Thread: How to sand a SHARP blade?

I think that the answer is to dull the blade before any resto work. Just wanted to find out if there is a method that will allow sanding scratches or pits on a sharp blade safely. I know the best answer is to do the resto work before honing, but I learned honing first and am only now getting to the resto stuff.

Mark

It would be safer to dull it first, but it'll still be very sharp, so wear gloves.
When i'm hand sanding i wrap the paper round the spine. This means you can work on both sides together & also that you are far less likely to slip onto the edge.

it is not a good feeling to dull already sharp razor but it is the best way to handle sharp blade. i tried ones work on already shave ready blade it even wasn't sanding and cut myself 3 times. learned .Dull it then go head sand .

I got a nasty cut on my thumb polishing a blade with Semichrome and I had the thing more or less wrapped in a paper towel. One tip I've seen that I haven't tried is from Bill Ellis I think. Use a piece of rubber tubing to lay the sandpaper around. It will conform to a full hollow.

I just fold the paper up so that it is thick enough that my finger won't go through the paper. Never had a problem since.

Always sand with the sharp facing AWAY from you. That way you work from the spine to the edge thus eliminating accidental nicks.

I bought cut-proof gloves.The kind fishermen use to fillet with.They are made from woven coated stainless-steel wire.

Just an idea, but what if the edge is in great shape and sharp. How about melting something that will melt at low temps say a rubber or plastic. Lay the edge of the blade in the melted stuff vertically. By doing this you would coat the edge with this melted stuff. Then withdraw the edge from the stuff and let the stuff harden on the edge. Proceed to sanding, knowing that the edge is covered. After resto is done, remove the stuff, nice if it would peel off but might have to reheat. Hmmmmmm lets see, what STUUF would that be?

Tape the edge.

Originally Posted by Leighton

Tape the edge.

Leighton, that's WAY TOO SIMPLE. Obviously with all the great thinkers here we should have come up with that answer a long long time ago.

You WIN

Melt Wax, or Latex.

Both have other uses besides protecting edges.