Thread: Dovo with cell-rot

This might be an exercise in futility but I'm gonna do my best to bring this back to life. It deserves a try.
The vendors' pics were accurate:



Never having attempted this before, I decided to "soak" the blade in CLR for 1 hour at room temperature.


After this, a quick scrub with a green scotch-brite and detergent in warm water.
I then sprayed the blade with WD-40 and went to work with my dremel clone and a wire wheel.
This is the result so far:



There is a rising sun etching on the blade face and it looks like I'm going to lose most of it,
but the tang stamps are still good. I can only show a vendor pic as my camera can't pick it up.


I ran my thumbnail along the edge and gee whiz it is ragged to say the least !!
That's all for today but I will continue to attempt to give this little blade the attention it deserves.

My computer messed up as I was uploading the pics but they're all there !!

Cool! Thanks for sharing your project, and for the pictures.

I think this is what it looked like originally, except the tail is shorter....

Originally Posted by bongo

I ran my thumbnail along the edge and gee whiz it is ragged to say the least !!

That's why you try a bevel set prior to restoring.
Hope the rust hasn't eaten too deep.

Very nice so far, I have used CLR, The Works, white Vinegar, and cider vinegar. Followed by orange cleaners to gentle any acidic remains..
The bevel may need to be inspected a few times as you hone it. The Cell rot often follows the grain lines and through the steel to the other side. I have saved and lost some over the years. Often I may lose a mm of width before the bevel is clean to the edge.
If the rot is less than half way through at the top of the bevel, it is useable ansd will last for a long time, if not perfect. and honing with some baking soda in the water is a good idea..some natural stones are slightly acidic.
~Richard

Richard and Onimaru55,

Maybe it's just my technique but I find my Naniwas (400,1000) very slow going when it comes to bevel setting.
Can you recommend another, "faster" stone ?

I don't have the Naniwa 200 because I thought this would be "too low" and "too coarse" despite never
having used one.

Maybe it's time to buy a Norton ?

Originally Posted by bongo

Richard and Onimaru55,

Maybe it's just my technique but I find my Naniwas (400,1000) very slow going when it comes to bevel setting.
Can you recommend another, "faster" stone ?

I don't have the Naniwa 200 because I thought this would be "too low" and "too coarse" despite never
having used one.

Maybe it's time to buy a Norton ?

Sometimes slow bevel setting is in the hands as well as the hones ie I bet I could set a bevel on a King 1200 much quicker than I could 5 years ago.

Many including Lynn & Glen praise the Chosera 1k so I'd feel safe about that but I haven't used one to say first hand.
I'm surprised a 400 would be slow but I'd bet the 300 King is slower.

I use the 320grit,1k, 1.5k & 2k Shapton Pros for my edge building projects & bevel setting. Their speed is not far from the DMT's IMHO but they do need a light touch.

I would have put that razor on the 320 & 3 layers of tape to check the steel & grind some of that rust off the edge.

Originally Posted by bongo

Richard and Onimaru55,
Maybe it's just my technique but I find my Naniwas (400,1000) very slow going when it comes to bevel setting.
Can you recommend another, "faster" stone ?
I don't have the Naniwa 200 because I thought this would be "too low" and "too coarse" despite never
having used one.
Maybe it's time to buy a Norton ?

Onimaru55 has the right of it.
Ok, I was lucky enough to trade for a planer knife slow speed wet grinder with an 8 inch diameter ~1K grit horizontal wheel.

That said, I seldom use it because I do well with a Chosera 1K which is faster than the King/Ice Bear 600grit.

I have a 2" x 6" super cheap online ( <$10 get one!) 320 / 600 grit diamond sharpener that is fully covered with diamond and no holes in the surface which i use for some removal work after I have really assured myself that I have removed all the high diamonds from its surface by scraping the surface and edges with a hardened piece of steel for a while. It is not perfectly flat so it is a sharpener not a lapping plate.

I do use the plate on a razor but...only perpendicular to the edge.

So, have I confused the issue now?
A good 1K hone will pay its way for a long time. Any fancy stuff for the average accumulator of razors will be more of a taker up of space.
~Richard