Thread: so tempted to try

today i used a flap wheel on a razor and was happy with the results. so i went exploring. anyone ever use this?

3M Industrial Products Catalog: adhesives, tapes, abrasives and more

Interesting....So, would that leave a satin finish rather than a mirror?

Yes, the mesh wheels are my preferred method for restoring razors.

I have a drill clamped in a vise and I use a progression of flap wheels and mesh wheels to sand razors, before mounting a sisal wheel with emery compound, to start polishing. I finish on cotton buffing wheels with polishing compounds. It works well and the relatively low speed of the drill makes it a bit safer to operate than a high speed stationary buffer. (you still need to take every safety precaution, and be aware of the spinning direction).
I feel the step between the finest mesh wheel and the emery on sisal is still a bit big, so I do some 600 grit hand sanding in between. I've been thinking about buying black emery compound, instead of the brown tripoli bar I'm using now (on the sisal wheels), or getting some of those coarser greaseless compounds, in order the avoid the hand sanding.
But the mesh wheels sure work well. They leave about the surface finish as you'd find on a Double Arrow, or on those NOS Friodurs that that are for sale on various places.
I also use a sort of hybrid mesh/flap wheels, but the finest ones are purely mesh.

Best regards,
Bart.

Just tried a 320 grit flap wheel the other day, and it barely did anything! Do I need to drop to 120 grit? I want to remove metal rather than just clean the blade. I have other stuff to do that. I want to do nasty experiments to dead razors.

edit: I got the 320 grit from here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#sanding-flap-wheels/=1sg21x

Thanks Leighton for going back and popping a link in.

These progressive flap wheel steps are interesting
Tom

Originally Posted by TOB9595

Thanks Leighton for going back and popping a link in.

These progressive flap wheel steps are interesting
Tom

No problem. I even had the window open. :P

Basically the 320 grit just made wavy lines that had to be blended together with something else. Although, I must say, it did blast through rust and built up crud on the test blades. No pit removal though. And it did make the razor pretty shiny.

Maybe 80 grit will blast through steel. However, I must say, that flap wheel seems pretty darn durable. Barely a dent after doing two razors. I've heard people having to use an entire wheel on a single razor. Not so with this one! I can see it working for several hours. However, like I said, didn't do much steel removal.