Thread: Restoring a blade back to it's original shine

I have recently bought 5 straight razors, in good condition, but they have minor black rust marks. I have used from 600 grit up to 1500 grit sandpaper and silverware polish to clean up the blade. In the process I have noticed that the sand paper has made minor scratches making sections of the blades look "cloudy". What can I do (by hand) to get the blade to a beautiful shine? Do I just need to go to a higher grit of sandpaper or is this going to be permanent.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Aaron27

I have recently bought 5 straight razors, in good condition, but they have minor black rust marks. I have used from 600 grit up to 1500 grit sandpaper and silverware polish to clean up the blade. In the process I have noticed that the sand paper has made minor scratches making sections of the blades look "cloudy". What can I do (by hand) to get the blade to a beautiful shine? Do I just need to go to a higher grit of sandpaper or is this going to be permanent.

Thanks

I use 1, 2, and 3k wet dry sandpaper to get the polish back.

If there is some rust in the pivot pin area, I will get some WD40 in there, let it sit for a couple of hours, rinse, and by folding the sandpaper into little shapes, I can usually get any stains and rust from the area without having to unpin it. After a good sanding, I'll usually treat the pivot area with some Tuf-Glide and let dry overnight, then hit the stones....that's if the razor isn't to badly rusted.

Just going to start a Japanese razor tonight....

Do you jump from the 2k to 3k wet dry sandpaper?

I hope this sounds right but don't skip to fast between any step. Each one removes the previous marks. If you advance to fast on just one you will see it in the end.

I've used 2k, and 3k on vintage watch crystals. They come out looking brand new. Should do the same for metal.

Wet sanding.
I like too use WD40 on my HIGH grit papers.