Removing Pitting on Hollow ground - how deep?

[Dryphter]

Picked up this fairly nice Shumate 850. Looks to have very little hone wear on the spine, scales are nice. I gave it a quick sand with 400 w/d just to get the black off and see what it looked like underneath the surface layer.

How do I know how much sanding is appropriate to remove the pitting that is left without compromising the blade? It's a full hollow (I think) so not a lot of metal there to begin with.

I don't mind some character, so I could just polish out the 400 grit scratches and call it good. But out curiosity I wanted to ask those of you with a lot more experience. Also, I am thinking about removing the scales and tossing it into my brass tumbler I use for reloading ammo.

 

[NPV]

I wouldn't throw it into the tumbler. Idk what type pf media you use but the typical walnut won't do much it is meant for softer metal (brass). You can probably go a bit further with the 400 then move to 800, and then 1500. After which you will be able to remove the scratches with metal polish by hand. You will not be able to remove 400 grit scratches even with a dremel unless you are using an aggressive compound, in which case you might as well just hand sand through the grits.

Most of that pitting is on the surface from the looks of your photos you will probably be able to remove most of the black splotches without compromising the blade. There may still be some micro-pitting when the blade is polished that you will only be able to see in certain lights/angles.

 

[Dryphter]

Thanks NPV. Or I can send it to you to shine up like the other Shumate I use walnut in the tumbler so it probably won't help.

I'll plug away a bit more with the 400 and then move on. I think I have 600 / 800 / 1.2k / 1.5k / 2.5k grit but I doubt I will have the attention span to make it through all of those.

 

[NPV]

Thanks NPV. Or I can send it to you to shine up like the other Shumate I use walnut in the tumbler so it probably won't help.

I'll plug away a bit more with the 400 and then move on. I think I have 600 / 800 / 1.2k / 1.5k / 2.5k grit but I doubt I will have the attention span to make it through all of those.

Personally I'd skip the 600, 1.2K, and 2.5K. Usually I go 400, 800, and 1500. Though it may take the same amount of time with the smaller jumps I just have to work a bit harder to remove the scratches from the previous grit. If you are going to finish with a metal polish you will be able to remove the 1500 grit scratches without an issue so there's not a huge need to go beyond that.

As I've recommended before I suggest changing your sanding direction with each grit so you can be 100% sure all of the scratches from the previous grit paper are gone. If you are going to be doing the polishing by hand though I also suggest ending with a vertical pattern as it is much easier to remove. If you're using a dremel it wont matter.

For your situation I'd probably go 400, 800 (vertical), 1200 (horizontal), 1500 (vertical), that will have you well set up for the final polish. Make sure to post pictures of your results, I'm looking forward to it.