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Hello! I'm semi-new to the knife making world. I've made a small handful of knives in a few different ways. I've forged a few, filed / did a few with no equipment, and a few with an angle grinder. I currently do not have access to any form of belt grinder (with a slack belt), but do have a standard bench grinder. My main problem I'm having is finishing the steel, with an emphasis on sanding. I feel like if I want to get any any sort of decent finish on a piece, I end up spending 10+ hours sanding. I'm looking for ways to not spend that much time with sand paper. I don't mind the overall process being long, but when sanding takes longer than making the rest of the blade in some cases, I feel like I'm wasting time that could be spent honing my skills on the actual knife making process. I typically work in O1 or 1095 right now. I feel like I should also say that I change sandpaper liberally and keep it lubricated during use. ------- My Question: So I'm looking for suggestions on what people think would be best to speed up the ending processes. I've got some funds, and am considering where to spend them., but am wondering what other makers here think. While always worth it, should I grab some finer files and hope transitioning to them from the harsher ones will speed up initial sanding? Or will the different be too subtle? I was thinking of getting a cheap belt sander just for lower grit sanding passes (and not stock removal)? I know a nice belt grinder is always the best, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend over $500 on a grizzly or any of the really high end ones. And I'm not sure if I trust my fabrication skills to build one myself. I could also just rely on an angle grinder for low grits, but I don't really trust it for flatness. Any suggestions help! Thanks

hi all, i am in dire need of sand paper typ medium that i can buy that will sand and actually move hardend steel......i do this all the time, however i got some 5160 so darn hard it wont move even with a flapper disk on a 6" grinder.........its also pretty darn flexible, but thats besides the point......i really have to lean on my grinder, even with a straight grinding wheel on it and even then wont move alot ...shrug anyway some advice on high quality sandpaper or would say diamond stone work? not sure open to suggestions! thanks!