Thread: New Idea??? Experimentation....

Well I went back and handsanded the blade so most of that scratching is gone. Did 220, 400 really quickly which is what I wanted to avoid. There was no way the tumbler was going to take out those scratches if it hadn't made a difference after 24 hours. So now it is in the corncob and polish. We'll see what happens.

Originally Posted by D2T

Will report back in 24 hours.

So it's been 23.5 hours give or take. Just got home and took out the blade for inspection. Looks really good! A nice polish, but some of the scratches from my 300 grit sanding are still evident. I think they'd eventually polish out in another day or two, but I'm going to throw in the walnut media and see how that works now.

Lessons learned:

- I loaded my media with Flitz. It's about the consistency of toothpaste, and after emptying the corncob I saw that two of the globs I dropped in (out of 5) had just stuck to the bottom of the tumbler. So for the walnut, which I also Flitz'd, I mixed the polish by hand into a bowl of some of the media so it wouldn't stick to the tumbler. This is only an issue with thicker polishes.

- Buy a spare tumbler bin. Swapping this media out is annoying. Luckily I had a glasss kimchi jar that barely fit all the corncob.

- I think I saw more improvement in my blade in 24 hours than you did Philadelph. My hand sanding marks were significantly diminished. Not sure if this was because of: corncob, polish, different tumbler, or softer steel. Hopefully we'll figure this out.

I'll see if I can get some pics up of my before and after.

edit: here's a few quick and dirty pics. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take a pic after I had roughed it up with some 280 grit..


when I bought it:



after 24 hours in corncob and Flitz:




And just for fun, my dog's reaction to the tumbler:

I do have a question regarding media flow in the Midway tumblers. The bin doesn't seem very rounded. Do you get a good movement on the media when it's running? My bin is rounded and it really whips that corncob/walnut around:

Philadelph, speaking of Spanish ladies, if that razor doesnt come out to your liking, feel free to send it to me. Seriously, i'd be interested in it if youre thinking of selling it.. is it 5/8?

D2T- the midway tumbler definitely gets good movement. I think the type of steel might matter big time. Also, not that I've experimented much, but it seems like the razor needs to be in very good shape with little to no problems to get it looking "new". Then again, I haven't seen the results of my corn cob test yet...

Deadringer- I think it's 5/8, I haven't measured. I have 2 spanish points that I need to restore. This is one. I might want to sell one when they are both done, but that probably won't be for a while. Keep an eye on BST.

Originally Posted by D2T

I do have a question regarding media flow in the Midway tumblers. The bin doesn't seem very rounded. Do you get a good movement on the media when it's running? My bin is rounded and it really whips that corncob/walnut around:

That is an Ultra-Vibe tumbler you have, which is actually a great one, mine is 27 years old and still works just fine....
The smaller Midway does move the media slightly faster, but just leave the razor in slightly longer and it should do the same great work...
I am not sure if I read your post correctly but it seems like you used the corn cob first which would be backward, but the results look pretty good...
Your experience with the paste polish is common, that's why I used the cream style. I just learned that Flitz has a liquid polish also specifically made for this (thanks BT).....I will be looking into that!!!!!!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am not sure if I read your post correctly but it seems like you used the corn cob first which would be backward, but the results look pretty good...

You read it correctly. I was just mixing it up a bit to see what happened

Originally Posted by D2T

You read it correctly. I was just mixing it up a bit to see what happened

Cool there are no rules hehehe let us know what happens!!!!!

Sure, I go and spend $50+ in manual handsanding stuff, and someone finds another use for my case tumbler! Anyway, unless I missed it, has anyone thought about trying the ceramic, or porcelain polishing media? I know my fellow soot lordes (those who shoot blackpowder cartridge) swear by it for getting black powder fouling out of their cartridge casings. Its far more expensive than corn cob/walnut, but I would think the upside would be that we could continue to use it for both razors and brass casings without replacing one for the other.

Originally Posted by yul b. nekst

Sure, I go and spend $50+ in manual handsanding stuff, and someone finds another use for my case tumbler! Anyway, unless I missed it, has anyone thought about trying the ceramic, or porcelain polishing media? I know my fellow soot lordes (those who shoot blackpowder cartridge) swear by it for getting black powder fouling out of their cartridge casings. Its far more expensive than corn cob/walnut, but I would think the upside would be that we could continue to use it for both razors and brass casings without replacing one for the other.

"Please Sir may we have a link" I say this in my best imitation of "Oliver"