Thread: Finished at last

This one took me a long time, but I think this is the best job I did so far.

This is what I started with:



There was a lot of deep rust at the tip. It cleaned up decently after 5 or 6 hours of sanding, and then this happened:



But I never lost a blade yet, and I wasn't about to start with this one
So I took out my dremel and cutting disc, cut off the damaged part, then used a 1/2 drum wheel to turn it into a notch point.



Then a LOT more handsanding, from 120 to 2000. I made the scales from meranti wood, and the butt spacer from bone. The insides of the scales are sealed with 2 layers of CA and then sanded smooth. this way the moisture will never get a chance to seep in.
I did not remove all the pitting from the tang because it would also erase the tang stamps, and I find those too important since they are the blade identity.
And if you hold it right, it almost looks as if the tang was hammered, which is a nice touch. mind you, there is not a speck of oxidation left.

The outsides are coated with antiques wax. When I make / hold wooden scales, I want to actually feel that I hold wood. I coated it 4 times, so it is deep enough to withstand humidity, spatters and the odd bit of water.

The cutting edge itself is 2,5" long, and the blade width is 6/8". It is a full hollow ground. So without further ado, here she is:



The white specks you see are dust particles. Both blade faces are flawless at every angle.

And here is a pic of the butt. The flash made the wood seem lighter than it is. The wood ends are as dark as the rest of the wood.



Someone has first refusal on this, since I restored it for him but I told him he could turn down the offer when it was ready, if he didn't like it. I would not want anyone to buy a razor from me and not be happy with it
If he doesn't want it I'll sell it to the first person who does, and promises to take good care of it.

Nice save and good work.

The Razor looks really nice. I like the color and shape of the wood.
I just posted a pic of a razor I did in another thread the finish of your blade puts me to shame.

Great save on the tip of blade.

Charlie

You are a real "wizard of steel"! What a metamorphosis, amazing!

The blade looks beautiful and I like how you finished the wood. CA looks real shiny in pictures but I personally prefer the wood feel as well. Putting CA on the inside only is an idea that I believe I will "borrow" in the future.

Also, because I'm curious, which wheel did you use to cut the blade?

I think it is the 540.

It went really well, and the blade did not heat up too much.
I have done this for 2 razors already, and got good results.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I think it is the 540.

It went really well, and the blade did not heat up too much.
I have done this for 2 razors already, and got good results.

Thanks, that will be useful to know if I ever find myself in the same situation. I probably would not have guessed a dremel was capable.

Nice work, Bruno

you call it shorty right now, don' t you?

nice idea !

I spent 2 hours taking out a tiny nick that was only half the bevel deep.
This steel was HARD!

As soon as the bevels were set some more honing on the 4K and 8K, followed by the coticule with a very light slurry, and then the coticule with only water.
For the actual honing itself I used only the weight of the razor.

Well,... If I hadn't made this one on commission, I would have kept it.
This is by a wide margin the sharpest razor I've ever handled.
Even my notoriously hard chin hairs went down without a fight.

It is almost as sharp as a feather blade, but much smoother.
I used my hugo boss alcohol based AS, and it was perfectly cool. Not a single sting. A perfect edge for a perfect shave