Thread: Nice to meet yall, starting to restore razors.

If I am ever restoring a razor I always check to make sure it takes a clean bevel. Always good to get practice in but don't want to sink too much time in a razor that is not going to shave. Usually just work on a 1k stone maybe lower depending on what it needs until it has a bevel free of rust

OK, so after seeing Outback's examples, it made me think maybe I am not living up to my full potential. I find it difficult to know because at different angles the light may flaws, but not at others. While from afar the blades look polished, a close up, or with a loupe, shows I usually have some small dull yellowish areas. Also, some dark spots remain. Here is an example. It is from Fox Cutlery Company.

I apparently didn't take a series of "before" pictures. But, this is what it looked like when I stopped using 3M and steel wool. The arrow shows a spot that was still rough if you drug a fingernail across it. Which I figured I would need to sand out.



I decided to use wet sanding from here. I used 600 and 800 grit on the tang. There was a lot of roughness on the bottom of the tail. And then I started doing the blade at 1000 grit up to 3000 grit. I got a 6 pack of polishing compound that I put on leather and went black, brown, white, green, red, and blue.



So, one note on my progression. Even with my 10X loupe I can't see sanding scratches going the length of the blade. So, after I finish with one grit I just sand spine to edge a few times to get it all scratched up and can tell when I have removed those on my next step. Once I get done with the black compound I can't see any scratches at all, so from there it is just a guess. I should experiment and see if I can even tell a difference from black to blue to see if it is even worth continuing. I'm not sure blue is even strong enough to do anything on metal, but I have it so I try.

I tried to add the photos between the text, but it didn't seem to work. The photo that has no text (oops) is the front of the blade after doing final polish.

Thanks for any help. And like I've said before, be harsh, it'll make me do better.

Originally Posted by Christian1

If I am ever restoring a razor I always check to make sure it takes a clean bevel. Always good to get practice in but don't want to sink too much time in a razor that is not going to shave. Usually just work on a 1k stone maybe lower depending on what it needs until it has a bevel free of rust

This is a good idea. And, if I start doing this on the regular, I will do that. In this case I am thinking that I am trying to learn the process, so I can learn from them either way. I'd almost rather these not be very good so I am not ruining something that someone can turn into a great razor. I'll probably keep them around, too, just in case as I learn to hone better I can get them up to snuff later.

Heck, if you have any that you can't get an edge on, maybe I'll buy them off you for more practice.

Experimental razor...more than the rest, I suppose. Basically, I want to sharpen something and still have this one that has a bunch of corrosion and pitting on the edge. So, why not listen to Christian1 and see what the edge will do.

I measured the spine thickness and found that the bevel angle will be 17.5 deg to 19.5 deg. Average width is about 0.52" and thickness is 0.17". One layer of tape will increase that to 18.7 deg to 20.7 deg.

But, I think the right answer is to put tape on the spine and clean up the edge. If it gets an edge I can measure it once I get it all sanded up and figure out what to do.

It seemed to take an edge. I don't have a way to take a picture of the edge. There are still a few small chips in the area of corrosion but they were getting smaller. I know that more may form, but it seemed a little silly to keep grinding away before I kill the edge to do the cleaning. I wasn't making a lot of progress on 1000 grit, so I did take it down to my coarse stone, I think it is around 400 grit, to really get the bevel and cleanup started. Then brought it back up to 1000 grit and got it mowing arms and all but a couple of chips.

I did start to figure out how to use my 30X magnifying glass. Still kind of a pain in the butt, but it lets me see those chips and scratch marks.

I got a KEENBEST 1000g/6000g the other week and I am not impressed ($16). It just doesn't have much feed back and I can't really see any swarth (sp?). So I have no idea how even the cutting is or even if it is really cutting at all. It'll make a fine door stop, I guess.

OK Yall,

I would like request some more advice. I think I want to get a diamond plate for two things.
1. Easier for lapping stones than wet/dry sandpaper.
2. I tried to reshape the heel of one of my razors, but the cutting power of my stone did not seem to try to make a dent in the thick stabilizer, but then it would catch the edge if I rotated it too far. Obviously they last bit is user error, but after 15 minutes I would not even tell if the heel had changed shape. Euclid's video on a diamond plate made it look like it went much faster.
3. I accidentally got a Thuringian honing stone that I may want to start using. I think it'll want a slurry.

I have searched the forums a bit and have not really found much guidance on what to look for in a diamond stone. Ironically, I am seeing some similar to a set that I gave away years ago because I didn't like the feel of them. That was the kind that were perforated.

Would something like this help with any of the items above? Sharpal 156N whetstone 325/1200 diamond grit? https://amzn.com/B07GRWVT4F Or is there something else I should be thinking about?

Thanks everyone.

Too small for lapping stones. Try the Chef Knives to Go 400/1000 it is a good plate with uniform grit for $30, or DMT, EZlap, Trend or Atoma.

For most work and lapping CKTG plates are good enough, what you are paying for is a flat substrate, (though dead flat is not critical) and how well the diamonds are attached and sized.

Most diamond plates are pretty much the same, except for the real cheapies from Harbor Freight and the like. But most are good, even some inexpensive plates from Ebay.

You want at least close to 8 inches for lapping. The trick to not ruining a lapping plate is to use under running water and not with a lot of pressure. If the plate clogs and you use pressure you can rip out diamonds.

Some of my plates are at least 10 years old and still cutting.

Here is the link, for some reason it is not with other Diamond plates.

400/1000 Diamond Plate.

You can also clean diamond plates with soft scrub, vim cream, bar keepers friend and the likes. This can really make a big difference in their performance. Bigger plates are better for lapping and work just fine for heel adjustments.

Thanks guys.

Good point about the size, can't really get much movement when it is just a little bigger.

I didn't know that I would have to CLEAN them....gross. That sounds like work, not fun.

For myself and any newbie reading along, I did find a thread on flattening them first to make sure there are no high diamonds. A screwdriver or some other large flat metal object or the sidewalk or a brick. Although it seemed the sidewalk was sort of an "if all else fails" sort of deal.

I've got a couple of popsicle sticks stuck together nice and tight. I know I used the wrong washers on the brass end, and that the heads are not perfect, but they hold. I also polished my hammer and anvil because I think that the black marks on the sticks are dirt and not damage.



So, now that I am getting close to making a razor, I am looking at scales. I have this pair that came with this crack and the chunk missing at the top. I have not done a test with a hot pin, but I think they are some natural material (horn?). They are quite thin. But, either way they are pretty and I think I want to see if I can fix the crack and put them back on the razor. The chunk seems far enough from the pin that I think it will be fine and just give character. Any repair of this chunk is way beyond my skill set at the moment.



It seems like toothpaste and car polish are the starting point regardless of material. And, it seems that I can fill in the crack (it does go through) with some epoxy and maybe have them solid again.

I am not sure what sort of epoxy would be best, though. I have seen mention of CA glue on here, but I have never used it and it seems to have various options. Thin, medium abrasive, spray activator. So, any advices would be appreciated.

Edit: For eagle eyes out there, there is a bit of scotch tape on the lower scale that is holding the wedge so I don't lose it or get it mixed up with any of the others.