Thread: Some questions bout sanding

Hi all,
I found 2 nice old razors, all looks very well, blade was actually still sharp, not much wrong with them at all.

The thing is, I've been reading up on how to hand sand a blade etc., but I've got some stuff on my mind.

Mostly the razor has these black devil spit spots on the blade (black rust, w/e), no pitting and a little of 'orange' rust (not much of this all around tho) around the pins. I tried polishing it up a bit with some metal polish I had lying around, did make it look nicer, but still have some 'black spots' remaining.
Now I'm wondering what kind of sandpaper grit should I use for the black spots, should I start out like at around 80-120 or could I start out higher?
Also, around the pins is some rust, I'm not a big fan of removing the pins and repinning it later since I have never done this before and want to keep it as original as possible; would it be possible to work around the pins as much possible, or would that not be a wise idea futurewise, I myself wouldn't mind it.

The sequence I use is 100/150/220/320/400/600/800/1500/2000, maas, CrO. You can start at any grit really it all depends on how much metal you need to remove.
Just make sure to get rid of the scratch marks from the previous grit before you move to the next.

Originally Posted by penguins87

Hi all,
I found 2 nice old razors, all looks very well, blade was actually still sharp, not much wrong with them at all.

The thing is, I've been reading up on how to hand sand a blade etc., but I've got some stuff on my mind.

Mostly the razor has these black devil spit spots on the blade (black rust, w/e), no pitting and a little of 'orange' rust (not much of this all around tho) around the pins. I tried polishing it up a bit with some metal polish I had lying around, did make it look nicer, but still have some 'black spots' remaining.
Now I'm wondering what kind of sandpaper grit should I use for the black spots, should I start out like at around 80-120 or could I start out higher?
Also, around the pins is some rust, I'm not a big fan of removing the pins and repinning it later since I have never done this before and want to keep it as original as possible; would it be possible to work around the pins as much possible, or would that not be a wise idea futurewise, I myself wouldn't mind it.

thanks for the reply,

I want to remove as less steel as possible,
also I'm more for a practical razor just to use, looks are not high priority.
Would the metal polish be a necessity, the one I have smells pretty badly, I'm not liking it .
So I guess I'm asking, is only using some sand paper to clean it up enough without additional work, or would I need to treat it some more after sanding it?

Getting those devil spots out will keep you sanding for quite some time. I would live with them and buy something to practice on so you know what you will be getting into. As for the rust, scrape it off w/ a single edge razor used in box cutters. Dental floss w/ some toothpaste will get under the scales around the pins. Tooth picks w/ metal polish, like MAAS, work good in most areas to get rust off after the razor.

Good luck.

thanks for the tips, pretty good ones ;d

I might look for some maas since that seems to be the miracle product around here or I'll use whatever I have lying.

Anyway, after polishing, should I let the razors 'rest' for a while? Cause I can imagine with the polish on there I might not wanna put it to my skin. (should it need a rinsing before use or is that not needed? I dno ;o)

Ow yeah, are the black spots any dangerous anyway? or can I just hone up, strop and shave with those razors? ;p

PS I like asking alot of questions especially the ones that do not make much sense

After the sanding: rinse, disinfect and oil. I normally sand with oil on wet and dry sandpaper, as I find it to clean the rust faster than with water.

I would actually recommend polishing or burnishing after the sanding to be on the safe side rust-wise.

thx for replying,
currently I'm going at it with the metal polish I had lying around and alot of elbow grease,
been rubbing the same side of the blade for hours, everything seems to come off/clean up pretty nicely tho slowly but steadily,
after couple of hours using the metal polish on just the same place, still alot of dirt coming off, it's insane