Restoration Help

[cla]

Ok so I am going to try to restore this blade. It will be my first restoration project. I bought it off ebay and it doesn't look that bad. In fact, I was expecting it to look A LOT worse. I'll try to post the pictures. Any comments on how to proceed would be appreciated.

From the attached pictures....if you can see them the scales look like green wood, maybe bone? On the inside of the scales (in on of the pictures )you can see there is some "junk". It looks like wood or leather used to be there but was ripped out....or something is just growing there and looks fiberous like that.

The blade has VERY little rust, mainly around the pivot area and looks to be mainly on the surface. It does not appear to have any pitting. The blade is hollow ground and looks grey not at all like a mirror like normal stainless steel looks.

So here is what I am thinking: 1)Take off the scales clean the blade up (maybe starting with 600 grit sand paper) and sand it to get rid of the rust. 2) From there work up to 2000 grit sand paper (if I can find it) and then polish it up. 3) Then maybe sand the scales (?) How do I tell if it is wood or bone?....

To be honest I don't have a lot of experiance working with wood and metal so this is all kind of new territory for me.

[Leighton]

Thats horn. Possibly wood, but probably horn. 90% sure. But I'm going off a picture so...

And most certainly not bone. Bone is white and is porous. Plus it feels like bone.

You can sand it off, see if you can scrape it off, if its gunk. Then use some polishing compound to polish it up.

[mrbhagwan]

I'd try some gentle cleaning and polishing first, just to assess the condition a little better before you start sanding away.

Try hand polishing the blade first. Use some Maas, or Mothers Aluminum polish, and a little elbow grease. (Careful working around the edge! Don't cut yourself) Use liquid soap, and an old toothbrush on the scales.

I agree with Leighton that those scales are probably horn. Once you have them clean, if you have any neatsfoot oil, give 'em a rub with that to see if there's any improvement. If you don't have any neatsfoot oil, I'm sure someone with more experience than me can suggest alternatives.

You'd be surprised how good of a condition some of these blades and scales are in that look terrible at first.

Enjoy restoring, and have fun with your razor. It looks like it will clean up nicely!

[ben.mid]

Another agreeing they're horn.
That's a beauty! Personally, i'd work on it in the scales. There's a certain amount of risk in removing them. The blade's in pretty good nick as far as i can see & you'll get good results even if you leave them on.
I don't have the patience to get straight on the polish. I like to see the transformation taking place a little quicker, so i get right down to wet & dry. WD40 or similar works better than water with it though. Enjoy!

[Bivouhac]

Just came across this thread as I was looking for some info on restorations.

Thats a nice blade cla, Enjoy your restoration project and Looks like it will turn out nicely!

I don't wanna Hijack Cla's thread, but I thought I would save a similar thread and ask a couple questions here that may be beneficial to the OP and any others looking to start their own restoration.

For hand polishing I assume you use a cloth with polishing compound and rub away?
Is there any info on using Wet & Dry sandpaper and how to use it? (wet the blade or paper & dampen or soak in water?)
Is there any specific Grit to start out at depending on the amount of damage on the blade? The OPs blade looks pretty good to me (newbie) so, as he mentioned, is it best to skip the low grit stage and start at a higher grit ?

[cla]

Thanks for the info. everyone. I will definitely clean the scales with soap and water. Now that I look at them I am almost certain they are horn as well. I'm pretty excited about that.

Bivouhac as for hijacking the thread....Hijack away my friend. As you mentioned anything you ask in here is bound to help me too.

[gssixgun]

There is an entire restoration section in the Wiki to refer too... but to answer some questions really quick, here are things I have found...

What I start with if in doubt, is 400 grit, always start with the highest grit that will get the job done, as it means less work If I am not in doubt and the stains and blade look to be in rather good shape then 600-800 is the goto grit.....
Another trick is to find out what is under rust really fast, is to just use a SE razor and scrap it off the steel, this gets red rust off there quickly with out much work at all.....

The 400 seems to be the lowest grit that I can go straight to the tumbler or the buffer without having to do much more with it....
It also is about the lowest you can go without seriously taking out blade engraving....

[Neil Miller]

Another chiming in with the "definitely horn" vote! That fibrous stuff is what I have heard called (rather disgustingly) "hobo whiskers" - a gunge consisting of dried soap scum, skin cells and shaving stubble. Lovely.

Regardfs,
Neil

[treydampier]

I think the scales are bone as well. I have only had one bone scale that I have preserved because the razors I have bought have been so damaged I couldn't save them. Someone wrote on a thread thought that putting them in oil makes them easiest o work with. I have also found it is easier to unpin them with a drill or drill press than with a punch.
In the gallery r Workshop (I can't remember) there is a perfect example where someone restored an old Rogers with bone and it looks fantastic. I would say look at it because to me its a perfect example of a true restoration with all original material (except for pins).

[floppyshoes]

Horn, that's my final answer.

Try just polishing it first, then sand only if you feel it's not up to par. Sometimes you'll find after a little cleaning you can live with the blemishes.

For the scales, take them off and wet sand them starting around 400 and going to 2000, then polish and wax.
When you reassemble, shape the wedge end with a nail file for a nice contoured look. I've made my own files for this kind of thing by gluing sandpaper to scrap wood cut into thin, narrow strips. You could make a 4 sided one with 150, 320, 600 and 1000 grit for most applications.