Thread: The Butchered Blade

I'm not sure what I'm seeing here. I've been sanding with 220 grit and it looks like and it looks like I have reached fresh metal throughout, yet there is dark spotting on the blade. Up close the spotting looks like tiny pits. What gives? Should I keep going with the 220? Please remember, this is the first time I have sanded metal so I'm clueless here.

Time to get an antique 'frost' to that one. That sort goes deep, FME!

Originally Posted by MikeT

Dang Tom! That sounds like a serious process!
I get my blades fairly sharp, good enough shave without pull, but by what you wrote, that process, as you bring the blade up to your face the hairs must just fall off whimpering on the way down to the sink crying out in anguish "the horror, the horror!.. save yourselves!" Lol

Got a good shave, MikeT. Could be better. Old wedges are tough. Seems a point comes where the hones are not going to get it.
The strops will bring them in after a few rounds!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Got a good shave, MikeT. Could be better. Old wedges are tough. Seems a point comes where the hones are not going to get it.
The strops will bring them in after a few rounds!

That sounds wildly counterintuitive to me....
I have no reason not to believe you Tom, in fact, I do believe you.
Speaking of 'Learning every day,' I shaved with a wedge yesterday and as I was shaving I thought...this is not the sharpest razor I have shaved with...but it worked nicely. At the end of the shave my face looked BBS but wasn't....alum and Floid were delightful...mostly my edges are such that if you loose focus and set the blade on your face at the improper angle you will have a red line...the Greaves was gentle and efficient.

[QUOTE=Leatherstockiings;1549287]I'm not sure what I'm seeing here. I've been sanding with 220 grit and it looks like and it looks like I have reached fresh metal throughout, yet there is dark spotting on the blade. Up close the spotting looks like tiny pits. What gives? Should I keep going with the 220? Please remember, this is the first time I have sanded metal so I'm clueless here.
QUOTE]
You are getting there, but yes it looks quite deep still. Are you going free hand or with a support block while sanding?
Could always drop back to 180 using some support, ie paint stir stick with the paper wrapped around it.
Also, go with swirls not unidirectional while sanding at the first stage. Removes metal faster if you keep attacking your scratch pattern from different directions. I personal don't start to try to sand for finish until up around 400g. After I have the blade to the base metal I want.
Nice Irish point BTW leatherstockings.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

I'm not sure what I'm seeing here. I've been sanding with 220 grit and it looks like and it looks like I have reached fresh metal throughout, yet there is dark spotting on the blade. Up close the spotting looks like tiny pits. What gives? Should I keep going with the 220? Please remember, this is the first time I have sanded metal so I'm clueless here.

It may be a good time to check to ensure you can get a solid bevel. It you can you have to decide to either clean the black and leave the pits, and that can be done with steel wool, and then put a satin finish on it, or keep sanding until you have gotten what you feel is an acceptable amount of the pits out.

Originally Posted by WW243

That sounds wildly counterintuitive to me....
I have no reason not to believe you Tom, in fact, I do believe you.
Speaking of 'Learning every day,' I shaved with a wedge yesterday and as I was shaving I thought...this is not the sharpest razor I have shaved with...but it worked nicely. At the end of the shave my face looked BBS but wasn't....alum and Floid were delightful...mostly my edges are such that if you loose focus and set the blade on your face at the improper angle you will have a red line...the Greaves was gentle and efficient.

I have some wedges in my rotation which were 'meh' in the beginning, but years later they are amazing shavers after lots of strop.
Seems the old wedges never need rehoning. Just more stropping. YMMV

Tom...
Thats how i finished the Unity.
At 500grt, bevel was still prefect. After 5-10 passes on 8000grt, the edge would start to deteriorate and chip. I lapped my 8&12000 twice.
Back to 5-8 same thing.
Back to a clean 5000, then stroped the hell out of it with CR/OX.......PERFECT..!!!!.

By the way, it was a great shave.!!!

Originally Posted by RezDog

It may be a good time to check to ensure you can get a solid bevel. It you can you have to decide to either clean the black and leave the pits, and that can be done with steel wool, and then put a satin finish on it, or keep sanding until you have gotten what you feel is an acceptable amount of the pits out.

I had thought about checking to see if I can get a pit free bevel but don't have magnification. Also, I only own barber hones at this point. Is it possible to create a bevel with the coarse side of a one-sided barber hone?

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

I had thought about checking to see if I can get a pit free bevel but don't have magnification. Also, I only own barber hones at this point. Is it possible to create a bevel with the coarse side of a one-sided barber hone?

That is fairly unlikely. You should be able to do it with 1000 grit w/d paper on a good solid and flat backer. I would also use three pieces of tape. Sort of starting with the spine raised. If your bevel is quite small when you hone it for real you can drop to two. I doubt that that old girl will give a nice bevel with a single piece of tape but ya never know.