Thread: Does razor restoration damage etchings on the blade?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

General rule of thumb on etching washes etc: for restoration....

If it is on the surface of the blade, it will most likely come right off the blade with just about anything, including a harsh look...

If is is etched /engraved into the blade it is pretty tuff and will stay very well.... Unless of course there is pitting anywhere near it because razor law dictates that all pitting has to be slightly deeper than all engraving

The best thing I have found to date for cleaning this up and keeping designs intact is the Tumbler method....


PS: Moved to the Workshop where it will get the attention it deserves....

I have to second what Glen said about the tumbler. I had a blade with etching I needed to keep, and after a spin in the tumbler it looks perfect.

But again, this would only work as long as the etching isn't actually just surface only.

Etchings can be saved but results depends on the type of etch.
The easiest are the ones with deep typeface like the “Extra Hollow Ground”.
The most difficult are elaborate line drawings that look like the negative image of a black and white photo. Those etchings are very shallow because in those days the etching process was “touch and go”. The blade was dipped in the acid just long enough to make the image.
Your blade appear to be somewhere in between the two extremes.

You can run your fingernail over the etch to judge how deep it is. If your nail “catch” the ridges then it’s safe to say the etch is deep. If you cannot feel the ridges then almost any type of restore will reduce the contrast or make the etch look like an engraving or remove the etch completely .

There are more elaborate ways to save an etch but you could try this:
Tightly wrap one layer of thin lint free cloth (or plain printer paper) over an old AA or C size battery and put on a very thin layer of polish (very thin because you don’t want excess polish to get in the grooves of the etch… so you should first rub this over another sheet of paper to remove excess polish), then rub the face of the blade to polish (enhance) the shiny high spots. Change the cloth if it gets torn or worn through or the steel shell of the battery will scratch the blade. The deeper the etch the better this will work.

Hope this helps

FWIW, a tumbler wiped out an etching on a Kissing Cranes I had. I guess it would depend on the depth. I have used Semichrome applied with a Q-tip and wiped with a paper towel since the 1970s on razors, pocket knives, my eye glass lenses, brass, aluminum and chrome. I have never damaged any of the above. Just cleaned them and left a protective and rust resistent coating. I'd bet money your milage wouldn't vary. I wouldn't say the same if you used a dremel or some power tool but Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't wipe off an etching with Semichrome and a paper towel.

What about Brasso for removing oxidation and specks of rust?

http://www.ontimesupplies.com/Metal_...AC76523EA.html

You got the razor I was watching and missed!!!

Seriously, if you opt to part with it, I would be very interested. I just got back home and was shopping for this very blade. I got distracted and didn't bid. I even had some scales for it; feel like a dufus...

Anyway, I really don't have anything to add; a lot of good suggestions already. I would start very conservatively, maybe with some MAAS and buff with a soft Dremel pad at lower speeds.

Allen

Originally Posted by BYUTexan

What about Brasso for removing oxidation and specks of rust?
...

Go slow with the Brasso. In the early 70's it was used with cardboard (in the military) to grind flats on the face of brass belt buckles. It took a while, but it worked.