Thread: Frederick Reynolds - The Celebrated Hollow Ground

Maybe consider a little more time in the neatsfoot. Some leave them for weeks rather than days although some of that depends on how dry they were at the start. At least that's how I decide how long.

I'm typically soaking a minimum of one week for good condition scales. Others, even longer.

Let um soak while you finish the blade, they won't rot in the oil, but you'll probably have to flatten them again, once you pull them

Done for now. I wanted to assemble the razor, hone it and try it out later this week.

In spite of the hone wear, the geometry seems OK and I was able to get a reasonable bevel set.

My hone progression was Shapton 1k => BBW slurry to water => coticule slurry to water => Naniwa 12k

I’ll let you know how it shaves.

Looks good David. I look forward to hearing how that shave went.

Good stuff David. That has come together very nicely indeed. Great job on fixing up those old scales.

Originally Posted by Tathra11

Good stuff David. That has come together very nicely indeed. Great job on fixing up those old scales.

I sanded the scales down to remove any delamination and wonky bits.

Then I misread Mike’s sequence and put them in neatsfoot oil for 3 days while I waited to get to where my tools were. After cleaning the oil off with denatured alcohol, I repaired the bug bites and resanded and polished them. For polishing, I used the abrasive spongy things they use in. manicure shops to sand down nail ridges and put a final polish on the finish. They seem much gentler than high grit sandpaper.

They then went back into neatsfoot oil for another 2 days. So, I guess they were i oil for a total of 5 days.

I was surprised at the generally good condition the scales were in after sanding and sitting in the oil. They were quite flexible.

Next time I try this, I’ll wait until I’m where my tools are and be more patient.

Originally Posted by DZEC

For polishing, I used the abrasive spongy things they use in. manicure shops to sand down nail ridges and put a final polish on the finish. They seem much gentler than high grit sandpaper.

I don't get manicures but I do use those spongy things to make my nails smooth and shiny.

I wonder if I should have said that.

Forget that, I am only joking um HaHa