Thread: Large Wosty IXL and WB Barber's Rattler finds

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

Has anyone dealt with rust in the form of little squiggly lines all over a blade? It's black then pitted once the black is removed. I have been hand sanding with lower and lower grit on the Wostenholm trying to get these out completely and quickly. I'm down to 60 grit and still not getting anywhere very fast. Is old Sheffield steel extremely hard? Thanks for any help.

If there are no badly damaged areas outside the pictures, you would lose nothing, and at least gain some useful experience, by trying the effect of polishing the original scales. With the blade and pivot pin removed would be best. It is surprising how well horn sometimes lasts, except for surface roughening.

Some of the time rust is shallow while it is in lines, but it is hard to know if yours is. Even a picture isn't as good as picking at it with your thumbnail or a toothpick - or the class act for the job, which I don't have, a point micrometer. Razor steel is very hard, although Sheffield unlikely to be harder than others.

Is the paper silcon carbide or aluminium oxide, and are you wetting it frequently? Results are slow, unless you accidentally get 60 grit paper over the edge or the corner of the spine, and then it's fast. I glue a piece to a cork tile, and then cut out small pieces with old scissors as required, narrower than the blade. Or you can glue it to an eraser. You can apply good pressure just where you need it, and the paper doesn't seem to clog as quickly as when it is backed by something solid.

Nice razors - that Wosty looks huge!