Thread: What are you working on?

Originally Posted by dinnermint

Your light problem should fixable by adjusting the settings on your camera. Some have daylight, cloudy etc and can also come with a customvsetting so you can adjust it just right. Usually they have one for incandescent and fluorescent bulbs to account for the warmth of inc and blues of cfl. This can be adjusted with some post processing programs like photoshop or adobe lightroom. When I bought my olympus years ago, a program came with the camera

Thanks, dinnermint. I've had this Nikon D40 for about 10 years now and have always used it outside and on manual.
I finally got around to reading the book and yes, it has a incandescent setting when in manual, but I want to go with
the auto focus. Maybe if I adjust the diopter in the view finder I won't have to strain my neck while trying to focus
and trying to find the sweet spot in my progressive bifocals, lol.

Originally Posted by Panama60

I also wanted a display stand to prop the razors up at a better angle for photographing. I decided on PVC pipe as the material is softer
than steel and shouldn't hurt the edge (before or after restoration). I wanted to design the stand with the "pin" under the tang, but I
couldn't make a "universal" stand for all straight razors due to the differences in the tangs.
Attachment 244322Attachment 244323

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Panama

Cool stand design.

I wouldn't want any of my honed edges touching anything, even PVC. Why doesnt the under tang design work? Centering, Balance?

Originally Posted by 32t

Cool stand design.

I wouldn't want any of my honed edges touching anything, even PVC. Why doesnt the under tang design work? Centering, Balance?

Not all tangs are the same size. I have a John Pitt's Celebrated Razor tang (not the blade) that is 1/2" tall at the heel
and a Dubl Duck Satin Wedge that is 1/4" tall at the heel. I don't want to make a stand for each Straight that I intend
to work on. I have some other designs in mind, such as magnetic strip up the sides and adjustable pin holes to hold under
the tang. After I have worked on the razors, the pivot pin will have been adjusted and I won't need a pin for the blank to
rest on. I'll have another stand made with no pins on it.

I like the magnet idea.

In my mind the only difference that the height of the tang would make is how far open or shut the blade would be on the stand.

Thing is, if the scales are tight, they should hold the blade open at any point it stops at.

Here's what Ive been using lately. I can usually bend it for any pic, so that its not seen in the pic. But not always.

The magical paper clip...

Originally Posted by Panama60

I have a few razors I want to work on and have decided make a few things first to enhance the way I make a historical catalog of them.
Here's a pic of the light box I'm setting up. Backdrop will be some green felt I had left over from a poker table I made. Still working on the
lighting, incandescent and LED bulbs wash everything out in brown. I'm currently trying CFL bulbs, better, but still brownish a little bit.
Maybe I should try some different diffusers.

I also wanted a display stand to prop the razors up at a better angle for photographing. I decided on PVC pipe as the material is softer
than steel and shouldn't hurt the edge (before or after restoration). I wanted to design the stand with the "pin" under the tang, but I
couldn't make a "universal" stand for all straight razors due to the differences in the tangs.

Normal PVC glueing method didn't hold steadfast enough, so I used super glue. (Note to self: open bottle of nail polish remover before opening tube of super glue, lol)

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Panama

A thought or two on lighting. In your camera settings there is usually an adjustment for the type of lighting you are using. If you play with those settings you will find your true color. I find the hardest bulbs to get my true color set up properly is fluorescent, either tube or cf. I find the easiest is an incandescent flood bulb. I am using a very similar setup to you. My diffuser panels are made from translucent plastic that I had originally bought to making templates. I have the same lamp holders, except I am using three. I am pretty thrilled with the quality of my pictures these days. It is hard to match the true color of natural light in the "studio" but you can get there.

So what I'm hearing, besides nothing should touch a honed edge (which none of my straights are shave ready), is that
the first step during a restoration or rebuild is to tighten the pivot pin. Which is not what I'm going to do. Most of the
pivot pins in my straights are loose and I've tried using q-tips, ammo, chop sticks, etc...to prop them open, only to watch
them fall over. OK, I'll scrap this design and go back to the drawing board. In the interim, here's what it could have been...

I think that the adjusting of the pins in my work tends to be the last thing I do before honing. I'm not going to say it is a bad design or idea, perhaps just in need of a little tweeking. As I look at it I think to myself if you could have the little tab between the top of the scale and the tang you may have a winner for holding pre restore razors. I think you are very close to an innovative design.

OK, went to the kitchen and took down my knives, propped up the magnets in the light box and viola,
honed edge issue resolved. I'll have to get some more magnets, but I'll start working on the design.

Originally Posted by Panama60

So what I'm hearing, besides nothing should touch a honed edge (which none of my straights are shave ready), is that
the first step during a restoration or rebuild is to tighten the pivot pin. Which is not what I'm going to do. Most of the
pivot pins in my straights are loose and I've tried using q-tips, ammo, chop sticks, etc...to prop them open, only to watch
them fall over. OK, I'll scrap this design and go back to the drawing board. In the interim, here's what it could have been...

Don't scrap the basic idea yet. You asked for comments and got them.