Thread: Red Imp: Restore Attempt!!!

would not have believed it.

Mate that looks fantastic

It's great to see another quality razor brought back to life
It kills me to think how many save-able razors have ended up in the bin

Greg Frazer

OK guys this is after the 400 grit, a whole lot of of 400 grit, seems like the 400 is sorta like the 4000 grit water stones it is the workhorse number....
There is a little trick I use on guns when polishing the rails on a bolt action for smoothness, that I use in the 400-1000 grit area that seems to work on razors as well....First lets make the assumption that everyone is using the black Wet or Dry sandpaper here, and not regular tan Wood sanding paper, also from talking to most of you in the restore chat I understand that most, are either sanding dry, or using water..... Here is a little trick too getting a slightly better finish from 400-1000 grit... Use WD-40 or a similar lubricant instead.... It almost works like a slurry on a water stone it helps get into those little dimples and creates a smoother surface for the same amount of work.... I'm sure other craftsman use the same trick, but I had never seen it on the Forum so I thought I would share with you!!!!!

In these pics the dimpling from the rust is almost completely gone!!!!
Yeah I know the pics are not all that great but I working on them

Wow Glen, nice work and a great tip. I have always worked with metals(automotive) and never thought of that while sanding,,,thx.

Woah! Very nice that is one fine looking razor

Thanks for the hint! I'll likely be sanding my first razor soon. Now my local hardware store only had wet/dry up to 600 grit. Would Home Depot or Lowes have higher grits or will I have to order them online?

Originally Posted by chancecatalyst

Thanks for the hint! I'll likely be sanding my first razor soon. Now my local hardware store only had wet/dry up to 600 grit. Would Home Depot or Lowes have higher grits or will I have to order them online?

I saw some 1000 and 2000 at a hobby store yesterday. You might try your local one.

I usually find the 1000-1500-2000 in the automotive stores or the automotive section at Wally World....... I know there is even higher grit available, but I really have never used it..... If I am going to mirror the finish, then after 2000 grit, I switch to a dremmel and buffing wheels and polishing compounds anyway!!!!

Thank you all for the kind comments.....

I will finish this one up and post some pics after the 2000 grit and then after the final polish... The big test is going to be on the hones, to make sure that the blade has not been weakened from the rust so much that it just crumbles when I hone it out and shave with it.... That pretty much is the rub here, I might do all the restore work only to find a completely useless edge.... You just never know until yer finished!!!!!

Awsome job. I'm surprized none of that rust went very deep.

Walmart has it in there automotive section