Thread: Restoration advise sought out!!!

Hello,
If you wanted to start to restore a blade with pitting is there a rule of thumb what grit of sand paper / steel wool to start out with?
I understand you would want the lightest to get the job done but what would be a starting point? 220 grit? also what would you finish with? would you use a wet/dry up to 3000 or beyond?? Would you use a OOOO Steel wool??
Would you finish with some type of polishing of the blade but with a device that wouldn't create much heat???
I am just starting out and I have a few blades that are starters that I picked up fairly cheap and figured they would be a good sacrificial lamb....
Any and ALL advise is welcome!! The more the better... I will sponge it up!
Thank you all in advance.

Kind Regards,
David

There's no rules. Clean the blade and see what the issues are. Do you want to clean it or fully remove the pitting? Does it have enough steel to fully remove the pitting.? If just cleaning up steel wool and polishing will probably do. If removing light pitting maybe start around 600 grit w&d.

Best to take each blade as it comes. There are some great restoration threads in the workshop forum worth checking out to get some idea's.

Thank you Ed!!! I will look them up. I was having a hell of a time getting back to the site. I didn't know the name changes and I kept trying to use saved bookmarks and was getting bounced.

Check out the Library, 3rd Button from the left , top of the page.

Here's one article for you from there:
Hand sanding a blade - Shave Library

Originally Posted by dtederick

Hello,
If you wanted to start to restore a blade with pitting is there a rule of thumb what grit of sand paper / steel wool to start out with?
I understand you would want the lightest to get the job done but what would be a starting point? 220 grit? also what would you finish with? would you use a wet/dry up to 3000 or beyond?? Would you use a OOOO Steel wool??
Would you finish with some type of polishing of the blade but with a device that wouldn't create much heat???
I am just starting out and I have a few blades that are starters that I picked up fairly cheap and figured they would be a good sacrificial lamb....
Any and ALL advise is welcome!! The more the better... I will sponge it up!
Thank you all in advance.

Kind Regards,
David

David, there are many trains of thought on this. 'Personally' I like to start High and work Low. It might not make any sense but by starting with say just a Metal Polish you get an idea of what lies beneath. Then you can use say the 0000 steel wool (actual steel or synthetic) along with the metal polish lets you see more.

Then by scuffing with say some 2000 grit Wet and Dry you can then evaluate better. After that dropping to a 1000 grit Wet and Dry you see more.

After that bit of exploration you can determine if you've gone far enough or if you need to go lower.

However there again you can just go balls out and start with some 220 wet and dry and work back up. However it's much easier to go from the 1K back up. Remember you need to remove all of the coarser scratches with the next higher grit.

The same goes if you are using a buffer.

Now you said:

Originally Posted by dtederick

Would you finish with some type of polishing of the blade but with a device that wouldn't create much heat???

When I started out I used the Metal Polish and Steel Wool but then I started using a hand held variable speed drill using a cotton pad to hold various abrasives. (This was before I found 'Greasless' polishing compounds). I then used the compounds and eventually graduated to building my own buffer.

While it's very early on, here's what can be done on a razor that was done all by hand.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...n-cleanup.html

I hope this has been of some help.

How about some pics of the razor in question, if possible.
That was my biggest learning curve when I joined, but it would help us determine the best approach.

If its a full hollow ground blade, there's not much you can do, without destroying the blade. If it's a wedge type you'll have some steel to work with. It all depends on the degree of pits and rust, for each particular type of grind.

Read thru the library, it'll clue you in on a lot of need to know information before you get started. Trust me.!!

Here my own steps
Heavy rust - WD40 and 0000 steelwool, then ...
Light pitting removed with a steel or brass drill brush
Remains of rust - white clay soap ("pierre d'argile" material for pans and cooking pots) with cotton patches
A felt patch on the drill with polish cream
Then a clean felt patch