Thread: Bluing

Not sure if Bill's restoration cd goes into it in detail ( need to watch it again ) but could anyone give me some info or a web link on how to blue a razor .. ie .. razor preparation ;applying ; buffing etc .. how many applications I have a couple of razors I think would just look gorgeous blued but I want to try on a practise blade ..

Cheers ... Garry

Depends on what kind of blueing your after.

Hot blue or Cold blue. Hot blueing is a deeper blue that is far more wear resistant and Cold blue is easier to apply but wears off easier and not as uniform.

Unless your into refinishing or doing lots of blueing the Hot blue system is just to involved and expensive. Large tanks of costic chemicals, heating elemints and so on. Thats why Cold blue is so popular, comes in a small bottle and is applied to the steel with hand tools.

Start with Cold blue and see how it works for you, it can be found in the gun dept of department stores or at your local gun shop.

If you want to have it blued in the Hot method, see if the gun shop can have it sent to a shop that does it.

Now it's been years sence I have done anything in a blueing. I have been browning and other variations for a few years, should try to brown a razor... that would be cool...

So this is just Tinting for the razor blade?

Why not HOT PINK DwarvenChef?

Early American pioneers, specifically mountain men knew that the shiny barrels of their guns/weapons would give their locations away to unfriendly's. They used to piss on the metal and I believe set it out in the hot sun to blue the metal.

Originally Posted by bth88

Early American pioneers, specifically mountain men knew that the shiny barrels of their guns/weapons would give their locations away to unfriendly's. They used to piss on the metal and I believe set it out in the hot sun to blue the metal.

I'll leave this method to the pioneers ... I have purchased a small bottle of cold bluing from a gunshop here in the uk , I'm looking forward to trying it out .
I believe you apply with a swab leave to dry then buff off ..

piolthaz ... I believe it gives the razor a lovely sheen ( blueish in colour ) ..
I have a couple of razors which have had the same treatment only they are a brownish black .. they're both old razors and this process just adds to there beauty IMHO

thanks .. Garry

Originally Posted by Garry

I'll leave this method to the pioneers ... I have purchased a small bottle of cold bluing from a gunshop here in the uk , I'm looking forward to trying it out .
I believe you apply with a swab leave to dry then buff off ..

pilothaz ... I believe it gives the razor a lovely sheen ( blueish in colour ) ..
I have a couple of razors which have had the same treatment only they are a brownish black .. they're both old razors and this process just adds to there beauty IMHO

thanks .. Garry

Yes I understand that now. I have seen many things 'blued up' just not many razors I have come across I believe.

Originally Posted by pilothaz

So this is just Tinting for the razor blade?

It also resists rust much better too. I've seen high end vintage barber sheers with just the handles blued.

The only problem I see is if you do get water marks or minor rusting down the road you might have to take a different approach to cleaning than the typical Maas and Dremel method. I'm not sure how you could do it without buffing out the bluing. On guns the daily upkeep is gun oiling and wiping the surface.
Is gun oil safe on your skin? Would mineral oil work on blued surfaces? Would I even need to go through all that? Why don't I see more razors with bluing? These would be questions I would ask myself.

I think it's a really cool idea. Let us know the pros and cons of it, I for one would really like to know.

I have a Double Duck Lifetime razor that was blued and it has stood up well for probably over 70 years now. I don't think the cold bluing method is very durable but its probably better than the gold wash on most razors. You could probably look into having a PVD finish put on or even ion plate but that involves alot of heat but then you could plate with just about anything and both are very durable. I don't know about the cost though.