My First Attempts at Polishing

I just finished my first attempts at polishing a couple of straights. Now, I realize that this is not a big deal for some but for me, a person who is absolutely inept at doing anything handy, its really exciting :y

The first razor is a Kropp which I picked up off of ebay. The first shot is the "before" picture and the second is the "after" picture. While it does not show in the pictures, I cannot believe the job that the MAAS did on the scales! Its like they have a mirror finish too!

The second razor is a Boker which I picked up at a local antique store. Unfortunately I do not have a before picture for this guy. Also, in my newbieness I managed to warp the scales pretty good but at least its shiny now!

For my first try I am very happy with the results. There is still some pitting on them which is visible in the pictures but I am very satisfied considering I did all of the sanding by hand since I dont have any tools. I am afraid to touch them for fear of getting fingerprints on them. Now I just need to figure out this whole honing thing....

Hi Shay,

Very good, you did well doing it all by hand.

Is that your new lite box you took the photos in?

Good on you,

John

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Originally Posted by johnmw1

Is that your new lite box you took the photos in?

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Yes, yes it is. Consider it exhibit A of my non-handyness. That being said, even though it is really rough and amateurish, the setup along with all the photography tips I have picked up from here, B&B and SMF over the past couple of months have allowed me to take the best photos of my life. So thanks to everybody who has contributed to the posts on how to take good pictures!

Good cleanup, good pix, and a good razor. Excellent beginning!

wow great job how did you do this

Nice effort!

these are my first attempts.

In some cases the pitting is deeper than the etching on the top two blades so...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/09...K/a72cfafe.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lancer

Nice effort!

these are my first attempts.

In some cases the pitting is deeper than the etching on the top two blades so...

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That is my next decision. Do I risk the etching on my Crown and Sword project or live with some pitting and a razor that's best described as clean?!?

How much sanding can an etching live with? Elsewhere LX_Emergency has said I should be able to get my nail stuck in the etching but it's a weak 'catch' if you get me? Does that mean it's been sanded before or is that about right?

not all etching is very deep

It can be a tossup between the decorative etching and a perfectly polished blade.

It's a choice only you can make.

For me I have chosen to keep the etching visible (if barely) and live with the remaining pitting.

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Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

Good cleanup, good pix, and a good razor. Excellent beginning!

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Woohoo! A compliment from Mr Chandler :y That just made my day! I cant wait until my piggy bank has enough in it for me to send you a Bengall in need of some lovin'!!!

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Originally Posted by rshave1

wow great job how did you do this

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Thanks very much. I did alot of reading through some old posts on how to get started and basically just followed the instructions that people have generously posted before. I used wet/dry sandpaper and some mineral oil (its all I had) to create a slurry. I found that the mineral oil worked much better and faster than water. And I basically just progressivelly polished up the blade using the sandpaper with grits of 120/220/320/400/600/800/1000/1500/2000 and then finished up with a few applications of MAAS. It was time-consuming but I threw some 'Everybody Loves Raymond' on the tv and just worked through it.

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Originally Posted by Lancer

Nice effort!

these are my first attempts.

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Those are great! Congrats! My next progression is going to be to figure out how to remove the pin so that I can actually polish the whole blade. There is still quite a bit of ugliness on the area of the blade around the pin because I just couldnt get to it.

I had the same problem around the scales. In the end I just bit the bullet and used a pair of Micro Cutters (think VERY small sidecutters) to snip the top off one then both sides of a pin.

The scales were not something to be admired on any of those 3 any how