Had a talk with a master carpenter that changed how I see finish work

At a job site in Austin last week, an older guy named Bill watched me sanding drawer fronts for about 10 minutes before he said anything. He finally just told me I was stopping too soon, that I was hitting 220 grit and calling it good. He pulled me over to a piece he had done and showed me how he goes up to 400 grit, then wets the wood and goes again. I had always thought smooth was smooth, but he changed my mind with that one example. Has anyone else had an old timer give advice that totally shifted your approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_black312mo ago

Man, hold up. 400 grit? THEN wet it and sand again? That's nuts. I've been in kitchens my whole life and I'm the same way, I think I've got something perfect and then a vet like that shows you there's a whole other level. It's like the difference between a sharp knife and a razor blade, you just don't know it's possible until you feel it. That's wild.

the_jamie1mo ago

Holler at that comparison to a razor blade, that's EXACTLY what I mean. I used to think my knives were sharp till I sat down with a guy who makes sushi for a living and he let me feel his yanagiba after he finished it on a 5000 grit stone. I was honestly embarrassed for myself. It's like you don't even realize how dull your "sharp" is until you've felt something that's actually been pushed to its limit. Now I'm hooked on trying to chase that feeling with my own knives and it's a total rabbit hole.

hugo_bennett2mo ago

You said "that's nuts" about the 400 grit then wet sanding thing, but I gotta say, that's actually pretty common with the really obsessive knife guys. In my experience, you don't usually need to go that high unless you're doing something like a straight razor or a really fine edge for slicing raw fish. For most kitchen knives, stopping around 1000 or even 600 grit gives you plenty of bite without making the edge too polished and slippery. Your mileage may vary, but I've found that anything over 3000 grit can actually make the blade too smooth and it won't grab into food as well. Just my two cents.