Thread: Handsanding howto

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.

Awesome, thanks for all the responses!

So how are people restoring blades with gold wash in them? I've seen dozens of pictures of restored Dovos, and other Solingen blades. Is there another method or technique that one uses to clean-up these razors?

You can mask off the goldwash with electrical tape & work around it but if there is rust or pitting on the goldwash its a goner if you abrade the area. Dovo & Gotta razors are good for masking as they have a lot of straight lines in the goldwash.