Thread: 7 Day Set Restore Advice

Thanks for the information. This razor is just a cheap one from eBay that I bought to practise honing on. I honed this to shave-ready, and had a good shave with it last week. The blade has hone-wear on the spine, so I wasn't too bothered about taping the spine. I'm only a hobbyist, so re-shaping heels is out of my league. I don't have a workshop, just some wet-and-dry, 4 whetstones, some polish and my 2 hands! When I replace scales I buy them pre-made.

I'd like a workshop one day, just got to convince the wife first!

Originally Posted by markc1975

Thanks for the information. This razor is just a cheap one from eBay that I bought to practise honing on. I honed this to shave-ready, and had a good shave with it last week. The blade has hone-wear on the spine, so I wasn't too bothered about taping the spine. I'm only a hobbyist, so re-shaping heels is out of my league. I don't have a workshop, just some wet-and-dry, 4 whetstones, some polish and my 2 hands! When I replace scales I buy them pre-made.

I'd like a workshop one day, just got to convince the wife first!

You don't need a workshop to reshape the heel of a razor. It can be done using wet/dry or the side of a hone. When the edge gets to the same level as the blade's shoulder there is a tendency for a heel hook to develop making reshaping of the heel necessary. The edge of the blade should sit at a lower level than where the blade's shoulder ends. If you do a forum search for "heel hook" you'll see what I mean.

Bob

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I looked through the forum posts, and may have a go at re-shaping the heel on this one. I like the idea of using a washer for the shape, though I'll need to get myself either a diamond plate, or a decent file to re-shape the metal.

Cheers!

You won’t be able to reshape the heel with a regular file, it will also need to be a diamond file. A diamond plate is much more versatile and very handy for flattening hones.

Thanks RezDog. My father-in-law has some diamond files he said I can have, however I'm thinking of getting myself a decent DMT plate. I have a small lapping stone, but I like the idea of using a plate to flatten my hones.

Reshaping the heel and shoulder has been discussed on the workshop threads many times though often I have a hard time finding the right post buried in long threads..
I've done it with a dremel but you gotta be real careful with dremels as even the experienced can mess up. Its a challenge not to have it grab that blade edge and throw the blade, often great distances with terrible effects..
As far as honing with a protruding shoulder, what I've seen is that the blade can bump up and ride on it, lifting most of the blade edge off the hone, with only a small spot further down the edge still touching. This will mess up the bevel.
I know this because I've done it and seen the results.
Shoulderless blades are therefore better blades to learn to hone on, having one less thing to think about.

I haven't mastered these things yet, as my experience is limited. All these little things come together automatically without thought for experienced hone meisters. Its great to watch the videos and see them at work!

$30 will get you a 300 / 1k diamond plate from Chef Knives to Go, that will easily do a heel reshaping and any other grinding and lap all your stones.

I have one that has to be 5 years old and lapped a ton of stones and is still a fast cutter. I also have DMTs, Atomas, EZ laps and Ebay cheapos, they all work till you rip all of the diamonds out.

I also have a 600 / 1k 1x6 inch diamond file, that sells for about $15 on line. Search Diamond file, look at the pics for one with a Yellow and black handle.

You can reshape a heel in 5 minutes at your kitchen table.

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look for a UK supplier to keep shipping costs down. Amazon UK have some diamond plates for sale, so I might treat myself to one for Xmas.

I have the ivory scales soaking in mineral oil now. I haven't used a bath, instead I used a small paintbrush and painted it on. I'll leave them to soak for now, and give them another coating or two later.

I've attached a pic of the hairline crack on one of the scales. After a bit of cleaning the others are all crack free. Can this be fixed, or should I just live with it?


Mark

You can stabilize the crack with CA (super glue). A tiny amount along the line and a wee bit between the scale and the wedge will help a lot.

Definitely check out the workshop threads. Outback has described the process well.
Soaking the crack in hydrogen peroxide, cleaning out the crack (ive read a sonicare works wonders). Then the CA mixed with baking soda to fill the crack (baking soda optional).
Also a backer if you want it to be crazy strong but its not necessary with small cracks.