Buffing wheels confusion

G

golfer1

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Nov 24, 2016
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OK, it doesn't take much to confuse me. I need some buffing wheels to polish knife handles and didn't realize there were so many options. Can anyone suggest to me what I might want to look at?
Thanks much and best wishes.
 
golfer1 said:
OK, it doesn't take much to confuse me. I need some buffing wheels to polish knife handles and didn't realize there were so many options. Can anyone suggest to me what I might want to look at?
Thanks much and best wishes.
Click to expand...

I prefer spiral sewn to loose sewn, as they're much less "grabby". Sisal cuts a little more aggressive than cotton, IIRC, given the same compound. Either is fine for knife making IMO. From there it's more/less a matter of choosing the diameter to fit your machine and arbor (some come with adapters), and if there's a width choice, pick what you think you'll like. You can always stack them too if you need a little more surface area.

Stay away from the "cheap" buffs, as they'll just throw threads all over the place and be a pain to work with, won't balance as well, etc... I bought a set of buffing wheels for a really good clearance price from USAKnifemaker recently... Quickly found out why they were on clearance. Wouldn't recommend. ;)
 
All depends what you are doing & how far you want to take your process.
Are you just shining up otherwise finished handles ?
If so, Just a loose cotton wheel and a fine polish compound.

If you are making new handles, You will probably need a variety of hard & loose wheels.
However some guys go total nuts sanding up to super-ultrafine grits before buffing, Then one could just use loose wheels.
 
I like sewn combed muslin. 6" is the minimum, and 10-12" is best. Buffs can grab a knife from you grip in literally a thousandths of a second. The risk of buffing knives is not to be taken lightly.
 
You're talking about buffing ONLY knife handles - correct? If so, you'll only need 1, or at most two types of buffing wheels. For knife handle (wood, ivory, etc) you'll use a soft muslin wheel, one that is sewn in a spiral, and perhaps one loose. 8" in diameter (width/thickness) is pretty much what you desire. You're not doing any "cutting" on the handle, only the final "touch" of buff. The handle should already be sanded to at least 1,000 grit, better higher. The only buffing compound you'll need is about the finest grit you can get. Look for a buffing wheel that says it's for wood, plastic, etc for handle buffing.

Since you're at this high level of sanding already, you'll only "touch" the buffing wheel very lightly. Pressing too hard can easily "burn" the finish. Since only a light touch is required for most any "polish" type buffing I prefer a small 1725 rpm motor, 1/4 or 1/3 hp is plenty with an 8" loose buffing wheel that only 1/2" or so thick. At this thickness of loose buffing wheel it tends to collapse rather than grab. Plus, on the handle there is less to grab while buffing.

When finished with buffing, don't leave the wheel on motor - always remove buffing wheel and store in gallon sized zip lock bags to keep them clean. Also, have a different wheel for metal, and for wood, ivory, etc, and store each buffing wheel in it's own bag.

Have fun buffing -

Ken H>
 
Ken H> said:
You're talking about buffing ONLY knife handles - correct? If so, you'll only need 1, or at most two types of buffing wheels. For knife handle (wood, ivory, etc) you'll use a soft muslin wheel, one that is sewn in a spiral, and perhaps one loose. 8" in diameter (width/thickness) is pretty much what you desire. You're not doing any "cutting" on the handle, only the final "touch" of buff. The handle should already be sanded to at least 1,000 grit, better higher. The only buffing compound you'll need is about the finest grit you can get. Look for a buffing wheel that says it's for wood, plastic, etc for handle buffing.

Since you're at this high level of sanding already, you'll only "touch" the buffing wheel very lightly. Pressing too hard can easily "burn" the finish. Since only a light touch is required for most any "polish" type buffing I prefer a small 1725 rpm motor, 1/4 or 1/3 hp is plenty with an 8" loose buffing wheel that only 1/2" or so thick. At this thickness of loose buffing wheel it tends to collapse rather than grab. Plus, on the handle there is less to grab while buffing.

When finished with buffing, don't leave the wheel on motor - always remove buffing wheel and store in gallon sized zip lock bags to keep them clean. Also, have a different wheel for metal, and for wood, ivory, etc, and store each buffing wheel in it's own bag.

Have fun buffing -

Ken H>
Click to expand...

I needed to hear this too. Thanks Ken.
 
I personally like concentric sewed wheels joined together to my preferred thickness! IF which I do like a little softer wheel sometimes I carefully cut a certain number of outside concentric sewed threads out! Works for me!
 
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I use 1" concentric sewn wheels and then remove the outer row of stitching.
This gives a softer buffing action yet has a firm support behind it to maximize control. One wheel for each compound, and one for dedicated clean-work.
 
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