Now that the dust has settled and the epoxy has set, it’s time to look at what you have created.
Most of mine look like disasters that should be scrapped, and when I show the raw product to my wife she politely says how nice it will look.
Cutting
I, however, can see the beauty, and look past the jutting pieces and smeared epoxy, to what it will be. To start, get your jeweler’s saw or maybe the Dremel tool with a cutoff saw of plate attachment and trim as much as you can from the top spine area, back end, and bottom of the knife. You will find this effort well worth the time compared to sanding on a belt sander, and far less prone to gouging the knife. It is also a lot cheaper, since sanding belts and paper are somewhat expensive, not to mention the dust. In your trimming, aim for about 1/16” to 1/8” overhang if possible, but don’t end up cutting into the knife. The jeweler’s blades are capable of some damage to the knife if you are sloppy.
If the pieces you used are significantly higher on the knife faces than they will be for the finished state, you can carefully try cutting along the face to save sanding time on the sides.
I save all the pieces I cut because they can often be used in another custom design as accents.
Sanding
You can now start flat or bevel sanding the two faces of the knife to bring them roughly to the finished shapes, or you can work on the spine and bottom first. I like to do the sides first, but that’s just my preference because it starts to show the finished character of the handles and that
inspires me.

Keep all possible portions of the knife taped, especially the bolsters, as you sand the faces. It is no fun having to refinish polished bolsters because the belt or paper slipped onto the bolster portion. To sand the spine and bottom, I cheat a little and use the end of the 4”x36” belt sander.
This takes some skill because you can easily sand down to the spine or bottom surface and leave a dip before you know you did it. I use the Optivisor and breathing mask to perform this step, and I have my face stuck within about a foot or so of the belt to monitor the action. Needless to say, no long sleeve shirts or long hair if you do it this way. You can use regular paper or the top of the belt sander for the top spine in most cases, but the underside of the knife is often contoured, so when using sandpaper I wrap it or glue it around a round piece of wood and sand across the knife. This works fairly well for finger grooves and you have a lot of control against oversanding.
For the above work I generally use100 grit. The aim here is not the final product but rather rough shaping so that finer grits can effectively be used. Using the 100 grit properly gets you close to the final shape and finish and leaves just enough that you can properly finish the knife handles without massive amounts of fine grit paper and time being expended.
Final Sanding and Polishing
Once you are satisfied with the rough shape, it’s time to start with the finer grits. I use 220 then 400 and then wet/dry 600 paper. If the faces of the handle are going to be flat, then I lay out the various sanding papers and go at it. If you have a concave or other shape, you will of course need to use the papers by hand. When I think the 220 paper ahs just about done all it can I put on the Optivisor and inspect for any sanding grooves left from the 100 grit paper or sanding belts.  Those must be removed now, because finer grits certainly won’t do it. Grooves are best seen by rotating a moistened knife at various angles. I keep a damp rag around just so I can see better where I am in the process at each step.
The wet dry 600 paper really shows what the final product will look like, since it keeps the knife wet, and thus shows basically the best the handles are going to be. Once you have exhausted yourself with all the sanding papers, it’s time for some buffing.
There are all manner of compounds that can be used for final buffing, both by hand and machine.
It all depends on what finish you want and what handle materials you have used. You have to do your homework and experiment. I will say that one of my favorites for the recon stones is ZAM, a favorite of indian jewelry makers and a great polisher of turquoise and reconstructed stone material. I also use some various metal buffing compounds. In a previous article I gave sources of where to find these materials. Get their catalogs and review the writeups for the various compounds. Some are hard and dry, while others are grease type compounds.
There is no substitute for experience, so you will have to try small quantities of various compounds to settle on the ones you really like.
I hope these blogs have helped to at least get you started on a great hobby.

Dr. K