Pivot?

Greetings all,

I'm going to start my first restoration soon and have a quick question or two.

How do you clean the hole in the blade in which the pin runs through? I want it to be really clean maybe polished some how to stave off the formation of rust in the future, but it is so small I cant figure out how. Also, how much of each grit of sandpaper should I get, a sheet or two, a whole pack?

Sorry for my noob questions, thanks in advance.

Put a tapered wooden toothpick that is slightly larger than the hole in a drill chuck, put some metal polish on the toothpick and run the drill with the toothpick in the hole… (Caution!!!!! is in order… if the blade should slip from your hand while the drill is running… wrap the blade in newspaper and secure with a rubber band… or two).

If the hole is ragged (not round because it’s been rusted) you can ream it with a slightly larger DIAMOND drill bit, I think 5/64 size bit will do (I would suggest you go to a machine shop to do this).
Put the blade in a rubber tipped vise to protect the finish and grip at the tang, then slowly ream out the hole in a drill press, lubricate with lots of oil.

The amount of sandpaper you need depends on the condition of the blade and how many blades you plan on restoring. To restore 1 badly rusted wedge blade I would start with 1 of each sheet wet/dry 220 400 600 1000 2000. I live not far from am auto supply shop so I can just run and get more if I need, however you may not so get 2 of each just in case.

There is more info in the “Hand Sanding How to” restoration forum. Essentials & FAQ sticky:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=18504

Hope this helps