Thread: Need help w/ razor finish

I found the 120 flap wheel a little aggressive. The 400 grit flap wheel is a lot more controllable.

Any idea what those little square blocks you attach sand paper to are called (for hand sanding)? The name just escapes me at the moment.

I thought they were just called sanding blocks.

Get some cylindrical wooden dowels of various sizes, cut the paper to size and wrap the sand paper around it, pinch the ends and start sanding lengthwise along the blade.
Doesn' have to be wooden dowel, almost anything around the house can be used as a dowel; old AA, C or D size battery for example.

You should have a grit progression of paper (220, 400, 600, 1000, 1200, 2000) The grit you start at depends on the condition of the blade, for a blade in that condition start with 220 grit.
And remember don’t think you can get away by skipping a grit or two. If you skip a grit as you go up it will take much longer to remove the previous grit scratch pattern.

That's a good idea, smythe. I'd not thought of that.

Thank you gentleman! I got myself a sanding block a about an hour ago..and i'm already starting to see improvements with the 220 grit. I'll post up a picture after some serious work on this blade. It's a H & J.W. King...any idea where these are made? I'm guessing it's english steel, but I'm not sure

This is from an old auction I found on eBay (Poland)

"In addition, the razor has buffalo horn handles and is stamped on the tang and frame of the blade H. & J. W. King, New York. The Kings owned and operated a gun and knife store in New York during and after the Civil War. "

No idea how valid it is, but it's the only thing I can find. I just bought this one from Joe and it seems to be of the same manufacturer.

If anyone else has any info I'd also be very interested to hear it.


edit: found the link to the auction..pics are no longer there though.

Mine also says 51 Beekman street...maybe we should mapquest it and go check it out.... It's a nice looking piece of steel...nicer and nicer...now that i've been sanding like crazy...I tried looking it up in my standard guide to razors book, but no info there either

Ok, I also found this:

"Hezekiah King was first listed as an importer of hardware and cutlery in 1857, at 86 John Street, New York City. In 1865 the business was listed as H. & J. W. King, importers of English hardware, cutlery, and guns, at 51 Beekman Street. In 1876 the firm was called A. K. & J. W. King at 92 Beekman Street."

This razor has truly been a learning experience...I guess I've learned the hard way about what not to do...and i've gone through sanding and polishing at least 6 times...i'll post the results when I finish with 2500 and you guys can let me know what you think