# Apartment spine easing sanity check



## TonyZ (May 10, 2021)

So I want to ease/round the spine of my miz (first time ever) and I want to make sure I am not forgetting anything. For context, I will be doing this in my apartment on a countertop with a 5-6" overhang that I can clamp a vice onto.

Materials:
Vise: probably going to buy a clamp-on vise from HD. Any recs on this would be appreciated. I know nothing about vises and I don't want the knife to fall out or vise to not be secure bc that would suck.
Sandpaper (220-800 or whatever I am feeling)
masking tape
duct tape for sand paper backing
cardboard

Method:
Put a mask on (metal dust no bueno)
Mask off blade and edge.
Cardboard liner between knife and vice (I will probably clamp the blade)
Use a hard backing (wood dowel) and some sandpaper to knock the shoulder off the spine
Shoe shine method with duct tape backed sandpaper up to desired grit and roundness


Am I forgetting anything? This shouldn't be too difficult but I know if I mess up my knife due to stupidity or ignorance I will never look at that knife the same way again.


----------



## ian (May 10, 2021)

Personally, I'd try to round it as much as you can with a hard backing before going hardcore with the shoeshine method. You could even just put the spine to a low grit stone or atoma or something on for the first pass. Depends what kind of rounding you're going for, but if you're trying to convert a sharp spine to a fully rounded one with the shoe shine method, I feel like it'll take forever and a day. Maybe I'm just impatient, though, because it seems others on here have been successful at this. This is one of those things that's like totally trivial on a belt sander, but seems to take forever by hand.


----------



## MarcelNL (May 10, 2021)

I eased a spine by hand in under 10 or 15 minutes, never had to take out a file.


----------



## ian (May 10, 2021)

MarcelNL said:


> I eased a spine by hand in under 10 or 15 minutes, never had to take out a file.



Guess it depends what you're going for. I only tried once to really round something by hand (rather than just make it less sharp). But come to think of it, that was a hard mono blade, so maybe it's not as big a deal with something san mai.


----------



## TonyZ (May 10, 2021)

ian said:


> Guess it depends what you're going for. I only tried once to really round something by hand (rather than just make it less sharp). But come to think of it, that was a hard mono blade, so maybe it's not as big a deal with something san mai.



Ironclad shouldn't be as bad as a mono blade. Moving closer to a rounded spine would depend on my patience and how fast I am progressing


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (May 10, 2021)

If you're just going for comfort, I've done it my recliner. Little wood block that I wrap the sand paper around and a Sharpie marker to wrap around for coil work. That's just for knocking the sharp edges off the first couple inches.


----------



## ethompson (May 10, 2021)

I did it to my Mazaki using pretty much the exact method you are describing. It will make a mess and take a little time, but otherwise is quite simple. For reference my 270 took a little over an hour to go from stock (slightly eased but pretty rough) to rounded and mirror polished.


----------



## ModRQC (May 10, 2021)

I found a good file works quite faster for a simple chamfer of the sharp angles.

Edit: as a side note, the file traps most of the debris, sandpaper is much more of a swarf mess. I also work on my kitchen counter...


----------



## McMan (May 10, 2021)

I'm in the file then paper club. But there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Things depend somewhat on the thickness and taper of the spine. If it's really thin, the shoe-shine method doesn't get a ton accomplished beyond a certain point. It works better for thicker spines IME because there is more 'purchase' on the shoulders. If the spine has distal taper to it, I've always just used a file to get it how I want it and then polished with papers.

--Use wet and dry sandpaper so you don't have to worry about the dust.
--Saran wrap then tape the handle.
--If using a clamp vise, be sure to put wood above and below the counter top to protect it. Clamp on vises suck.
--I think @stringer (or somebody else?) had a method where they just stuck the knife in a book and left the spine out.


----------



## tostadas (May 10, 2021)

For initial shaping, I recommend 120grit sandpaper. As @ian mentioned, wrap the sandpaper around something hard like a small piece of wood or something for initial shaping. To get more round after initial shaping, you can put some soft padding between the sandpaper and wood. And to finish it off I use the back of my fingers.

Don't forget to protect the handle to keep it from getting all the dust in it. I use plastic wrap and tape.


----------



## M1k3 (May 11, 2021)

Coarsest stone you have on the spine (Shapton Pro 120 comes in handy for this) > vise and shoeshine method. That's what I prefer.


----------



## cotedupy (May 11, 2021)

^ What Mike and Ian said.

Don't start in a vice. Just use a coarse stone, or put / affix your sandpaper on something flat, and hold the knife. You'll get more pressure, more evenly applied, doing it this way first. Then go to a vice for finer sanding and more finesse. And if you're comfortable with it - knocking the handle off and then re-fixing at the end will make it easier too.

(Also - who knew vise/vice was one of those words spelt differently in American English from proper English?  Two countries separated by a common language eh!)


----------



## TonyZ (May 11, 2021)

Sounds like I am going to try and ease the corners on a stone before picking up a vice and some sand paper.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (May 11, 2021)

TonyZ said:


> Sounds like I am going to try and ease the corners on a stone before picking up a vice and some sand paper.



I've definitely done it on a stone. I just roll, the knife some as I work.


----------



## tostadas (May 11, 2021)

TonyZ said:


> Sounds like I am going to try and ease the corners on a stone before picking up a vice and some sand paper.


You can also place the sandpaper directly on top of the stone as a hard backing.


----------



## toddnmd (May 11, 2021)

Lots of good advice and options above. 
I’ll second the suggestion to remove handle, it will be easier to do your rounding. I’d start with a small file as I think it’s easier to control. In the end, if it ends up feeling more comfortable, the job was a success. I think you’ll enjoy the improvement and the process of making the knife yours.


----------

