dremel for spydies?

[5150]

i've been thinking of purchasing a dremel. what types of knife maintainance or improvements can you do with one of these things? :rolleyes: would it work for polishing scratches out of a blade? :confused: ...thanks :)

[ghostrider]

I didn't do this one myself, but it was done with a dremmel.

[Murdoc]

You can polish laquered clips with it for sure... I did. Results see here:

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/578/ ... ip4fe1.jpg


The question about polishing scratches out of blades is very interesting....

It SHOULD be possible, but I don't know if the outcome would be pleasable....did anyone try this?


Dennis

[cobrajoe]

I've done many, many things with my dremel. Polishing blades, custom jimping, sometimes even reprofiling serrations.

I've even done crazier. I'd show pics, but I can't find it. Just as well, it's kind of ugly :o

[spyderwa]

I use a Dremel tool every day. They are great for light buffing/polishing as well as rust removal with the steel wire-wheel. The danger is that they can be overly aggressive. The grinding wheels can really heat up a small area quickly and ruin the heat treat. The sanding discs and grinding wheels require extreme caution as they can take far more out of the steel than you expected. The best thing to do is to try it out on a junk knife where you have little to lose. Last but not least, wear your safety googles and watch out for the wire pieces from the little wire wheels. They have a nasty habit of coming loose and sticking themselves into your leg through your pants.

spyderwa

Rare Spyderco Website
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

[JD Spydo]

I use a Dremel tool every day. They are great for light buffing/polishing as well as rust removal with the steel wire-wheel. The danger is that they can be overly aggressive. The grinding wheels can really heat up a small area quickly and ruin the heat treat. The sanding discs and grinding wheels require extreme caution as they can take far more out of the steel than you expected. The best thing to do is to try it out on a junk knife where you have little to lose. Last but not least, wear your safety googles and watch out for the wire pieces from the little wire wheels. They have a nasty habit of coming loose and sticking themselves into your leg through your pants.

spyderwa

Rare Spyderco Website
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

Spyderwa I certainly agree with you as far as using caution with the Dremel tool. I use one in work almost weekly if not every other day. I can vouch for the fact that a person MUST use goggles or other safety eyeware. Just yesterday I was cutting a piece of galvanized steel with my dremel and it shot a shard of metal directly into my forehead ( OUCH!!). Boy did it smart :eek: !!. Had that piece of metal went into my eye I am sure I would have either sustained a very serious injury or might have even lost an eye.

The Dremel is an ingenious little tool and if used properly can be a great value to anyone's tool box. But keep in mind it is a serious shop tool and it is not a toy and not to be taken lightly. Do were protective eyeware no matter what job you do with it.

Also I do hope that they eventually make a professional model of a Dremel with a better chuck on it. The chucks on the Dremels do have a lot to be desired. I have talked to many guys who have had to get new units because of the chucks going bad

[spyderwa]

I agree on the chucks though I remember the original versions that you had to use a wrench with. I spent an evening in the ER with a tiny piece of metal in the clear part of my eye. Really an unpleasant night. I am religious about protective eyewear. One other consideration might be an appropriate dust mask. Some of the materials that are used on knives can be irritants or even toxic.

spyderwa

Rare Spyderco Page
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

[Ronald NL]

As somebody who needs to pay his Spydies from the money he makes with protective eyewear and other PPE I cannot agree more of course:

Safety first is a must.! :rolleyes:

[messer454]

Which polishing wheel and type rouge do you guys use to polish out scratches? I have been thinking about doing this on a large buffing wheel but have been afraid of it not looking very factory.

[jestyr]

http://www.foolscourt.com/jestyr/spyderco/spyder.jpg

here is one of my dremel mods

[5150]

very cool jestyr! what exactly did you do to the blade man?

[spyderwa]

Dremels are good for some things and not so good for others. When dealing with blade scratches I usually don't use a Dremel as it tends to be a little too aggressive. First off I accept the fact that because of the hardness of Spyderco blade steel I can make the blade more acceptable looking but usually not get the deep scratches out. I use a succession of flexible abrasive paper/fabric sheets, (available from knife making supply houses), working down to a fine grit. The final step is use of a polish like Flitz to finish it. I have used the dremel to do the final buffing with o.k. results though I prefer to do it by hand. If you have a large buffing wheel that can work well, although overly buffed knives always look fake to a knowledgeable knife person and can ruin any collector value. One other consideration on buffing is that buffing is the most dangerous part of knife work as the buffer wheel has a nasty tendancy to grab the knife and shoot it in different directions. Keep in mind that to remove a scratch you are taking the rest of the metal down to the level of the scratch. I think that if you have a lot of time, metal to spare, and patience that is o.k. A better bet for a user knife is to take the sharp edges off of the scratch edges to de-emphasize them. One last thing to think about is that the rougher the surface the more flaws are going to be concealed. A mirror-finished blade is very unforgiving of the tiniest scratch.
For a little fun you can try these techniques for interesting blade surfaces. Try this on junk knives first. Take a Dremel and a fine sanding disc. Holding the sanding disc at an angle at the lowest speed touch it to the blade. It will make a slightly curved mark on the metal. Now repeat it in the pattern you desire. The end result can look very nice. Another thing that you can try is to get a sanding disc without the center screw. By touching the whole disc you can get an interesting jewelled effect. Once again try this on a junk knife and remember that the Spyderco steel will probably be harder so the effect will be less evident. One attempt at handle finish involved taking an orbital sander with a fine grit sandpaper to a metal knife handle. Almost looks tumbled. Last but not least, the green Scotch Brite pads can be used on stainless handles for a factory-like brushed finish. On all of these projects try first on something that you don't mind throwing away. Also if you are planning on selling the knife it is only fair to let the buyer know what you did. I have seen numerous knives at shows advertised as near-new that were really shiny but ruined. Poor blade reprofiling and buffing looks o.k. at first glance but they are unlikely to be satisfactory when you try to use and resharpen it. Good luck.

spyderwa

Rare Spyderco Website
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

[connor]

Regarding safety,

also don't forget to wear a particle dust mask of the appropriate kind when taking of material with a dremel.

G10 dust, for example, is extremely toxic - as are many woods. Even otherwise completely harmless material can become very dangerous in the form of small particles and seriously mess up your health.

-Connor

[Tech a Billy]

Which polishing wheel and type rouge do you guys use to polish out scratches? I have been thinking about doing this on a large buffing wheel but have been afraid of it not looking very factory.

I bought a stick of white rouge marked for stainless and hardened steel at Sears Hardware. I used the little white cloth wheel that came with my Dremel set. The small wheel makes it difficult to polish evenly without leaving a telltale pattern. When I first tried to polish out a scratch I ended up having to do the entire blade to make it even but there is still some wavyness to it. Practice on something that you don't love.

[Harry White]

[quote="Tech a Billy"]I bought a stick of white rouge marked for stainless and hardened steel at Sears Hardware. I used the little white cloth wheel that came with my Dremel set. The small wheel makes it difficult to polish evenly without leaving a telltale pattern. When I first tried to polish out a scratch I ended up having to do the entire blade to make it even but there is still some wavyness to it. Practice on something that you don't love. ]
yep -- been there, done that too. those small wheels do make it difficult to get an even polish on a blade. some vigorous hand-rubbing helps smooth things over somewhat, but not completely.

[J Smith]

I just used mine to strip and polish my Starmates clip.
Best power tool I own.