Thread: Karl Plümacher all-Dremel restore

Also, you'll see on the blade surface that it is very irregular, because the dremel has worn the blade very unevenly.
Not to discourage you, but this is really not the way to restore razors, because you'll just turn a smooth surface into a bumpy road.
The scales are nice, and your enthusiasm is great. But the main lesson from this restoration should be that a drum wheel on a dremel is a really bad way to restore a razor and a really good way to destroy one.

If you want to use your dremel at all, use flap wheels or wire brush wheels.

10000rpm on a dremel. Wow ! How did you gauge the heat at the edge during this process.

There was very little heat build-up at this speed with the sanding, but surprisingly the polishing did produce some heat, but really not much. In my opinion, 10000 rpm is not that much. I could safely touch the sanding drums with my fingers.

Also, you'll see on the blade surface that it is very irregular, because the dremel has worn the blade very unevenly.
Not to discourage you, but this is really not the way to restore razors, because you'll just turn a smooth surface into a bumpy road.
The scales are nice, and your enthusiasm is great. But the main lesson from this restoration should be that a drum wheel on a dremel is a really bad way to restore a razor and a really good way to destroy one.

If you want to use your dremel at all, use flap wheels or wire brush wheels.

I did not elaborate in my description, but the wavy pattern was made with a grinding wheel I was too ashamed to admit that. The sanding drums took out a lot of the damage I did, but not all. The difference is in the stiffness of the wheel: flap wheels, wire brush wheel and my handmade sanding drums allow some flex, leaving less of a scratchy pattern. I will experiment some more, because I have a bunch of junk razors that can take a beating.

Going back to the scales shaping discussion - the reason I use tape to hold the scales (as opposed to pins) is that you can't contour them properly if pins are in the way. A decent quality double sided tape is easily strong enough to hold scales in position - try it and see how difficult it is to prise them apart.

Another tip - drill the pivot hole first then poke a pice of rod through and place the blade on top of the scales - this will enable you to mark where you want the wedge to come to without catching the toe of the blade. When you have marked the wedge you can decide where the pin should be drilled so that it sits evenly. All of this is done withe the scales still taped together and if you intend on having very rounded scales, you might want to drill all holes while the scales are still quite flat - this way you avoid the risk of drilling out of the vertical.

Thanks again, Rob. I got some double-sided tape today while I was shopping for a new bike tire for my girlfriend, so that will make life easier on my next round.

Hitherto, I made my wedges by roughly estimating the size, so your tip is a welcome one As I said, I have a bunch of razors to play with, and I'm curious just how the rest will turn out.

Originally Posted by Laurens

There was very little heat build-up at this speed with the sanding, but surprisingly the polishing did produce some heat, but really not much. In my opinion, 10000 rpm is not that much. I could safely touch the sanding drums with my fingers.

Put your finger on one side of the blade then use the dremel on the other . You will be surprised at how quickly the heat will build up with any medium. It is very important to keep a dremel moving & not focused on any one spot. The edge of a razor heats up much quicker than the spine.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Put your finger on one side of the blade then use the dremel on the other . You will be surprised at how quickly the heat will build up with any medium. It is very important to keep a dremel moving & not focused on any one spot. The edge of a razor heats up much quicker than the spine.

To add to this, because it is so thin it can also cool down very quickly so if you heat it too hot and then feel it a few seconds later, it can be too late to tell.

Nice work , I use the dremel only to polish and very lightly too seeing mine is 10 k rpm on minimum but again nice work I have another restor with heavy rust might for fun try dremel on it.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Put your finger on one side of the blade then use the dremel on the other . You will be surprised at how quickly the heat will build up with any medium. It is very important to keep a dremel moving & not focused on any one spot. The edge of a razor heats up much quicker than the spine.

To add to this, because it is so thin it can also cool down very quickly so if you heat it too hot and then feel it a few seconds later, it can be too late to tell.

Good points, both. I checked today on another razor and still noticed that there was a relatively low amount of heat produced. I keep the Dremel moving, quite quickly, both to prevent excessive heat and because it makes it easier to get uniform sanding/polishing.

I did a lot of my past restores with a Dremel & flap sanders . You soon work out a system or cook a lot of razors .

watch the scale making by hand video that spazola put up awhile back... That has the easiest method for making scales uniform. for instance, instead of using microfasteners or double sided tape you just use some elmers glue and a piece of paper between the scales.