Plunge Line Cleanup
The hardest part of knife finishing — solved without going back to the belt grinder.
Ask any knife maker what gives them the most trouble during finishing and you'll hear the same answer: plunge lines. That transition where your bevel meets the unground portion of the blade is notoriously difficult to get clean, and even makers with hundreds of knives under their belt still fight with it.
The problem is that a belt grinder is too aggressive and too broad to fix a plunge line without risking the rest of your blade geometry. You need something precise, something that lets you work a small area without affecting everything around it.
That's exactly what Cratex points and small wheels are designed for. Mount a point on your Foredom or Dremel, and you can blend, smooth, and polish a plunge line with surgical precision. Spotted a flaw after heat treat? Fix it in minutes instead of hours.
Recommended Products
Cratex Mini Point Kit No. 167 — $58.28
The essential plunge line kit. Assorted bullet and cylinder points across all four grits, plus mandrels. Start with medium to blend the plunge, then step through fine and extra fine for a seamless transition.
Cratex Brightboy Mounted Wheels — $19.00
For plunge lines that need more aggressive initial cleanup before you switch to standard Cratex for the final finish.
Cratex Mandrels — $8.50
Keep extras loaded with different grits so you can step through the progression without stopping to swap.
Pro Tips
- Use a bullet-shaped point for concave plunge lines and a cylinder point for flat/convex transitions
- Dress your Cratex point against a sharp file to custom-shape it to match your exact plunge geometry
- Work at lower speed with light pressure — let the abrasive cut, don't force it
- Always finish your plunge line work at least one grit finer than the surrounding blade surface to avoid visible transitions
Shop the Plunge Line Perfection Kit →
Working on jewelry? The same precision techniques apply to ring finishing and detail work. See Ring Finishing →