Thread: how do you guys restore?

I teach middle school, so I have access to the middle school tech shop. I just started trying the tricky stuff like making scales and repinning. I mostly do everything by hand when it comes to blades. I had a dremel tool slip and chip a blade, so hand sanding and polishing is the way to go for me.

Major pitting will either require a lot of time if done by hand, or a lot of buffing wheels and compounds if you're looking to save time. Or, you could try a combination of both. When I decided to try my hand at a restoration, I didn't really want to invest in the buffing machine, wheels, and various compounds. And, I read an article in the wiki that talked about both methods and came to the conclusion that hand sanding, though more time consuming, would perhaps give me better results. Tuzi has a great write up on one of his restoration projects, and I think he had something like 20 hours into sanding just at the 150 level! BUT the final result speaks entirely for itself.

I could speed things up with a buffer, and let's be honest, who doesn't like power tools? Nonetheless, there is a certain satisfaction that comes along with hand-sanding and finishing a blade. I figure that a blade that has been around for a century or so is deserving of a little extra time. And keeping a few indicators of that time past can be a good thing too.

Originally Posted by MrZ

I teach middle school, so I have access to the middle school tech shop. I just started trying the tricky stuff like making scales and repinning. I mostly do everything by hand when it comes to blades. I had a dremel tool slip and chip a blade, so hand sanding and polishing is the way to go for me.

Yea, I have quickly learned which way to use the Dremel on them as well. Ran it the wrong way on a king cutter one day and snagged the point, shattered it half way down. Used too much pressure on just one side one day hand sanding, cracked the blade. Learned to "pinch" the blade with even pressure while hand sanding. And have shattered one trying to bend it straight one day. Learned to not try to bend them straight.