Thread: Breadknifing Queries

Hmmmm!!!
Excellent advice so far… so I may have little to offer... but here goes…

When it comes to restoring blades, the crack will be one of your worst of your problems (if not the worst)… and depending on where the crack is located and its length, normally the blade is lost.

If it’s a crack, the same line will show up on the other side of the blade… if not, then may be just a rusted scratch.
If it is a crack, and judging from the photo, extends well into, what I call the “Hamburg Grind”… notice the blade gets thicker a little ways behind the edge, then gets thinner, then gets thicker again as you go towards the spine (the blade cross section like an hour glass). That thicker ridge parallels the edge and gives the edge of a hollow ground blade some stiffness, and if you have to remove all that steel past the end of the crack, you may remove most of not all the ridge, the edge may still be reasonably stiff for shaving, however you will also have a ¼ hollow ground blade with a very high bevel angle, (bevel angle should be 15 to 21 degrees), but after removing steel from the edge you may end with 18 to 25 degrees, that angle may not shave well for the razor...
Note: this is not to say that there is anything wrong with a ¼ hollow, it's the new angle that makes it appear to be a ¼ hollow, but the new angle is wrong.

I am assuming the crack is in the middle of the blade, if it were at the heel or toe then things would be better, if at the toe you could shorten the length of the blade (shorten from the average 3” to about 2&¾ or 2&½), if at the heel, you would also shorten the blade by cutting away steel from there.

Yes, for practice you may simply breadknife the chips, then restore the blade and pretend the crack is not there... and hone it and do the usual sharpness tests... maybe stropping, but I would not recommend shaving with it.

Sorry if I have not directly answered all your questions, but hopefully this will give you a start.

All of this is has been good information. The crack is a crack, I can see it on both sides. I do know that much.

I'll work off the rust first and see where I can go from there. Maybe when there's less stuff in the way it'll be easier to see and plan a definitive strategy.

Thanks.

IMHO it is toast and I wouldn't put any time into it. Find something in better condition and work on something that in the end you'll be able to use. Welcome to SRP BTW.

My 'handiman' abilities have been brought into question many times in the past. That fact that it may be toast is the reason I'm starting here. I have more that are in better condition but I want to get some practice first.

If I burn the temper on this one, no biggie since it probably is bad off. Even if it's just a lesson in polishing, rust remove, and dis-assembly / assembly it's a rather cheap and worthwhile lesson.

Yes, I lack the self-confidence that the rest of you might have. For me, this stuff is more difficult than tearing apart a computer and reassembling it. However, I think I can learn.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IMHO it is toast and I wouldn't put any time into it. Find something in better condition and work on something that in the end you'll be able to use. Welcome to SRP BTW.

Ahhh computers... you may find tearing down and putting back a razor equally challenging... but you will learn soon.
Unlike computers, these vintage razors may never become obsolete... lolololol

But Jimmy may have a point... human nature is such that the promise of reward is a huge incentive to learn and improve... remember you may put all that work into it, but you cannot enjoy the shave.

Having said that, I believe only you can be the judge of how you want to learn... that's OK... we will always here to give a helping hand so please keep us up to date.

Ah, yes. I never thought of the 'motivational' factor. I do have others to work on that are more likely to be usable when done. I could always use this one as a test bed for various ideas... sort of test out the idea and if it works, apply it to the real project. That way I know if it's safe to do something before using the method but yet don't spend a ton of time one something that doesn't go anywhere.

This is something I'll have to think about more before I get in too deep, I suppose. Thanks for pointing that out. Now I may be able to come up with a plan that both helps me learn and motivates me to finish instead of just give up.

by the way have you been reading up on how to do rust removal polishing a razor etc? Mind telling us your plan of attack so some of the guys who do this for a business can give better strategy or helpful hints

basic stuff like what grits to start at

what type of sandpaper to use (heh wood type obviously would do a poor job)

do you know to go in opposite directions when changing to the next grit and not to go to the next grit till all the scratches from the previouse grit are removed



by the way love the sig Gir FTW!!!!

"COMPUTER take me to the weasels!!!"