Thread: What are you working on?

I work on an 8X11 piece of ¼ / 6mm inch craft foam, available at most craft stores for a couple bucks.

I then cover the foam with a blue paper shop towel and change the towel out as needed. Works great when cleaning a razor with WD40 and steel wool as it soaks up the mess and you can toss the whole thing and start with a fresh surface.

I then cut the foam into 2x2 inch pieces and work off of them supporting the razor on one and scales on the other, so it lays flat without pivot pin creating a focal point.

On just blades I use one pad. They wash nicely with Simple Green and dish soap. I also use 2x2 pieces of Yoga mats that I have picked up from thrift stores for a buck, wrapped around a cork or PVC make nice backers for sanding or mats, they are softer.

I use a large piece of mat under a plastic tray to level the surface and make a nonskid surface.

I cut my sand paper into 3X3 inch strips with an old guillotine paper cutter, clamp together, (I use a vice), and glue one edge to make a pad of sand paper. Make sure to write on the back what the grit is the minute you cut it up or you will have a mess on your hands not knowing what grit you have.

Here is an old post on making the sandpaper note pad. And photos of the foam and paper towel set up.

From 1 or 2k grit you can polish easily with any good metal polish or a buffer. From 600 it does not take much to get a high gloss shine with 1k. Change your paper often, paper is cheap, if you use up the grit you are just wasting time and effort and run the risk of scratching the already polished surface using worn paper. Nick Wheeler has a great video tutorial on hand polishing a knife, Hand Sanding 101, notice how often he changes paper.

I am removing rust from the nastiest Wostenholm IXL that I have ever seen. I am not sure if it is savable. There is a line of corrosion that is pretty deep that runs from the toe diagonally toward the spine. I have used 400 grit down to 600 to remove lots of the rust, but that little line is still there and I am still removing metal to smooth it out. I will post pics when I either get it done or declare it to be a lost cause.

Mike T. This is how i deal with my sandpaper. Cut to the right size to wrap around a cork or eraser (also kept in the box). I eat up cheap scissors cutting it up but it worth it. I get the most out of my paper this way. Less wasted.

Sounds to me like someone needs to learn how to sharpen scissors.

Your asking a lot, of a truck driver, Tim.
He's more likely to handle a jackknife.

I just buy the cheap ones for projects. Toss them when dull. Now my wife has a nice pair of scissors but im not allowed to touch them. I get a couple years out of the cheepies. Cant beat that.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I just buy the cheap ones for projects. Toss them when dull. Now my wife has a nice pair of scissors but im not allowed to touch them. I get a couple years out of the cheepies. Cant beat that.

A friend of mine's business was really slow so he decided to look into sharpening 'Real Scissors' and purchased the proper setup which ran around $700-$800 dollars.

He said he would just approach a Beauty Shop or Barber Shop and offer his services for $25 per pair of scissors and he said he quickly recouped the cost of the machine and was making some good money at it.

He encouraged me to do the same. My oldest daughter has been a cosmologist for over 20 years so I asked her what she thought of the idea.

She said that while there was a local guy who she paid to sharpen her scissors she would gladly pay me for my services. I told her that I had a cheap pair of hair scissors that I paid $25 for and she said "Yea those are the really cheapies, mine aren't all that cheap but they run about $400 a pair" I about shite and said "So yours are 'cheap'? And she told me that there were some out there that cost over $800.

That's when I scrapped the idea. Screw up one pair of the $$$$$ ones and I'd be working for a long time to break even.

No guts, no glory, Roy!
You get the kit and take the lessons. Buy some decent quality used ones and practice.
Give some to the girls and guys at the salon/barbershop. Get their input.

As you feel comfortable, you will have some loaners for the customers.

Cheep to me is 2 pair for 3 bucks or so. On sale.

Thee is one person left in the area that still, sharpens In his early seventies. He will no longer accept apprentices,

Too many quit bought a machine entourage and ruined or dulled, bent and had used his name as their teacher. Then he had to fix the messes for free. To him and his customers, integrity was paramount. Per of the proceeds is "krinking." That restores the sliding tension curve which makes the blades slide together along their full length of cut.
~Richard
PS, To freshen an old scissors. Use a piece of hardened steel to slide along the cutting edge at about a three degree angle from the bevel and pointed a bit above the flat side. It strengthens the edge and causes a close meeting between the blades. Similar to making scrapers.