Thread: Blade No Longer Flat After Polish

Sorry if this is an old story being repeated; if so, thanks for any links you can provide that already answer it.

Got a really nice Dubl Duck on eBay, shaved great, but had a bit of staining and a spot of rust. Followed Lynn's video, polished it up with a very slow setting on the dremel (yes, I've seen threads about Dremel Damage), and that took care of the staining and spot nicely.

Problem is that the blade no longer sharpens. After a little bit of testing, I discovered that the blade is ever so slightly curved -- if you gently hold one side of it flat on the stone, it can "roll" lengthwise a tiny bit. Other side, of course, opposite effect of the tip and base touching, not quite the middle enough to hone it. The curve is very slight, not even visible if you sight down along the edge.

So, question to the StraightRazorPlace Hive Mind Experts -- how to fix? Is there a recommended procedure, or someone to send it to who has good fixin' technique?

Thanks!

Before the "You heated it up and warped the blade" discussion starts, which is a possibility, you guys have to understand that a dremmel is designed to polish small areas not a large flat surface like a blade face... You are creating hundreds of small dimples basically across the blade surface no matter how well you think your working that fast spinning wheel you are only cleaning little 1/4 in spots at a time....
I am also seeing more and more flap wheel damage to the edges on blades that are coming to me for honing....
I can't say it enough that using dremmels to clean up blades is a risky proposition at best, and broken or destroyed blades at worst...
When you're using one on a heavy wedge or 1/4 wedge the prospects look better, but to use a dremmel on a full hollow for cleaning is not a real good idea IMHO... Basically to clean up full hollows, it takes time, work, and patience, there really is no quick safe way...
Note that I said for cleaning not for final polish that is a different animal....

All of the above is just my opinion and I'm sure they are differing ones out there....

I gotta apologize I just told ya what might have gone wrong I didn't attempt to help you on the fix....

I would start at 320 grit sandpaper wrapped around the back of the spine and pinching the blade between my fingers and re-finish the blade.... As you pinch and sand, you should wipe off the old bevel and clean up the spine.... progress through 2000 grit, and you should end up with a nice level playing field to start your honing on....

Thanks, Glen, for the information about the dangers of using this technique for polishing. As a newbie, of course, we simply follow what we see using the gently touch and slow speeds recommended on the videos we buy from those with more experience -- because, you know, we're newbies.

Any fix suggestions or guidance?

Ted could you by chance post a pic, that would really really help....

Absolutely! This is the best my little old digital could give, I'm afraid.

Thank you for the ideas, patience, and taking the time to reply -- I really appreciate it!

From the pic there are 2 spots that look like it might be a problem, 1/4 inch from the point and 1 in from the point look like there might be some high spots... It is really hard to tell from pics but thats what I would guess.. The spine looks to be in great shape.....

You have a couple of different options on how to proceed here.

Least work:
Hone it as is, using a tight X pattern, and perhaps even a rocking motion, and get a shaving edge... (check out Heavyduty's 9 part video)

Most work:
Hone it on about a 1k grit stone, straight down the hone using a small amount of pressure this will even out the bevel, and uneven the spine... Then start from scratch at 220 grit sanding though 2000 grit, the way I described above, to wipe out the uneven hone wear, and even up the whole razor... Now you can hit the hones with a nice straight razor....

Anytime there is a warp in the blade you either have to hone around it or correct it..... Hope this helps and feel free to pm me anytime if I can help at all...

Hello Ted!

I live just across the river in St. Paul! Be sure and drop me a PM or email so we can get together and look at your razor and other Str8 razor stuff.

Looking at the pic it seems that there is a slight "frown" shape to th edge. Did the Dremel do some work along the edge?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Before the "You heated it up and warped the blade" discussion starts, which is a possibility, you guys have to understand that a dremmel is designed to polish small areas not a large flat surface like a blade face... You are creating hundreds of small dimples basically across the blade surface no matter how well you think your working that fast spinning wheel you are only cleaning little 1/4 in spots at a time....
I am also seeing more and more flap wheel damage to the edges on blades that are coming to me for honing....
I can't say it enough that using dremmels to clean up blades is a risky proposition at best, and broken or destroyed blades at worst...
When you're using one on a heavy wedge or 1/4 wedge the prospects look better, but to use a dremmel on a full hollow for cleaning is not a real good idea IMHO... Basically to clean up full hollows, it takes time, work, and patience, there really is no quick safe way...
Note that I said for cleaning not for final polish that is a different animal....

All of the above is just my opinion and I'm sure they are differing ones out there....

Thanks for that enlightenment. While I have not tried to use a dremel, you may have saved me from making a costly mistake.

Now there is an offer, I would take up, Randy knows his stuff and a hands on lesson can't be beat....