Thread: Help withblack stains-rust

Hello gentlemen, is there any chance to clean this stains? The blade seems to be in good shape, but esthetically is it not so overwhelming..thank you for help

That is devil spit on the edge and hard to get past when you are honing it, most times impossible.
Try to find a better razor to start on. That razor will probably only bring frustration while you are starting out.

If you manage to get the black off what you will find left is pitting. Bad steel. If this was a near wedge razor you could regrind it if you had the tools. But its beyond what id recommend for someone new at restoring. You can sand on that one and give it a try. It would be a good learning experiance. But done exspect a miricle. See if you can get solid steel along the edge first. No pitting.

A little more on Devil's Spit from the past.

https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...vils-spit.html

Bob

If you were so inclined to try to save, I would make sure you can get clean steel on the bevel before going any further. Set a bevel and take a good look with a loupe, if you have Swiss cheese then you will know.

Clean it up with steel wool n oil, then metal polish on a rag. Then set a bevel, see what ya got. If you can achieve a clean bevel, it'll shave. May not look pretty, but if it'll shave again, its a win. I only sand a blade if it truly warrants it. (Typically 1/2 hollows and wedges ). The rest get cleaned up the best I can.

Doing a few junkers, will train you in what will clean up, and what won't. All of us that restore these objects of ol, started off by trying to make them look like new, again.

Some will, most will not. Its a learning process, that doesn't take long to learn. In no time, you'll be able to look at a razor and say....nope, not worth saving. Not gonna waste my time, with so many fish out there.

For example, here a full hollow that to most wouldn't bother with, cause its full hollow. I seen a possibility.



So I cut the active rust off with a SE razor blade, then steel wool and oil. That gave me a better idea if the blade was salvageable.



From there it was a bunch of sanding, and checking if I was going too far. (Foil ). I took it as far as I could, leaving some imperfections, then polished by hand, so not to overheat the blade on a buffing wheel.

It lives again, and shaves as good as new.


So its good to learn on some clunkers, before you start on better razors.



So take it slow, ask questions along the way when your not sure what to do.

There's a ton of info in the workshop thread, " What Are You Working On " that will help you on your way. There's also more in the library in the subject of restoration.

I start with a brass brush and CLR. Rinse thoroughly when done and dry. Depending how bad sand starting with 80 grit working up to 2500 grit. Sand in all directions. It is easier if you wrap the sandpaper around a wine cork. When it is what you accept then wet sand 800 up to 2500 grit. Final is polish with Mother's metal polish and a rag around the cork. Continue polish to desired finish.

A lot of thanks...i would like to try to restore the razor, even if only for "display purposes"

The trick is to know when to quit. Some are just never going to get there it's true but others will get to functional but not like new. Here is one that I got as blade only. It was clear very early on that all the pitting was just not coming out without sanding right through the blade not to mention the engraving so I left it as "patina" and went with a rustic look. Good advice above on procedures that I won't try to add to except to say that metal polish will do wonders for the staining but won't take out the pitting. You'll have to decide if you can live with what you'll be left with short of destroying it.

Yep..gotta have some with patina. Some look better with it.