I'm ready to try my first strip job and I'm going to start with a Ratchet that I picked up from Vance over on Bladeforums.com. My second project is my tan SAR5. I want both of them to be shiney!

I picked up some stripper and the parts I need to remove the paint so I'm good with that part. Where I need help is how to make it smooth and satin... I need some step by step advice.

I took a look at HornDog's post on stripping and I have a 1" x 30" Harbor Freight Belt sander with a few assorted belts + paste. I don't have a Bench Grinder or any Scotch-Brite wheels but checked out HomeDepot earlier today and can pick up a good looking Bench Grinder for $39 and wheels (they don't carry Scotch-Brite brand) for another $10. I have assorted sandpaper.

After I strip the knife...
1. Use belt sander of ??? grit to polish spine? (applies to knife)
2. Use bench grinder with ??? to smooth/polish?
3. Finish with sandpaper?

Is that right? Advice is very much welcome. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Wish me luck. I'll post pics once I'm confident enough that I know what I'm doing to finish this project.

First, get some stripper. It will take of the paint easily.



You may have to sand the spine.


You might need a Dremel tool and sanding drum to do the choil.


Scotchbrite buffing wheels will remove the discoloration and some of the roughness.


You'll have to sand the spine if it is really rough.

Once you get the scales back on, sand them flush with the tang.
[img]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/rivershaman/RANGER/Tutorial025.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/rivershaman/RANGER/Tutorial023.jpg[/img]

dont do it

Why not V?

Wow that looks great Vic.

Vance probly doesnt want it stripped because it used to be his knife.

BINGO!

Go for it. I want to see how the Sar5 turns out. Maybe it'll will motivate me to do mine.

I figured the Vance over there and the Vance over here were one in the same but I wasn't sure. Vance, you can drive over and help turn your old Ratchet into a gleaming satin beauty queen if you would like.

HornDog,

Thanks for the detailed tutorial!!!

I'm going to try to do this without removing the scales since I really have no way to redo the tube fasteners.

*********** First of all, if you haven't used your belt grinder on knives yet, you REALLY need to practice on some cheap steel for a "WHILE" first. I recommend trying similar sized steel/knives to the knives you are hoping to grind. Also, similar curves! Different blade edge profiles/curves, flat vs. convex, etc. all have a slightly different feel/technique for working on a belt sander. With 80 - 120 grit on a belt sander, you can mess up a blade REAL fast if you don't have a feel for what you are doing.

I know I can attest and I am confident Vic can too. Further, most knife-makers preach this on various forums about practicing on cheap steel before putting a good blade to a belt. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

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In regards to sandpaper on a belt-sander. Start with coarse grit first especially if there are pits. Say 80 grit or so. Then move up to 120, 220. If satin finishing with Scotch-brite, you can probably just stop at 120. My Scotchbrite wheels finish somewhere between my 120 and 220 grit belts.


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If you have a drill press, you can get by very well without having to buy a bench grinder.

The Scotch-brite wheels and similar off-brands are VERY good for satin finishes.
The bench grinders use the larger wheels, but they sell drill mandrel bits Scotch-brite wheels. I don't recommend trying to use them in a regular drill. And a drill press is hard to geth the Scotch-brite type wheels to work right in a horisontal position. But, for buffing and Scotch-brite, I turn my drill press on it's back and use it. It runs at a slower speed which can be good. The Bench grinders run at Extremely high speeds and build up heat very fast.

But, Bench grinders are fast for buffing and scotch-brite.

*********** BENCH-GRINDERs or Drill-press are both potentiallly VERY dangerous with buffing pads especially. But, also with Scotch-brite pads. If those wheels catch a corner of a knife or blade edge, they really yank it hard and possibly right out of your hand.

I have read about the buffers being BY FAR the most dangerous tools in a knife-makers shop. I was reluctant to try for a long time. I eventually tried buffing on my much slower speed drill press and thought it seemed quite easy and smooth for a good while with no problems. It sort of lulls you to sleep. If you let down your guard for a second and let the edge of one of those buffers catch the blade edge or even the spine, it will yank the blade VERY hard and VERY fast. I had it happen twice on my "slower" drill press and the second time almost wrenched out of my pretty firm grip. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Almost as bad, I barely missed smacking the blade edge into the steel spine of the drill press. It could likely have been a hard enough whack to do edge damage. That would have sucked. But, probably better than cutting off body parts.

**** There are many stories by knife-makers who have experienced or know of people who have lost fingers, flesh, etc. because of buffers!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I have never tried buffing on a bench grinder, but at about 3 times the speed (??????), I would think the danger level goes up much higher.

Buffing long-ways reduces the grab potential a lot. A diagonal angle helps some.
But, then you get angled scratch marks.


Be careful if BUFFING!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

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If you don't remove the scales, it is nearly impossible to get a decent finish on the blade near the ricasso. And that pommel on the SAR5 is going to be even harder to get a decent finish.

Personally, I think the SAR5 has an Awesome blade and seems to have awesome tinker potential. I think the handle looks to big and bulky and handle heavy for the blade. But, just my opinion. It might be good for some.
I think the SAR5 could have some Awesome potential. For a large part, it has some similarities to two other awesome knives: RMD and HRLM, but without choil and without thumb ramp. Size is between the two and it is INFI. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Personally, I would probably look to reshape the handle and probably slim down the scales. From what I have seen, the handle/scales are much thicker than comparable sized knives. - Maybe OK for some (?????). Here is "some" idea of what I might do:



If I were to reshape the tang of the handle. I would probably start with the scales on and do it by feel. It is harder to get the feel of the tang right without scales.

Then you could remove the scales, strip and finish the blade, put the scales back on and finish out the details with scales attached.

If you wanted to replace the scales with a different material, you could. But, I like micarta. There is nothing wrong with Busse's micarta. It just needs some buffing up, polishing and a little wax. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Otherwise, Micarta is a great durable handle material. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

My picture shows me moving the scales forward over the hole. I don't know if that would really be needed for feel and use - I doubt it. But, I think it looks a little better. (????)

Of course, "I" would strip the coating. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Removing the scales might not be as hard as you think if you have a good bench vise.

Here is one good link to replacing the pins:

How to Replace Hollow tube Fasteners


Here is another link with lots of links and info scattered through the thread about replacing scales and fasteners:

Hollow Tube Fasteners


There are other links mostly on Bladeforums. But, you would have to search.




I like satin and shiny. Post pics! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

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Do what knifeguy says. Good luck!

Making good progress on my first knife stripping.

Here's some pics of the Ratchet pre-strip, note that it is WELL used thanks to Vance: <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />





Here's the stripping supplies:



Took three applications of the stripper to remove all of the green paint. It did not bubble up like I expected, but it did get soft and gummy enough to remove with a plastic spatula and nylon brush.

Here are the pics right after I rinsed and dryed. Note that the blade was VERY grey at this point and is not as clean looking as the picture shows:



Now to clean up the curvy spots with the Dremel:





Since I don't yet have a Bench Grinder I grabbed some 100 grit sandpaper (coursest grit that I had at home) and about 15 minutes later you have this:







So, the knife is looking a lot better but I think I still need to go and buy a Bench Grinder and Scotch-Brite wheels. Either that or bust out the Belt Sander. The area above the choil in a straight line across the Ratchet is still very rough and the area immediately above the blade smooth as silk.

Any thoughts or comments on whether the next step is Bench Grinder, Belt Sander, or both are appreciated? I'm thinking that the Bench Grinder is the way to go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />