Thread: Weird Steel...

OK. So I have this razor, I think it's from a a Japanese company (I can almost, ALMOST, make out the word PEACE on the tang...hollow ground spike point, 5/8, bone scales...got it in Japan. Any ideas?).

I'm trying to clean up some pitting/staining and having a HECK of a time. It's so weird...I started at 180 and took a lot of the darker staining off. Then, the razor seemed to just stop reacting to the sanding in predictable ways.

Like I said, I'm using 180 grit Wet Dry paper...when I stand with a fresh piece, the razor will show new scratch marks for the first three passes or so, then suddenly, the paper will start polishing and soon the razor is shiny. SHINY! Not all scratched up, not covered in 180 grit sanding lines, but bright and polished looking! And the stains I'm trying to remove (really faint ones, looking almost like dirty oil smeared on the blade) haven't shown a bit of change in nearly an hour at 180 grit. I dropped down to 120 and had the same experience--initial sanding, then polishing, no change in the stains. I've tried wet AND dry, I've tried circles and back and forth, different angles, and always the same effect. Initially there's some lines, then quickly it turns to polishing.

I'm almost ready to give up...what could be causing this? Super hard steel? Super bad steel? El nino?

What type of sandpaper are you using?

Originally Posted by JMS

What type of sandpaper are you using?

It's standard wet/Dry sandpaper for steel; the maker is BellStar, if thatmeans anything to you . I've used it on 4 or 5 other razors with no problems.

I had a similar experience with one of my razors.
In the end I got it looking half decent and gave up. I think the problem is is very hard steel, as I could feel the abrasive skipping over the surface instead of biting into it.
I don't really know what advice to give except keep trying

Some metals just want to polish. Not with razors, but with other implements, I've encountered steels that you could get really quite shiny with nothing more than a coarse wire brush on a dremel.

I think I'd just be happy you've got yourself a razor that takes a shine so easily, well, unless you've got more sanding to do. if 180 is polishing, I'd think you'll either have to drop grits or put more force into it.

Originally Posted by jamesbeat

I had a similar experience with one of my razors.
In the end I got it looking half decent and gave up. I think the problem is is very hard steel, as I could feel the abrasive skipping over the surface instead of biting into it.
I don't really know what advice to give except keep trying

That is indeed what it feels like. I gave up, though I wouldn't give it even half. Maybe quarter decent.

Ah well. More edumacation!

Thanks guys.

Best,
Jim

Post a pic!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Post a pic!

Aye Aye Cap'n.

This is the best pic I could get. Those faint lines are the closest thing this blade gets to a scratch pattern--this is off 120 grit paper.