Scotchbrite finishing wheel - anyone use it?

chickentrax

chickentrax

Joined
Aug 5, 2005
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I need to refinish several Buck knives with the "satin" finish. If you've been following some of the more esoteric threads here, you noticed (and saved!) a post by Joe in which he said that this finish was achieved by Buck with the use of the Scotchbrite wheels.

Texas Knifemakers has a couple -

http://www.texasknife.com/store/s-pages/TKS_MainframeStore.htm?TKS_BufingPolishingWhls1.htm~smain BUF10F, about half way down

BUF10.jpg


3M Satin Finish Wheel 6" Scotchbrite

Thia wheel is excellent for cleanup of oxidation or corrosion on metals. It leaves a nice satin finish. The 6" wheel comes with one set of plastic bushings.

BUF10F - 6" Dia, 1" thick, fine $43.95
BUF10M - 6" Dia, 1" thick, medium $43.95

What I'm wondering is whether the wheels are nice and strong - will they hold their shape if you lean into them a bit?...or will they deflect and deform like a regular woven buffing wheel does?... :confused:

Anyone used them???
 
Mike Kerins said:
At $44 I would certainly hope they would hold up. :eek:
Click to expand...

...:D :D :D ...I meant are they supposed to be deformable (like the Scotchbrite pot & pan cleaning pads) or are they stiff and hard??? It would make a difference in how I would mount/use them...
 
chickentrax said:
...:D :D :D ...I meant are they supposed to be deformable (like the Scotchbrite pot & pan cleaning pads) or are they stiff and hard??? It would make a difference in how I would mount/use them...
Click to expand...

I haven't used them ,but know guys who have.
They mount them on a bench grinder and use the outside (edge)of the pad.
This gives the nice smooth lines running horizontal instead of swirls,
if you use the large surface of the wheel.
You will not have to put much pressure on whatever you are refinishing
.....they will grab!Have plenty of padding in the floor if you get too much angle on a blade.:D
 
Evil Eye Earl said:
They mount them on a bench grinder and use the outside (edge)of the pad.
This gives the nice smooth lines running horizontal instead of swirls...
Click to expand...

That is what I will do if the pad is semi-deformable...but if it is semi-hard, I can mount it in my lathe and clamp the knife in a vise and power feed it so that the lines are uniform and straight...and hopefully not round the blend lines... :rolleyes:

I have a couple sets of the 2" and 3" 3M pads for air grinders; they do a really nice job of "satin-izing", but as you pointed out, using the flat surface leaves crescent shaped swirls...it's not unattractive, but it's not Buck either... ;)
 
he he he he...
You guys are soooo lucky. Damned hard to find any real nice knife maintenance stuff in the UK...
 
I've used scotchbrite wheels for some time.

The one's I've used are NOT like a flap buff. They are pretty stiff-- a solid block of dense scotchbrite. There are different hardnesses (densities) available. You probably want a "medium".

To give you an example of how these work, if you run the edge of a bar on it, it will cut a soft V into the bar. Meanwhile, you will be rounding the edge of the wheel. As you use these wheels, you end up with all sorts of grooves in them, but strange as it may sound, that doesn't seem to detract from their usefulness. The exact contour of the wheel's surface changes as you use it, like it does on a stone wheel.

These are very useful wheels. They're a bit pricey, but well worth it.
 
Pack Rat said:
What age knives are you refinishing? Models?
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Brand new...coated...with logos...all models... :)

I have a couple older Bucks that have some scratches in them, on top of Bucks satin Scotchbrite finish...Need to renew the satin...so it looks unused... :cool:
 
If you haven't done work like this before...be careful, you can remove a lot of metal even with finer grit polishes than this Scotchbrite wheel. Using a "slow" speed grinder (~1700 rpm or less; most bench grinders are ~3400 rpm) gives you more control, too.
 
I've often wondered if minor blade scratches could be removed by reapplying a satin finish. And I also wondered what one would use to do this.

Hey, when older Buck 110's are sent back for repairs does Buck refinish the blade to remove blemishes? :confused:

Trax let us know how this turns out if you do this thing.
 
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