Thread: Tired of easy polishing

I have used wheels on a drill press, but it is very awkward and dangerous because of how you have to hold the razor and the interference of the chuck.

It can be done, but a dedicated buffer is probably the safer, with lots of clearance, that you can hold the razor with both hands and it gives you a good view or the buffing surface while buffing.

It is still dangerous but all the other caveats apply. I still do both. Though lately, I do more hand sanding and use the buffer with 600 and greased compounds to finish.

The best advice, is live with some defects and buy better razors.

I find that sanding by hand gives the finest results. Time and attention to detail pays off in the end. It might sound weird but many days and hours spent carefully working on a blade forms a connection for me to the razor itself and to the craftsmen who originally made it. Only after I have achieved a good result by hand will I sometimes polish using something with a cord, depending on the finish I am looking for. This might be useful Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Library Good luck, enjoy the process, don't rush it.

Hand sanding works the best and is the slowest safest method.
I know the fingers and hand gets tired....... Use some "helper tools" to ease the strain on your hand and fingers.
Sometimes the dremel works good....... BUT....you need to be careful when using it!
Same goes for buffer wheels...... High speeds = high heat....
Lots of posts on all of these methods.

Meguiar's makes a metal polish in a heavy and medium cut. I have not used it much, but it does seem to work. Just not quite as they say.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I have used wheels on a drill press, but it is very awkward and dangerous because of how you have to hold the razor and the interference of the chuck.

It can be done, but a dedicated buffer is probably the safer, with lots of clearance, that you can hold the razor with both hands and it gives you a good view or the buffing surface while buffing.

It is still dangerous but all the other caveats apply. I still do both. Though lately, I do more hand sanding and use the buffer with 600 and greased compounds to finish.

The best advice, is live with some defects and buy better razors.

Yes I thought to use a driller too but as it's said here, to handle the driller and the blade is quite hard to do at the same time.

Actually I just want to start with quicker way and planning to have a buffer machine and to convert it with using with cloath wheels.

Originally Posted by Oustoura

no they are not mines but of a friend.

While hand sanding, i start from 400 if it goes well, i continue until 2000 then dremel. otherwise, if there is too much rust or deep marks i go back 240, 180 (at least) then come back until 2000. but here is the problem, when there is deep marks on the blade, even with advanced hand sanding methods don't work.

I tried to find some of my works to give an example but the are deleted due a problem with my old pc.

Hand sanding WILL remove just about anything that is defective.
Sounds like you just don't want to put in the MANY HOURS of work to achieve this though.

Shortcuts are EASY but come at a cost... (POWER TOOLS)
Like others have said you can round off crisp edges QUICKLY and etching can be GONE in a split second.
Not to mention the risk of the blade FLYING out of your hands or getting caught on the wheel and cracking or breaking.

Dremel tools spin WAY FAST and you can also ruin the temper of the blade.
Hand Sanding might take WEEKS to accomplish what you are looking for.
The heaver grinds (wedge) are better for this as they have MUCH more material that can be removed.

I HAND sanded this for around 4-5 hrs. a day for about two weeks;

Originally Posted by Chevhead

Hand sanding WILL remove just about anything that is defective.
Sounds like you just don't want to put in the MANY HOURS of work to achieve this though.

Shortcuts are EASY but come at a cost... (POWER TOOLS)
Like others have said you can round off crisp edges QUICKLY and etching can be GONE in a split second.
Not to mention the risk of the blade FLYING out of your hands or getting caught on the wheel and cracking or breaking.

yes nice work actually. but i'm not considering that the handsanding won't take off all etches. as i said earlier (if you see my other comments!) i was asking for a quicker way.

Originally Posted by Oustoura

yes nice work actually. but i'm not considering that the handsanding won't take off all etches. as i said earlier (if you see my other comments!) i was asking for a quicker way.

There's quick and there is the right way.
Remember the old saying....

Nothing good comes easy and nothing easy is good.

Now if you want to just buff them up so they look half way decent.... A buffer will get it done much faster but as I said before you will probably round over some of the crisp edges. A buffer it's just like SR Shaving... There is an art to using it and getting it to look right.

There is restoration and, there is RESTORATION.

So, first It depends on, what you are aiming at. Personally, when shooting at distance, I like to holdover, just a bit, to allow for bullet drop…

Here are a couple pics, at which you might sight at. On this forum, we are blessed to display the amazing work of several, first class restorers, turning out higher, than museum quality restoration. Most hand sand and buff to finish.

As with honing, it is not just about, how shiny you can make it, and certainly not how quickly, it can be done…

This is just one example of Mike, (Wolfpack64’s) hard work, notice the flat flats, crisp edges and pleasing lines, the results speak for themselves, lots of hand sanding …







Edit It's Wolfpack 34, sorry Mike, I gave you a promotion...

I can say this, I bought a GD just to play with as to not ruin a good blade. I hand sanded and then thought well I will try my buffing wheel, thank god that POS was not sharp because I would have lost a finger! It was my own fault but the buffer grabbed the blade and flung it at mach 1 to the floor bent the blade at the tip and basically ruined the blade ( I know funny to say about a GD ) but still I ended up with a small knuckle cut and a great lessen learned. Hand sanding is safe and though not the most fun a great result can be had. I am currently hand sanding an ebay purchase and it is taking time but turning out very well and I have not been hurt. I just work on it when I have time and in the last 3 days it has been progressing nicely. I recommend staying away from power tools. Also you would not want to over heat the blade while buffing on a high speed buffer.