All About Pocket Knives

What buffing compound is best to achieve a relatively quick satin finish on steel? I'm using a dremel tool as well as buffing wheels on a grinder. Maybe there is a tutorial about this I'm unaware of. Any advice and reccomendations will be appreciated.

Don’t know that this can be done depending on what you are starting with. Buffing alone even with good equipment can have poor results if the metal isn’t properly prepared before buffing.

Let me put it another way. What handful of buffing compounds (from coarse to fine)are generally recommended for using to put a finish (incrementally) on steel only up to a "satin" finish. I personally don't like a high polish. Another way of saying what I'm wanting to know is, what final compound do you use to put a final polish on a blade to achieve a satin type finish?

Buffs don't work that way, they're made to remove scratches, not put them on. You need to go with an abrasive wheel or belt for that, but be forewarned that you can do a lot more damage to a vintage knife that way than leaving it as is. Those abrasives also round off the nice sharp edges and swedges that were professionally ground at the factory.

Eric

I use a scotchbright belt on a belt sander for a satin polish.
One can also use a scotch bright pad to achieve the same.
One can sandpaper at 320 grit to achieve a nice satin finish.

The metal needs to be polished before the satin finish is applied. A satin finish will cover imperfections in the metal.

When hand sanding a blade I normally work through progressively finer grits, alternating scratch patterns with each grit. If I am finishing at 600, I will sand to 800 then back up to 600; if finishing with a 320 satin finish, I will sand to 400 then drop back to 320 for the finish.

Good info here. You can also use a scotchbrite wheel on an inexpensive bench grinder in addition to the pads and belts mentioned.

Let me try again. I'll keep it simple. What are 2 or 3 "buffing compounds" (colors, grits or names) that many of you would use to put a final finish on a blade (that is ready for the final finish) in order to leave a "satin finish" rather than a high polish? Using buffing wheels of course.

Jantz 320 grit greaseless compound on a sewn Mulsin wheel.
Same compound on a sisal wheel.
Jantzsupply.com

Thanks. I'll give that a try.