Thread: Polishing the blade.

Howdy,
I bought a straight razor and have been using it for about a month now. I had it restored and the blade honed. There is still some spots where there is tarnish on the blade and I was wondering if it would be possible/safe to polish it with metal polish to remove the tarnish. Would the blade still be shave worthy or are there any other outcomes from doing this?

Thanks & Gig 'Em
Chris

It's possible as long as it's not too close to the edge because you'd have to hold the blade up.. Typically, when I polish a blade, I lay it flat on a piece of 2x4 but you can say good bye to the shaving edge that way.

I agree with Firestart, stay away from the edge, unless you have the hones to touch it up again.

Originally Posted by Trimmy72

I agree with Firestart, stay away from the edge, unless you have the hones to touch it up again.

The OP had someone else hone it, so I'm assuming he either doesn't have hones or isn't comfortable with honing, yet. Might not be a bad idea to stay away from it.. Those restoration projects can get addictive :P

Alright, I need to get it honed again anyways, I think I rolled the edge. So if I decide to do anything with it I will do it right before I send it off.

I use a 2 x 4 with a piece of vinyl linoliem glued on it to prevent slipping but again it will dull the edge and then need re sharpened.

Definitely lay it on the wood. My worst cuts have been from trying to polish a blade by "hand"

Alright thanks, I think I might have screwed up the blade, I was probably trying to dry the blade and smudged my finger on the blade and know there is a mark there. Doesn't really look like rust but I don't know. Any suggestions?

A finger smudge would be easily cleaned with a bit of alcohol. Spray bottle ftw

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

A finger smudge would be easily cleaned with a bit of alcohol. Spray bottle ftw

Alright I have some alcohol swabs at the house that I can give a try.