Knifing and Buffing

A Strath Craft worker in grey work gloves trims excess metal from a WCSSAA casting with a small knife, with stacks of finished castings on the bench behind her.

Knifing and Buffing

Once the castings have been created, the next phase of production is to smooth the surfaces by cutting away excess metal and buffing the rough edges.

What is knifing and buffing?

Knifing and buffing is the clean-up stage of production. When castings come out of the mould, they have small amounts of excess metal and rough edges. This step removes them and prepares each piece for plating and finishing.

How do we knife and buff castings at Strath Craft?

After the castings have had time to cool and harden, the work is done by hand in three steps, with each piece quality checked along the way:

Knifing. Excess metal is trimmed from the sides of each casting with a knife.
Filing. A metal file is used to smooth out the surfaces.
Buffing. Smaller items like lapel pins and coins are finished on a buffing wheel to clean up the edges and surfaces.

Why does it matter?

Plating and paint show every flaw underneath them. Careful hand finishing at this stage is what gives your medals, pins and crests clean edges and a smooth, professional look once they're plated. From here, pieces move on to the next stage of production: plating.