Thread: Mirror Finish

I'm sure this has been covered but what do you guys use to give your blade that awesome mirror shine. Any links or comments will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Originally Posted by canyon289

I'm sure this has been covered but what do you guys use to give your blade that awesome mirror shine. Any links or comments will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

A lot of it is camera angle!

Hard work with wet & dry paper & a buffing wheel, or a week in a tumbler if you're lucky enough to have one!
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...mentation.html
Glen thought this up AFAIK.
Alex's method is very good too!

A lot of hand sanding and a lot of wet and dry paper. Then I use Autosol polish. It looks like a mirror finish in a photo, but I can still see imperfections up close.

can a dremel do this as well? or it doesn't look as good as hand sanded and hand polished?

I would imagine sanding by dremel and buffing on the dremel should work too.

I've not got a dremel, but a lot of the fellas use them. I think you have to be careful about keeping the heat down & not catching the edge. If you have a go i'd recommend goggles & gloves.

Originally Posted by Droshi

can a dremel do this as well? or it doesn't look as good as hand sanded and hand polished?

I would imagine sanding by dremel and buffing on the dremel should work too.

I've used a dremel to repolish and restore much more delicate items such as very old tobacco pipes, and the rules are pretty straight forward.

1. It has the potential to look just as good as hand refinishing in a fraction of the time.
2. ALWAYS wear goggles and gloves.
3. As already pointed out, be mindful of the heat you are generating in the blade. Even a polishing wheel can generate enough heat to warp your razor or destroy the temper if you let it.
4. If you are in any way less than VERY skilled at doing this sort of work with a dremel, practice on something you don't mind throwing in the trash first. Even a felt polishing wheel has the potential to destroy your razor, because the shaft it's sitting on is steel, and so is the chuck that it's seated into, and the whole lot of if is spinning fast. One slip, and that chuck hits your edge, your razor will be chipped beyond repair.
5. Particular to razors and other sharp implements, remember that you're talking about putting a high speed rotory tool against a sharp object that is capable of inflicting a mortal wound under the right circumstances, so the utmost care should be taken to make sure the razor is in a secure position, and your work area is free of things like pets and other people who could be injured by a flying razor blade should your bracing fail.

I would say mostly gradual grit, sanding and scratch removal progression, the right combination be it sandpaper or compounds and lots of patience.

The problem with dremel vs. hand-'sanding' metal is that I've not seen a dremel finish that is as nice and even as when done by hand. It's very easy to use the dremel for too long by accident on one spot than the next. It just never looks as good when both methods are done well.

What's with the Vintage Blades ad that is blocking the right half of my screen?

Rich

'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.' - Mark Twain