Thread: Handsanding howto

Originally Posted by just1nsturm

Is it alright if I go from 400, to 600, to 1000, to 1500, to 2000 if I just spend a lot more time on each grit?

That progression should be fine,just a little more time with each grit.

Question i have is: how far do i need to go with this restoration before it is deemed usable to shave my face? should i just be aiming to get it as polished as i find pleasing then get it onto my 4000/8000 norton stone before stropping?

That sounds right,put the finish you like on it,then hone.....However,we always recommend that new shavers start out with a blade professionally honed by an experienced honer.

Bill Ellis makes and sells these safety jigs that have rare earth magnets under the surface where you place the blade. That allows you to use both hands to sand,buff or whatever.
Believe me that blade is not gonna move even using a Dremel. Here's the link and they are in stock or you can make your own.
Bill's Straight Razor Info

being a massage therapist I have a very similar problem with trying to save my thumbs. after seeing the home made handle I wanted to share that there are a wide variety of hand held tools that may work better than the woodworking tools.
this is one that is great but expensive:
THERAPIST THUMB | Massage Warehouse
this one is only $7.00 and may need to be sanded to give it a better concave shape, maybe even gluing a piece of leather like on the wooden version.
Anyway, there are others on this site and others. Just thought I would throw it out there.
Also, I am just starting to do my first restore. What about different grades of steel wool? How do they work and where can I get the different gauges from?

This thread is what I really needed to read; I'm about to attempt my first blade restoration but I have a question before I begin. Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere... I couldn't find it though. I'll be sanding a Dorko and the blade is of the variety that has gold (I don't know what to call it- wash?inlay?) along with decorative etching/engraving. Should I be concerned about sanding this emblem? Do I need to go light on the area, or do I treat it like this thread describes (starting with 80 grit and end with 2000 grit)? Thanks for any help.

First, are you sure you want your first sanding job done on a Dorko? That's an expensive razor to destroy.
Second, if you sand it AT ALL, then you will lose the gold leaf. Even metal polish quickly removes it.
Finally, the grit you begin with is determined by the extent of the damage/corrosion. It might be 80 grit, but it might also be 600 or higher.

I would suggest that you practice this with a crap razor. Most people don't get their first hand sanding job right, with the most common mistake being the failure to completely remove the scratch pattern of a lower grit before moving up to the next.

Utopian is right on that you will lose the gold wash quickly. If it were me I'd get a cheap practice razor and practice on that. That Dorko is just to nice to work on like that.

Thanks guys. It's great that people still read this thread
As for the gold wash: as soon as you start sanding or polishing, it will be gone.

Thanks for the info! I love the home made tool too!
As a noobie to straight razor shaving but certainly not with restoration of things or around tools, I am looking at restoring a few of my blades to mirror finishes. I have all of the materials but just in case, I picked up a $5 sheffield with broken scales at a local antique shop to practice on. I am not new to honing either and have and use my Nortons but recently as I got into this, had to make some new additions like making a Dbl sided paddle strop (hard wool felt/balsa - diamond .5 spray/chrom oxide paste .5 respectively) and purchasing a Japanese 12,000 grt water stone, micro mesh up to 12,000 grt, and a nice heirloom artisan strop from Tony Miller! I have greasless compounds from Caswell from 800 up to 12,000 for my buffer BUT....my buffer runs too fast I believe for this kind of work. If I am not mistaken, it would be best to run around 1,100 - 1,500 rpm's. My buffer runs at 3,500 rpm's. I am not new to buffing dangerous items as I have a firearms side business but of course the potential of a blade zinging at 3,500 rpm's is a bit frightening. Caswell makes a nice unit but wondering if you know of anything variable that is less expensive? Sorry for the long winded message - tried to give some background. I have done my reading and watching videos on blade restoration and cant wait to "dig in".

Is there any way to update the pictures in the original post?