Thread: Finally got to work on my Greaves

Hello all,

Well, I am finally finished with my three month stint as a hospitalist working 80 hours/week.
I treated myself to a Greaves wedge a couple months ago (to cope with the stress), but was never able to give it the love it deserves. It has a beautiful raised design on the face that says "FINE SILVER STEEL" surrounded by a filigree pattern. Yesterday was my first day free, so I cleaned her up a bit.

This is how it looked when it arrived.


So I started cleaning up the blade with a rag and metal glo, but that didn't get me very far. I then very carefully took my Dremel with a loose cloth buffing wheel and Enkay "green stainless" polishing compound. After a couple light passes, I called it good. I would rather have some devil's spit and a little discoloration than sacrifice the design on the face for a pristine blade.

I was more aggressive with the other side of the blade (using felt wheels and various compounds), but didn't go crazy. I intentionally left the tang a bit rougher, just because I like it that way.

The scales were soaked in neatsfoot oil upon receipt of the razor, so they were nice and supple. I cleaned them up and lightly buffed them with some "brown tripoli" polishing compound on a felt wheel. They have plenty of bites, so I knew that it was hopeless to make them perfect. Still don't look too bad for ~150 year old horn.

Honing required three layers of tape and a lot of patience. I started with my newly acquired Chosera 1K (I see what the hype is about), then worked through a lapping film progression down to 1 micron. I then lightly finished on my little old school Jnat. She certainly mows the hair down with authority.

This is the current result:


I am pleased with the improvements, and dig the "been around the block" look. It reminds me that I am shaving with a piece of history. Although I have more pristine blades, this is the pinnacle of my current collection.

My question is, does anyone have any tricks that may clean up the face a bit more without grinding down the raised design?