Thread: I don't have a stamp

Ok I was antique shopping today and found a wedge razor, with a barber's notch. It's a huge blade, more long then thick but still very thick, much thicker then my Wapi. It looks like a butcher's cleaver. I'm not sure who makes this razor. The stamping of the maker was sanded off. Nothing was left to read.

The scales were old wood ones, with a glossy coat like plastic over them. The blade itself is in very good shape, despite a slight smile.

I sanded out all the dark spots, and any age marks on the blade. Now it's basically a blank, and needs to be honed etc... It has a bevel on there, but that's about it. It really needs a full restoration though, new scales, etc... I'm excited to begin this process. I don't have a lot of tools though.

I don't have a bench grinder. I have a 6k barbers hone, a 12k Chinese, and full set of diamond sheets from 1500 to 12k.

I need to do the following

Lap my Chinese 12k
Build or buy scales for this huge bohemuth
Re-hone or tocuh up this edge.


I am also curious is it worth fixing a smilling blade or just leave it alone. It's not a huge smile more like a smirk P

ok any advice is helpful I'm a total newb at this

cheers
D

Thank goodness you don't have a bench grinder!
Are you able to get some photo's up, maybe next to another razor to give an idea of scale?
If the blade is very large you'll probably have to make some scales so it'll fit, or commision some customs.
I like smiles. They shave perfectly well & look good. I'd leave it if it was mine.
What type of finish are you after? A mirror is hard work & shows every mark, otherwise, a uniform scratch pattern still looks good.

A smile is definitely NOT a bad thing.

You have to finesse your honing a bit, but it will shave you smoother than a staright as an arrow edge will.

I agree on the smile part. A smile is not a defect, so there is nothing to "fix." A smile can be removed if you're not a fan of smiles, but that would be seen as "damaging" the razor... in a way.

It may be a good idea to send out a large blade to have her honed, if you don't have much experience. Honing a wedge as a first blade is great practice, because they typically need lots of honing, but it can be frustrating and any small errors in your stroke can add up to really uneven wear if you don't correct them. Pros and cons to both honing it yourself and sending it out.

If you do send it out, you could opt to go with a honer who also makes scales and/or does other resto work. If you're going to hone her yourself, it might be more rewarding to do your own scales, so you get to do "the complete package" with your own two hands. Naturally, mixing and matching works as well.

Thanks guys for all the great information. I will get a pic up soon, hopefully tonight, I have to charge my Nikon D40X.

holli4pirating, I really want to do it all, scales too, or atleast the refinishing and honing part. I really want to do some arycilc or wood scales, but I only have a dremel, I don't have crazy tools. My father does but thats a 2hr trip to borrow some tools.

Seraphim, your arcylic scales on your Double arrow, that you had for sale inspired me. I want to do something similar. A nice colored acrylic set of scales, something unqiue.

I would like to do a mirror finish but I have no idea how to tackle this right now it has a rough but even maybe 6k finish to from polishing it with clothes.

any advice helpful

Cheers
D

I don't really do this kind of work, so I can't give definate advice. I know you can get buffing wheels for the dremel that should allow you to get pretty close to mirror after high grit sandpaper. Working with acrylic... I've got no idea there.