Bob, I will try to give you the rundown on how I finish wood handles.
After scales and pins are in place on the knife I grind it down as close
to the shape I want it, on either my belt grinder or on a cone-loc drum sander.
using either 60 or 80 grit. I then clamp the blade in a vise between leather to
protect the finish. From there on its hand finishing all the way. I use 2"x50 yard rolls
of shop cloth in 80,120, 220,400, and 600 grit, this can be tore into 1/4" and
smaller strips. Starting with the 80 grit I work it back and forth around the knife handle,
sorta of like shining shoes until I get it symmetrical on both sides. Getting both sides even,
well I just eye ball it until it looks right, Its near impossible to get both sides exactly the same.
If it deceives the eye, good enough, or at least my eye. I then go through the finer grits
until I get to 220, this is where I buff very lightly with a white rough on a floppy wheel
to see if there is any sanding marks from the previous 120 grit. I find it a littler easier
to buff a little between grits, this way if I have any deep scratches from the previous grits its easier
for me to get them out now than going through the final sanding to find I have a 120 grit sanding mark
that I might not have seen. After sanding down to 600 I buff it out on a floppy wheel using
a 1200 grit white rouge, then to a pink no scratch rouge. The latter adds a good bit of luster
to the wood and won't add any color to the handle material. I then spray the handle with
Thompsons water seal and rub it in real good, let it dry for about a day or so and buff it one last
time. . One thing to try and remember when buffing woods is not try and buff out a scratch,
especially around the pins, it will buff the wood down and you will be able to feel the pins.
Try to bring the handle and pins down at the same time and finish together or you will be backing up
a few steps.This is the way I finish my handles and it seems to work ok. The Thompsons water seal
helps water proof the wood and helps the wood take on a high gloss. Hope this helps out a little.