Thread: To sand or not to sand...

Hello Gents,

I have this Imperial that I had been in search of for a while and am now getting around to working on it. There is some pretty harsh pitting but the etching is still in great shape. I have only done a mild clean up (WD-40, 000 steel wool, Mothers and a rag). Not sure if I want to sand it but I do want the etching to come back to life. What would you do? I do not mind pitting on an old razor as long as it is clean and not rusting anymore. I am just second guessing how far I want to take this clean up.

Bad pics I know


Tonight's pic



As you can see, it has pitting.


Thank You

The first thing I would do is take it to a 1K [Insert brand here] with tape and see how the pitting near the bevel cleans up before deciding anything else.

For the next little while tonight I am going to work on the edge. I have looked at it through a 60x loupe and it needs a bevel set. It has been honed poorly before and stored poorly after that. At least I didn't pay too much for it. I really like Imperials the others that I have took a great edge and hold them well, this is the worst shape I have started with.

Really cool etch! I wouldn't go much further maybe 1000 sandpaper. I wouldn't go much lower.

As 32T said, make sure the edge is ok before going much further

I have never seen an etch like that, nice find! Do some poking around here and you can find some great threads on preserving etches by people far more skilled than myself If I restoring and want to keep an etch I will usually just do a rough clean so I don't risk removing it.

Good luck, and post pictures of the finished product!

I'll go out on a limb and say that the edge will be fine.

I'll also say that I'd start with just some metal polish/Mothers Mag and Aluminum is my go to. You can always go coarser but once you do, it takes a lot of work and steel to go back up

Perhaps it's just the pic but there seems to be a problem at the heel. The Red shows the general area and the Blue shows the area in question.



Just an observation/I hope its of some help.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I'll go out on a limb and say that the edge will be fine.

I'll also say that I'd start with just some metal polish/Mothers Mag and Aluminum is my go to. You can always go coarser but once you do, it takes a lot of work and steel to go back up

Perhaps it's just the pic but there seems to be a problem at the heel. The Red shows the general area and the Blue shows the area in question.



Just an observation/I hope its of some help.

Yes it does have some issues on the heel, well it has some issues everywhere but the heel has a chip. That chip is far enough from the edge to make me think to just leave it alone. After some work on a Naniwa 1000 Professional, the bevel seems to be ok. Still needs work though.

I vote leave it, the etch will only be less evident. I have heard erasers are good for spot clean up

Cover the etching with nail polish after hitting the entire thing with Mothers or Maas. Then sand with 1000 grit if needed and work your way back to a nice polished look. Looks like it will be a nice one when your done.

+1 for using an eraser with the mag polish etc on it works great for getting around the etches & into corners & grooves like the pivot area on the spine etc
I got a large 4" x 1 1/2" rubber from a cheap shop & cut it down suit what I want