Thread: How to Get that Mirrored Finish

Originally Posted by veritas24

Ok great. I have a bench grinder I might try and find some polishing wheels for. Until then, I'll probably just stick with sand paper. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on a polish?

Good luck with that.

I say this because your idea is a recipe for disaster. I've no idea if you have any experience with buffing wheels and grinders. If you do, disregard any or all of the following. If not, the possibilities for train wrecks are endless.

First issue is safety, a cloth wheel can impart a lot of its energy into whatever just got snagged by it. Whatever got snagged will most likely be removed from your hands before you know what happened, that's when the fun starts. If it catches on part of the grinder, it will most likely break. If it doesn't catch on some part of the grinder, it will most likely depart the wheel in a yet to be determined direction. If it hits something soft, like you for instance, it may not break. It might leave a nice gash or hole to let you know you messed up. It could just as likely end up hitting the floor, bench, wall, or ceiling. Gloves will help but they are clumsy. Eye protection is a must. Even a dull razor will cut the HELL out of you given a chance.

Next issue is heat. Friction from the various grits of buffing compounds creates heat. Get the blade hot enough and you now have a razor shaped object. Hollow grind razors are very thin, heat builds quick, doesn't take much to wreck the temper in search of the high shine.

All this being said, not trying to talk you out of your quest, just trying to give you a heads up for some of the myriad of issues that are associated with rebuilding/refinishing something with only one moving part.

LOTS of info on this site. Do your research before you bail off head first. All the things I mentioned above have happened to me. I learned the hard way before algore invented the inter-web.

Good luck and have fun.

Originally Posted by Wullie

Good luck with that.

I say this because your idea is a recipe for disaster. I've no idea if you have any experience with buffing wheels and grinders. If you do, disregard any or all of the following. If not, the possibilities for train wrecks are endless.

First issue is safety, a cloth wheel can impart a lot of its energy into whatever just got snagged by it. Whatever got snagged will most likely be removed from your hands before you know what happened, that's when the fun starts. If it catches on part of the grinder, it will most likely break. If it doesn't catch on some part of the grinder, it will most likely depart the wheel in a yet to be determined direction. If it hits something soft, like you for instance, it may not break. It might leave a nice gash or hole to let you know you messed up. It could just as likely end up hitting the floor, bench, wall, or ceiling. Gloves will help but they are clumsy. Eye protection is a must. Even a dull razor will cut the HELL out of you given a chance.

Next issue is heat. Friction from the various grits of buffing compounds creates heat. Get the blade hot enough and you now have a razor shaped object. Hollow grind razors are very thin, heat builds quick, doesn't take much to wreck the temper in search of the high shine.

All this being said, not trying to talk you out of your quest, just trying to give you a heads up for some of the myriad of issues that are associated with rebuilding/refinishing something with only one moving part.

LOTS of info on this site. Do your research before you bail off head first. All the things I mentioned above have happened to me. I learned the hard way before algore invented the inter-web.

Good luck and have fun.

Thanks for the advice. I have used a grinder for various small projects, but I will admit the thought of using it on a straight edge was very daunting. After watching several videos and reading more, I decided I wanted to just use sand paper. It seems like a much cheaper (I don't have any buffing wheels or compounds) and safer option.

I figure I'll try to create a sanding stick like the one on this page - Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Library.

I really appreciate your heads up as I am very inexperienced in blade restoration and need to be made aware of any and all safety concerns. Thanks!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html


That thread is stuck at the top of the Workshop forum all the time, I would HIGHLY suggest bouncing around in there

First rule of razor restore "Rush a Restore, Wreck a Razor"

Originally Posted by veritas24

Ok great. I have a bench grinder I might try and find some polishing wheels for. Until then, I'll probably just stick with sand paper. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on a polish?

I may be wrong, but I have always thaught that for the mirror finish, you need to sand through to 2500 grit with the sand paper, then switch to a felt/cloth wheel , and the polish compound you would want would be Red oxide (jewellers rouge)
I am no expert but I think that is the best way and the closest a non 'professional' can get to "mirror polish"
I know I am coming to this thread a bit late, but if you are still debating how to go about it, this might be an avenue to explore
good luck, all the best

It really depends exactly what you want to achieve. If you are looking to replicate original finishes, you will not be able to unless you build a setup to mimic the equipment, materials, and techniques of old Sheffield (i.e. original razors have a more-or-less undistorted mirror finish and crisp, sharp lines). 100 % of modern restorations, at least that I have seen posted, do not replicate this - the finish is usually slightly wavy or not a perfect concave along the whole blade, and/or the lines separating geometric regions of the blade are not sharp (this especially happens when buffing). To get that effect you need hard wheels, not soft / cloth wheels.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

It really depends exactly what you want to achieve. If you are looking to replicate original finishes, you will not be able to unless you build a setup to mimic the equipment, materials, and techniques of old Sheffield (i.e. original razors have a more-or-less undistorted mirror finish and crisp, sharp lines). 100 % of modern restorations, at least that I have seen posted, do not replicate this - the finish is usually slightly wavy or not a perfect concave along the whole blade, and/or the lines separating geometric regions of the blade are not sharp (this especially happens when buffing). To get that effect you need hard wheels, not soft / cloth wheels.

I do agree that to achieve a professional look is quite tricky,,, plus keeping the temper of the razor, especially a hollow ground one. You only have to watch a program like 'how its made' to see the level of equipment needed to perform such operations. For some reason, it puts me in mind of an episode where they show how aluminium darts are made,, (all the cutting/shaping is done by mashine and to keep the temper the metal is constantly bathed in oil ect while all these crazy automated cutting mashines get to work performing their individual roles like some deranged mechanical orchestra lol. Bit off subject , duno why but it just put me in mind of that
It seems the fella who started the thread has decided to go down the sandpaper route.... I dont blame him,, it is quite a daunting area to enter, this whole mirror shined metal world!
I am lucky in the sense that I personally prefere the non- mirror shine look on old razor,, well not even old, just any razor that aint brand new or NOS proper. It saves a lot of time/effort money so I guess I am lucky to have simple tastes,,, going up to 2500 on the sandpaper has always done me, in terms of how shiny I like my razors... I do have a few early razor (dead straight scales of only natural material, wedge blades, and stubby little tails) that have been cleaned to a mirror shine (before I got my hands on them) and even tho it has its appeals , and must have taken the restorer a lot of time/skill and effort,,,, I cant help but feel that the effort was not really worth it, and a few more signs of age would not be the worst thing in the world, as to the untrained eye, the razor would then look 20 years old, not 200 years old!
I guess that is another matter tho because the razor in question in this thread is a more modern one.

and yes I agree that soft wheels in the wrong hands can have some terrible and hilarious effects.... I am a carpenter so my first love would have to be chisels,,, always loved them , duno why,, but to me they are knives of creation rather then knives of destruction lol (bowie knife ect) ,, not tryna offend nobody just MHO.
Anyway ive seen many a formerly beautiful bevel edged paring chisel 100% totally destroyed by people wielding soft wheels in an attempt to clean the thing,, and in the process destroying all the lines/edges and bevels and ending up with these weird looking rounded off MONSTROSITIES , so yes agreed, go with great caution for your own safety and for the safety of the tool in question