Sheffield Lawn Tennis Etching - My first restore

This is my only Ebay razor purchase so far. The game of tennis has been a big part of my life, so I wanted to have some fun with this razor and learn about restoration.

Here are a couple of before pictures:
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And after:
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The scales are micarta filled with the fuzz of tennis balls I played with. I wanted something white to look like the lines on a tennis ball and ended up using the outsole of some old tennis shoes I was about to throw away.

I started out hand sanding and then talked myself into getting a harbor freight tumbler to clean the etching.

I made some mistakes, but I'm happy with how it turned out and I learned a ton for next time. This weekend sometime I'll probably give honing a shot for the first time as well. So far I've only shaved with full hollows, so excited to try out this half hollow I spent so much time with.

Talk about a Tennis theme razor, Well done! like your creativity Enjoy!

Great concept and it came together well!!!

Nice work :tu

That is absolutely brilliant. I love the spin you put on it. lolpun.

Nice idea, executed great! As it just screams tennis, I would judge "no foul" ! :chapeau

Very Nice! Also very creative!!

That's some good work there Bubba!:tu

It was the sharpest blade I've shaved with in a long time, if not ever (only around 35 straight shaves for me).

My little lather hair creatures are celebrating the shave with my first restore and first hone:
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Need to better organize my tennis theme shelf now:
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Looks like we need yet another 'AD' to the Dictionary!!

'TAD' Tennis Acquisition Disorder!:roflmao

Seriously, you did a great job! You should be very proud!!

How did you clean it without taking the tennis game off the blade?

Everytime i clean blades, i seem to almost everytime take the etching off.

Looks great. Keep up the good work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pet3r

How did you clean it without taking the tennis game off the blade?

Everytime i clean blades, i seem to almost everytime take the etching off.

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Using a Vibratory Tumbler to polish a razor.

It takes a long time. This blade spent probably 8 or so days in there with corncob and Blue Magic polish. It is amazing for cleaning up without damaging etchings. However, it did blunt the tip slightly, which worked out fine for me, but was a surprise. Also, I tried putting in two other blades at once and got some small chips on the edge. This could have just been rust removal but I'm suspicious that it actually caused a couple of chips or at least made them grow a bit. So, I don't plan on putting in two blades at once again. I've read that others have had success with more than one blade though, so your mileage may vary there.

It's also notable that this type of rust removal will leave pitting on the blade. This was necessary here as it was becoming too thin to continue sanding safely, at least that is how it appeared to me. At first glance the blade appears to look smooth as it does in the pictures, but when I put it under the microscope there are pits spread out over the razor. They are not so large that it effects the bevel but it doesn't have that 100% smooth surface all over that you'd get from sanding. The tumbler was the perfect tool for fixing up this razor and leaving the etching though.