirect.com
Tom Militano
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I guess I should asked this a little clearer. What grit do knifemakers commonly use? I'm using 60-80 glass beads and it's not as agressive as I'd like. I don't want something that will wash out my grind lines, just more of a matte finish. I'm finishing to 600 grit before bead blasting. Any suggestions?
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Try going to finer than 600 grit on the finish before bead blast....maybe almost mirror finish (9 micron-ish) and the bead blast...60-100 is OK.
I have a lot of those beads but now prefer hand stroked on the 60 Rc finished blades... but if you bead blast at 60/100 bead on an almost mirror finish hardened blade you ought to be in good shape.....
Bead blast doesn't save you much work...it just gives you a satin-ish finish...
I have a lot of those beads but now prefer hand stroked on the 60 Rc finished blades... but if you bead blast at 60/100 bead on an almost mirror finish hardened blade you ought to be in good shape.....
Bead blast doesn't save you much work...it just gives you a satin-ish finish...
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Tom:
I have also done some research into abrasive blasting also.
Although I have not tried it myself, I have searched long and wide for the same information and have purchased supplies in anticipation of a little experimentation.
According to Bob Terzuolas book
The tactical folding knife
(highly detailed and recommended-lacks color photos)
Page 108
180 grit aluminum oxide at 90 PSI
Is what he uses to obtain a satin blast finish on titanium handles, G 10 and ATS-34 blades
The photo on the same page shows the finish contrast between the matte blasted blade and the bright-sharpened edge
He finishes the blasted blade with a Purple Scotchbrite flap wheel
The 180 grit AO abrasive is very rarely used.
I was told it was kept in stock for use to clean scale off electric generator turbines
(Read that to mean - only one customer has ever asked for it)
As a result, either no one was willing to order it in one bag quantities, or they had skids of it in warehouse and were happy to clearance it out to me.
I found it by calling all suppliers of abrasives in the yellow pages.
If you cannot find it in your area, let me know and I can steer you to whom I dealt with. They may have or be able to identify distributors in your area.
According to Alan Elishewitz in
Blades guide to making knives
(Book is vague on technical details tries to cover too much in one book
-Typographical errors mar info -nice color photos)
Page 13
He uses a mixture of
25 % aluminum oxide abrasive and
75 % glass beads
No information is given on the air pressure used or the grit of AO or beads used.
I copied this off a forum when it was posted:
Rob Simonich
08-10-1999, 11:19 AM
The media I use and like the best is Ceramic beads. Kit Carson turned me on to these and they are the longest lasting and most dust free abrasive that I have tried. They peen the steel rather than cut it, so they do not hide any boo boo's. The place to get them is Fusco Abrasives, phone number 1-800-899-3872. The initial outlay is more but they last so long that I dont think they cost any more than glass beads, get the finest grit they have available.....
www.simonichknives.com
And this
I've been using an abrasive called "white240" which is an aluminium oxide particle similar to 240 SiC but with out the sharp hard edges, being similar to micron size alum oxide in its plate like shape. Subsurface damage is not as deep as with SiC, so it works well between a 200 something SiC and the finer A.O.'s., as it removes the heavy pitting of the previous rough grind with much reduced pitting as compared to 320 SiC. It's sold by a company out Compton, Ca. called Fusco Abrasives. They deal in 50lb qty though, at buck fifty or so a lb. They also carry a full compliment of abrasives, pitches, and other lapping and polishing supplies. More later. Bill Marriott Forest Knolls, Ca. btk@ix.netcom
I would appreciate any feedback on what you decided to use and photos/comments on how it turned out.
Steven Penner
I have also done some research into abrasive blasting also.
Although I have not tried it myself, I have searched long and wide for the same information and have purchased supplies in anticipation of a little experimentation.
According to Bob Terzuolas book
The tactical folding knife
(highly detailed and recommended-lacks color photos)
Page 108
180 grit aluminum oxide at 90 PSI
Is what he uses to obtain a satin blast finish on titanium handles, G 10 and ATS-34 blades
The photo on the same page shows the finish contrast between the matte blasted blade and the bright-sharpened edge
He finishes the blasted blade with a Purple Scotchbrite flap wheel
The 180 grit AO abrasive is very rarely used.
I was told it was kept in stock for use to clean scale off electric generator turbines
(Read that to mean - only one customer has ever asked for it)
As a result, either no one was willing to order it in one bag quantities, or they had skids of it in warehouse and were happy to clearance it out to me.
I found it by calling all suppliers of abrasives in the yellow pages.
If you cannot find it in your area, let me know and I can steer you to whom I dealt with. They may have or be able to identify distributors in your area.
According to Alan Elishewitz in
Blades guide to making knives
(Book is vague on technical details tries to cover too much in one book
-Typographical errors mar info -nice color photos)
Page 13
He uses a mixture of
25 % aluminum oxide abrasive and
75 % glass beads
No information is given on the air pressure used or the grit of AO or beads used.
I copied this off a forum when it was posted:
Rob Simonich
08-10-1999, 11:19 AM
The media I use and like the best is Ceramic beads. Kit Carson turned me on to these and they are the longest lasting and most dust free abrasive that I have tried. They peen the steel rather than cut it, so they do not hide any boo boo's. The place to get them is Fusco Abrasives, phone number 1-800-899-3872. The initial outlay is more but they last so long that I dont think they cost any more than glass beads, get the finest grit they have available.....
www.simonichknives.com
And this
I've been using an abrasive called "white240" which is an aluminium oxide particle similar to 240 SiC but with out the sharp hard edges, being similar to micron size alum oxide in its plate like shape. Subsurface damage is not as deep as with SiC, so it works well between a 200 something SiC and the finer A.O.'s., as it removes the heavy pitting of the previous rough grind with much reduced pitting as compared to 320 SiC. It's sold by a company out Compton, Ca. called Fusco Abrasives. They deal in 50lb qty though, at buck fifty or so a lb. They also carry a full compliment of abrasives, pitches, and other lapping and polishing supplies. More later. Bill Marriott Forest Knolls, Ca. btk@ix.netcom
I would appreciate any feedback on what you decided to use and photos/comments on how it turned out.
Steven Penner
Tom Militano
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Thanks for the replies. Steve I just changed out the entire guts of my bead blast cabinet with a upgrade kit from TP Tools, part no. US-30, USA Cabinet Gun Upgrade Kit, and it made a world of difference. I'm still using the 60-80 glass beads, but now they get the finish I want. The gun that came with my cabinet was a piece of junk.