Best sand paper?

N

NeedItCheaper

Joined
Jun 17, 2012
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366
Generally, I'll buy whatever is cheapest. Lanny and Lanhu were the cheapest highly reviewed on Amazon. But I'm curious if anyone knows more than a schmuck (me) buying whatever is cheapest. Looking for fast cutting and uniform surface in the 600-2000 grit range. For polishing knives and potentially using for freehand knife sharpening. What do you recommend?


Edit; Steels are 3V, S30V, ZDP 189, and maybe K390.
 
I will tell you now what you are getting with cheap sandpaper " TROUBLE " and a waste of money. Don't skimp when it comes to your knives/tools edge. The grit sizes are more than likely not what they are sold as, get good quality sandpaper, you know what you are getting, and it lasts longer. This is a classic you get what you pay for. :thumbsup:
 
3M or Norton are both good. They cut the steel well, with nice, even progressions in finish from 220 thru 2000, at least. Makes it easy to convex & polish, if you're pursuing that in your edges.

I don't think I've even tried any other brands, as I never felt I needed to.

Something to keep in mind:
With SiC sandpaper, any of them will begin to struggle a bit in polishing if you're using it on steels like S30V and any others with much vanadium content (>3-4%). Up around ~600 grit or so, that's when you'll notice the polish won't go as far and the edge won't stay as crisp as it could be. Edges will start to round off a bit around 600 or higher, with these steels.
 
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Rhynowet, 3M, and Norton are three of my favorites. Gator Grit is ok, but it doesn’t seem to hold up as well as the others I mentioned. Sandpaper falls into the “You get what you pay for“ category.
 
I can't tell a specific brand. But maybe it would be worth to try emery cloth. There is a German guy who uses this to sharpen his knives. Seems to be more durable than sandpaper. And is available in high grits (up to 14.000?); it is used for polishing car finish.

The classic hardware store sandpaper is most likely not long lasting and only available in coarse to medium grits.
 
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Klingspor (German made) is the highest quality and when I did gunsmithing I tried them all. I had a tool chest drawer full of small pieces that were used and that stuff seemed like it would never stop cutting steel. You would think it was worn out but it wasn't. Brownells sells it. I bought it by the roll.
 
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