one buff, many compunds??

[Brett Holmes]

hey guys, im new to buffing, and i was wondering do you need a seperate buff for each grit compund or can they all be used on the one buff? do i just need to rake it out before going to the next one?

If it matters this is for handle amterial not steel.

this is a buff held in a drill press.

brett

[mete]

SEPARATE buff for each grit. You would never get all the grit out by raking. All ginding ,polishing ,buffing should be done with great care with cleanliness. It's very easy for bits of stray course grit to get on the surface and scratch .Then it has to be done over !!!

[Bob Warner]

Store your buffing wheels in large ziplock bags so they do not collect grinding dust and other contaminates.

[Oldsteel]

Seems as though I stumbled in at the right time. I just got a 6" buffer from Harbor Freight and I was wondering about using different grits. Now I have a better idea of what I'm doing.

Any suggestions about buffing wheels? Should only hard buffs be used? I've never been able to figure out how to apply anything to the soft buffs.

[Ray Rogers]

The buffs you use depend on the material being buffed and the effect you want to achieve. Certainly, when a high polish on wood or plastic is needed you will need a soft loose buffing wheel.

As for what buff and compound to use for what job, I'll give the same advice I always give for this and many other basic questions: contact the major knife supply houses like Sheffield's, K&G Finishing, Jantz, and Texas Knifemakers and get a catalog from each of them. You need the catalogs because this is where you will buy most of your knife making supplies and because the printed catalogs contain lessons on basic knife making and finishing. Buffing is explained in detail and so is the purpose and use of each buffing wheel and compound the supplier sells ..........