All of those did see some time on the belt sander. I still need to order more belts in more grits, but I have been holding off because I want to invest in a nicer belt sander (someday....) - Probably go with a 42"x1" (?????).
I wish I could find a good deal on something with variable speed, but a Delta 42"x1" is about $125, a Kalamazoo goes for a little over $200 - $250 + accessories.



Anything with variable speed seems to go for $1000 - $1500 +++ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> - I don't think I see myself justifying that anytime soon. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Whenever I get a new sander, I will probably get more belts. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
I will probably invest in a bunch of belts including about 3 leather for two different compounds and one dry. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
Finances are not good for me now to be purchasing a new belt sander. Unfortunately been having to sell knives to pay bills.

All I currently have are 120 & 220 grits that I use for most of the dimple and rough removal. I have a drum sanding kit for my drill press that I use on the choils and similar areas that are hard to get right with my cheap belt sander.

But, I have to do a fair amount of work by hand still. The front to back brushed look is all done by hand. I made myself a little block and wrapped it with leather to give a slight cushion. I use this with sand-paper to help keep my sanding flat and help keep my fingers away from the edge. It is also easier to keep a straight inline sanding motion with the block than without. There are a few other tricks.

For hand use grits, I sometimes have to use a little 220 still on a few rough areas that I may have missed with the belt sander, but I usually just go up to no higher than 320 or 400 grit. I prefer a satin finish over mirror for my users. Mirror finish is too much a PITA to maintain and only for Queens.

Truthfully, these have received more work than I should have put into them for users. But, I get carried away.

The DM has more finely polished areas at the bevel of the spine - probably up to 800 grit. It doesn't show well in the pictures, but the shiny corner bevels and penetrator point have a nice contrast pop to them. - Kind of like the nice semi-mirrored edge on the YG.
Ironically, on the DM I didn't really do much hand sanding to the flat sides. I stopped at 220 on the belt sander on the sides for the DM, but did the primary grind by hand to about 400.

The SS4 has the nicest finish. I don't think INFI polishes any better than S7. Being a smaller blade, I was just able to get more polish in less time.

Clean them all up with a little Semi-chrome and Flitz. Semi-Chrome is just slightly more aggressive cutting than Flitz. - Whereas, I assume Flitz does a little more Mirror finishing if needed (????). I have only done mirror once - all by hand. Probably took me 15 - 20 hours. (a lot of "learning" what cuts what - <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/paperbag.gif" alt="" />) Pain in the fingers. I hope to not do that again.

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Thanks. That is one little detail that I would like see changed on future Busse family of knives.

On certain larger choppers, the distance from choil to handle is fine. I don't mind the stretch.

But, on the mid-size choppers to smaller knives, I personally prefer the feel and function of having a much smaller gap from handle to choil - better feel and more importantly more blade in closer to the natural handle grip.

I don't see any advantages to a large guard.

Unfortunately, for my mod, I can improve the feel by bringing it in closer, but I can't bring the blade edge in any closer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

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Nice stuff. Thanks for sharing.


BTW - Your PM box has been full for awhile now.

Very nice work, and nice pics!

If you want to vary the speed of your belt sander, wouldn't a variac do the trick? Not sure how much current the sander draws, but you can get used variacs with 10A capacity for $50-100 depending on condition, maybe cheaper than that if you find one at a garage sale. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Ya got those right Bo!

I didn't know. Sorry. I just went and deleted out about 10.

Send me a PM! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

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there is no way my wii will load all these pics <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I have never heard of "variac". I guess I should look into it.

Don't know much about different types ofelectric motors and all the different currents and gizmos that can be matched up together. (?????) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" />

I think Brian has a Kalamazoo 1SM. I just sent him a PM to get the motor info and I will see if I can figure out options. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

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Wow. You do nice work KG, very nice work. I can imagine you spent some serious time slaving over a hot belt sander. Terrific result - well worth whatever time it took. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That is fantastic work. I did the exact same to my SS4 with a strip and a zero convex edge. I felt bad for grinding off the Scrapyard INFI logo.
Here are a pic of the 2 top of the line Scrappers ,the big one DFLE and the small one the SS4infi.


I got a few scratches in my YKLE from the kydex sheath so I started polishing them out by hand and ended up with a mirror polish. Even though I have a good but old 1/42 Norton I had to do the YKLE by hand because I want to keep the logo.
I got the logo side 98% done and quit. I still have to do the other side. I also did a much finer 20 degree edge on the YKLE. That took 16 hours of grinding with the Lansky coarse diamond. I am a sucker for punishment. Actually I find it soothing to do finishing work in front of the TV. I may learn to knit.

Here is a bad photo of some LE's but you can see that the finish on the YKLE(bottom) is reflecting a lot more light.

It's the curves! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> - Nice Curves are SEXY! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

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Nice work. A slight horn dog influence perhaps?