Small specimen test technology (SSTT) is a key technique in evaluating the irradiation performance of reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (RAF/M) steels used in fusion demonstration plants. Because SSTT results are rather sensitive to surface finishing conditions (mechanical damage, roughness, and dimensional accuracy), the effect of surface finishing on tensile data was examined. Sheet tensile specimens were 5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, and 0.76 mm thick gage sections (SS-J3 type) prepared from 15-mm-thick plates of RAF/M steel F82H (F82H-B07 heat). SS-J3 specimens were obtained from the plates by wire electro-discharge machining (WEDM). The surfaces of the specimens were finished using several techniques: polishing with abrasive paper, chemical polishing, and polishing with alumina suspensions. With these techniques, four types of surface-finished specimens were prepared: (1) WEDM specimens, (2) specimens finished by abrasive paper polishing, (3) specimens finished by abrasive paper polishing followed by alumina suspension polishing, and (4) specimens finished by abrasive paper polishing followed by chemical and alumina suspension polishing. Tensile tests were conducted at a nominal strain rate of 3.33 × 10⁻⁴ /s. The effects of surface finishing were not strong. Specimens finished by method 4 exhibited the highest yield stress level. Those finished by method 3 exhibited similar but slightly smaller strength values. The tensile results were fairly uniform along the thickness of the plates. The ultimate tensile strength values obtained from the specimens finished using method 3 were 645 MPa (standard deviation of 16 MPa) for the 15-mm-thick plates. The area reduction of the 15-mm-thick plates was 0.76 in natural strain.