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Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with etching on Soviet straight razor. There seems to be a couple of rust stains right on the etching and am not sure if Maas or maybe high grit sandpaper would damage it? Any input would be much appreciated.
Some have had good sucess painting over the etching with clear fingernail polish and letting it dry then using something like Flitz to polish the blade and then use acetone to clean off the nail polish, although it's nice to have the etching you have to remember it's a tool that is used everyday depending on size of collection and it gets wet and dried so it honestly will wear off over the years anyway.
You can mask it with clear tape and then work around it. Clear simply because it is easier to put the tape on and then lightly trim it back.
You can also take the scales off and clean it in a vibrating tumbler. Although that won’t work if it is super light like a laser etch, for the tumbler to be at its best it needs to be more than just on the surface.
The other thing is just be very very careful, and combined with the first method it works fairly well. That blade does not need a lot, and may be fine as is.
If you want to keep the etch, I'd just leave it as is. Spritz it off with alcohol and hone it as you would normally, turning a blind eye to the stains.
+1 on the clear tape, I actually don't think a careful light hand polishing will hurt it unlike gold lettering or other gold designs which will come right off with polish
I'm with the tape it clan, but I like the satin finish scotch tape better than clear. It highlights the etch better for trimming around it.
Hmm, I didn't think of that. However there is a couple of spot directly on the etching. Is that just salvageable?
Carefully go over the area with a #2 pencil. I would recommend doing this prior to starting work on the rest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirasy
I use a #10H pencil on the tough spots and then just hit it with either NeverDull or just a blob of Mothers.
Sorry for my ignorance but do you mean try to scape it off with a pencil? Or is it some sort of procedure?
Pencil lead/ graphite, will remove rust.
Yes. Someone brought it to my attention recently (I believe on this forum, so I cannot take credit for the idea) that graphite tends to be harder than iron oxide (rust) structures, but not hard enough to put major scratches in steel. (though it will scratch with enough force, which is why I recommend removing the rust on the etching PRIOR to doing the rest of the finish work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirasy
I have done this on a few of my restorations with great success. I don't honestly think the number of the graphite really matters... but I've only used a #2 so that's the only one I can confidently recommend. It seems MrZ has had success with a #10H as well increasing my suspicion that the variance in pencil graphite grades in terms of hardness is all between the hardness of steel and rust.
I use the 10H because it is the hardest graphite pencil that I could find. I have never tried anything lower than an 8, so I dont know about softer. Learned the trick here (one example of the helpful tips shared here), and use it especially where tail pieces duck down between scales. I also use it around manufacturing marks and engravings.