Thread: Bit off more than I can chew?

I like to restore 'the ones that cannot be saved' and as such, I picked up a beat up Frederick Reynolds last week. I've spent as much time as I could sanding this guy down into reasonable shape I've started to hone this guy up. The first thing I've noticed is that some prior owner has attempted to sharpen this thing on like 80 grit paper and has left the edge with lots of microchips.

I've had this Reynolds on my naniwa 1k for about two hours and can't get the chipping out of the blade. What's more is that it has a wedge, smile, and oh-so-slight warp to the blade which makes this whole experience a bit painful....oh, and did I mention that this is the second blade I've attempted to hone?

How long does this process usually take? Any tips? I'm typing this as I had to physically walk away from the hone so I wouldn't be tempted to throw the razor across the room.

How long depends on the state of the razor, the hone you use, and how you do the honing. Personally, I've found that Reynolds have very hard steel, so I will no longer buy any unless they look like they'll take only minimal honing to get to the bevel, and even then I might not buy one. I've sat with one of those once with Joed and JrJoed both helping and still taken hours to set a bevel.

Wedges are tough because there is so much metal to remove.
You can make your life much easier by adding 3-4 layers of tape to do prebevel set, then take off enough to have only 2 layers left and move on to the actual bevel setting.
For prebevel setting it might be good choice to use something coarser than 1k, I have a 600 grit stone for that purpose. A stone coarser than 1k will obviously take care of chips much faster too, just be careful and make sure you do not over do on the stone. I usually try to leave the coarser stone ~90% before its max potential and jump on the 1k to finish setting the bevel.

How bad are the chips ? Can they be seen with the naked eye ? If you have a coarser grit hone you might work on it with that. I've gone down to a Norton 220 or a DMT325 for really deep chips. One layer of electrical tape until they are out and move up to the 1k and maybe 1 layer beyond that until I get the scratches out. Another thing for really bad ones that I learned from Lynn is honing with the spine slightly off of the hone until the chips are cleaned up.... on a really bad one I mean.

Originally Posted by red96ta

I like to restore 'the ones that cannot be saved' and as such, I picked up a beat up Frederick Reynolds last week. .

heh heh. you were the one says you liked it

Raising the spine a little is that much closer to jointing.

You may have so far to go you'll have time to try every suggestion.

It all depends on details, but I might joint the blade 5 strokes lightly to start(adding a few more if needed in the next round) and checking the full length and trying to move evenly. Then reset the bevel with tape and off hand pressure. Rise and repeat until the chips are gone or so few and small as to "not matter"

This advice is pretty unqualified, but have you considered the possibility of it being really bad pitting down to the edge? You said it was really rust-laden, and IIRC a lot of restorers suggest trying to set a bevel to see if pitting has gone to the edge if there is a lot of rust on a razor. I'm sure others can give you tips on how to check for and correct the problem, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Good luck!

Well, after an hour on some 220 I can say that it looks a LITTLE better, but there's still some chipping. The chips are visible to the eye, but they're pretty miniscule (chipping can be anything from microscopic to half the blade) I have to hold the blade up to the light and catch it just right in order to see them.

I don't really think that pitting into the edge is the problem. I think it's the numpty that sanded it with 60 grit that has caused all these problems...wish I could beat the guy that did it, but for all I know he died seventy years ago...lol.

When do I know when the bevel is set? After the 220, I spent another half an hour on the 1k and the blade will now take some hair off the arms, but it's kinda hit and miss.

Keep at it. If you have the chips out completely then keep the 1K going and as some have stated on other threads, when it really cuts arm hairs at 1K you wil then be ready to start polishing.
Good Luck!

1k tests, like all tests, have to be calibrated to your hair, your thumbpad, your thumbnail, etc, but, in general, you should be able to shave armhair, feel a sticky/pocket-knife-sharp sensation on your thumbpad, or have the razor bite into your thumbnail and feel totally smooth as you pull the blade from heal to toe. The last one will tell you if there is any chipping left in the blade because you will feel it very clearly.

On my own personal razors, especially ones that frustrate me, I'll often leave small chips, finish the razor up, and shave test. If I don't get a good test, I go back to the 1k - costs maybe 15 mins of my time in lost work. If I get a good shave and don't notice the chips, I put her into my rotation and pull her out when I'm no longer happy with the way she shaves. (You'll notice you standards for what a "good shave" is will likely go up as you get better at honing, so you may pull razors down the road even if you do get all the chips out.)

Originally Posted by red96ta

What's more is that it has a wedge, smile, and oh-so-slight warp to the blade which makes this whole experience a bit painful....

Hey red96ta! I don't have much to add on the technical side since I know bugger all about honing, but just a suggestion.

If you mean the above literally (which wouldn't surprise me - I've heard of long, tough honing and resto sessions cramping up people's hands), then be sure to take care of yourself.

If your hands, wrists, or arms are hurting, take a break until you feel completely better. While you rest, be sure you are being gentle on yourself. Lower computer time, do some wrist exercises, etc. It may clear up in a day or two, or it may take a week. However long it takes, it's worth it. Better a week of being out of the game now than several months later on.

While doing intense resto work, be sure to take a 5-10 minute break every hour or so, and give your hands a quick rest and do a few exercises. Wrists are the most common weak point for articulate work like this, so here are a few good ones. They're listed for tendonitis, but they work for most types of wrist and hand stress. However, if one of them hurts, don't do it.
Sports Medicine Advisor 2009.1: Wrist Tendonitis Exercises: Illustration

I just hate to hear of you guys coming down with RSI's, and I'm a bit of a missionary about it.