Thread: 4 More wins for RAD

Went back to the antique store for 1 razor came out with 4. They all need a polishing tried maas but need something more though not sure what I am kind of limited on tools. I will start with the 421 Barber's Pet by Simmons Hardware Co, then a Old Francisco by Bar Sup Co tang also might say Greens don't know if that matters, The "Artist" Levering Razor co the other side says Hamburg ground Germany, the final razor is a Wade and Butcher along with that the only other words on the tang are Sheffield England. This is the razor I am most worried about the blade was honed improperly by the rear guard. It curves but a little from the middle to the back. I need help I have more razors than the number of times I shaved.

HAHA nice, sounds like me... for some reason I must aquire more razors...

I really need to find a way to stop...or just keep collecting. After taking a closer look at the W&B it has a crack that can be seen in the first photo of it. If I try to restore it I will lose a lot of steel. Tried to show a guesstimate of just how much in the picture. It just makes me sad, aside from that what do I need to polish the razors once maas is done and can do no more. I have a grinder is there some sort of wheel I can buy for it?

My apologies, my eyes arent what they used to be, can you point out the crack.

No problem I am sure part of it is the junk camera the picture is still blurry

That only looks like a little chip to me, LockOn.
It looks like it would hone out OK IMHO
If it were mine, I would try and keep the smile too.

Sadly it is indeed a crack my camera just utterly sucks. Keep the smile why?

Speaking not from experience, but from what I've read on here: buffers like the restoring guys use are variable speed. A basic bench grinder isn't, so take that for what it's worth. Little mistakes cans compound greatly and quickly on a buffer.

Speaking from experience. Go to an auto store. Get 3m wet/dry sandpaper in grits from 180 to 2000. Start at the low end, sanding from heel to tip, then when you are satisfied with that grit, sand lightly from spine to edge the length of the blade. Then move up to the next grit and sand lengthwise until ALL, repeat, ALL of the previous grit lines are gone. That part is really important as if you don't make sure all the previous lines are gone you will end up having to start over with a low grit to get the lines out. After completing a grit, make the spine to edge lines as witness lines so you can see when you're done sanding the next higher grit. Keep the paper wet as you work. I keep a bowl of water on the table and dunk the paper into it as I go. Work your way up to 2000 grit, then polish with Maas or Mothers chrome polish. I personally use mothers, but any chrome or steel polish would work. Here's an example of hand sanding I completed recently.

Before


After

I might try that tomorrow, I am looking into buying a new buffer and some wheels so long as I can keep the cost ~$125. For that method how would that effect the words on the tang or is that only for the blade

Man oh man oh man be sure to read the Dire Words of Warning in some of the Workshop threads. If you don't already have a heavy leather apron, get one. There are some really scary stories of blades grabbed and thrown by buffers.

I think some guys put their blades in tumblers and just walk away for however long that takes.

I've got a hobbyist's metal lathe, and feel comfortable enough with that. But the buffer/razor blade launcher is something I'm gonna avoid.

There's an enormous amount of restoration info in the Wiki.

If those were my four blades, I'd leave the Simmons for last. I haven't shaved with one, but they're really well regarded and I'd wanna make most of my learning errors before getting to that one. It's got a nice smile; you'll want to leave that. A smiling blade is useful for getting into hollows, like under the jawline and flanking the adam's apple.

Best wishes to you. May you never bother to stop and count your razors.