# Removing grind marks



## CutFingers (Aug 19, 2014)

What sort of stones can I use to remove large downward grind marks. The 1k stone has been very successful. I have also been using pieces of a broken 5k stone, rubbing up and down the blade refining the 1k marks. I've got a pretty good polishing going but there are deeper wheel marks that I'd like to refine.


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## daveb (Aug 19, 2014)

CutFingers said:


> What sort of stones can I use to remove large downward grind marks?



From the blade or from your fingers??? (Sorry - couldn't help myself :angel2


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## CutFingers (Aug 19, 2014)

No not my fingers...But I have been careful enough not get cut sharpening lately.


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## CompE (Aug 19, 2014)

Fairly recently I attempted to turn my stainless gyutos into a mirror. I'm pretty sure that I tried various grits of sandpaper as well as a Beston 500, but I moved up to higher grits before completely eliminating the maker's grind marks. That was a mistake. Any deep grind marks that you leave behind with a lower grit won't magically work their way out as you polish away your own scratch marks. I ended up with a highly polished blade that still had deep grinds on it. I finally recently purchased some micro-mesh mx. I'm hoping to try again with that, whenever I have time.

Sorry that I can't give you a definitive answer on how to do it; good luck to both of us.


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## rami_m (Aug 19, 2014)

To the op I had some success with wet and dry sandpaper. However there are a couple of really deep scratches that will not go away even on 80 grit (the lowest I have).


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## Benuser (Aug 19, 2014)

To get rid of deep scratches you have to use about the same grid that caused them.


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## osakajoe (Aug 19, 2014)

Benuser said:


> To get rid of deep scratches you have to use about the same grid that caused them.



+1

With that being said, you want to be careful about loose grit particles. If going from a low grit to a higher grit you want to make sure your station, knife, and stone are cleaned off. Any coarser loose grit will cause scratches and deep grooves.

And if your scratches are too deep then you were probably applying too much pressure when sharpening. Nothing you can really do about that besides thinning your blade even more or reshaping it smaller to thin it out again. But why would do that just to make it look pretty?


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## CompE (Aug 20, 2014)

osakajoe said:


> But why would do that just to make it look pretty?



Yup. For me, my high-end kitchen knives are about 80% functional tools and 20% hobby. Once in a while, the hobby part makes me do stupid things.


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## Benuser (Aug 20, 2014)

This is why I prefer carbons. Low abrasion resistance, and you put a patina on it.


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## CutFingers (Aug 21, 2014)

I think I will accept that this knife is a workhorse gyuto and not a boutique showy knife. The patina really piled on today, after the 1k polish. However I did notice great edge retention, probably because the 1k maniac session I endured was heavily rebuilding and defining the bevel support. 

So I guess I'm a toothy edge dude...After I have used the knife enough to sharpen past the cosmetically annoying grind marks, I'll begin the polishing treatment. Until then the workhorse will pull my fat chariot hands around.


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (Aug 22, 2014)

I have had great success using diamond films like fingerstones. Even with diamond, though, high hardness steels, such as the hagane on a yanagiba, are tough sledding. And a higher polish, such as 8K, does somewhat resist patina.

Cheers,

Rick


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## CutFingers (Aug 22, 2014)

Cool advice Rick. I'll try that. But honestly I'd rather not sacrifice steel for vanity. I will get to screw up my first yanigiba soon enough. The guy is going to be doing sushi at a little cafe.

He said "oh I don't use stones, i just use diamonds." Not that diamonds are evil and bad, but I can only imagine that he has probably made his single bevel a double bevel with a huge microbevel. I can't wait to screw around sharpening a Yanagi. It will be a learning curve.


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