Thread: Finished First Restore with help from all of you!

Thanks everyone!

Well... I've decided I'm finsihed....I could have kept going... and I know all of you know what I mean... but.... I decided I was finished.... It is as perfect as I can do for my first time... I'll do better next time... I'll always see the imperfections more than anyone else.. It was a great experience and I learned a ton from all of you.

I watched all the video's on restoration...I bought all the DVD's and CD's from Lynn (thank you) and Bill Ellis... I read all of your post and responses.. Thank you Max, SGSixgun, Bruno, Doc, Ben.Mid, The Baron and many many others.. This is a great site... and I've never met a more friendly helpful buch.

I wanted to get the restore ready for the Newbie Contest on the first of the year... but... life just didn't allow that to happen. I used the information I got off this forum and the Wiki mostly and figured out which grits of sandpaper to purchase... I started with 80 and ran through the rest 150,220,320,400,500, 600,800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000. (Tnx SGSixgun)...As you all well know I spent the majority of my time on the bottom 3..

At times I wasn't sure that the stuff would come off.. but... perserverence and stubborness payed off eventually... when I finally got the rust and pitting and ugly black stuff off the blade... I was elated... I still had a long ways to go, but that stuff was off the blade and I didn't ruin the etching...

It also takes a long time to get the initial scratch marks to submitt to the next grit of sandpaper...but they did....It just kept looking better and better till it was time for the buffing and polishing...

First I cleaned the scales with soap and water as directed and lightly used a tooth bush... I then hand buffed with some MAAS but still had some unsightly scratches that I buffed out with a 1 1/2 inch sewn wheel on my dremel with some turtle wax green rubbing compound. It worked very well...

I used the same rubbing compound and a 1" felt disc with the rotary tool to polish the blade... (thank you Max) what a shine... I wasn't sure how long I shoud keep buffing... it just kept getting better so I kept on polishing .. being careful not to allow it to get hot..

I used kevlar gloves... (tnx again max) and a blade jig that I bought from Ray off the SRP classified...

The final product is below which will now be sent off to be honed and sharpened so that I can add this razor to my rotation.. What a blast... thanks to all of your help, support and answered questions...Thanks again!!

Maq

WOW!!! You did a great job. It looks awesome and one to be very, very proud of. I'm sure it will have a special spot in your rotation. CONGRATS!

Wow!!! That's an awesome restore you have there. Great Job!

be sure and enter in in the restore contest! Looks great!!!!!!

Very, very nice! i know how proud it makes you. But, you are not finished. You now must hone it and report back on how it shaves! Inquiring minds want to know!

We shall await your reply.

Nice, very nice! Now you have to DEFINATELY watch out for the well known desease, RAD!!

WOOHOO

perseverance is king.

Excellent job.

Beautiful job! I think you knocked your first one right out of the park!

Hi everyone..

Guess I was never sure if I was entered into the contest that is to end tonight at midnight... So this is my official entry post.. I had a lot of fun and learned so much from my Restoration.. I think I learned patience, persistance and determination as much as anything.. I was pleased with the results thanks to the help from all of you who gave me endless advice and support.. All of you are to be commended for being so patient with we new razor restorers asking the same questions over and over.

I finished this razor after 2 weeks of hand sanding and polishing... I did use a dremel to buff the scales and the blades before putting the razor back together.. I used turtle wax green rubbing compound thanks to Max's advice and it worked great.. I used a 1" felt wheel on the blade and a 2" cotton wheel on the scales.. I was surprised to see how shiny it got.. I buffed on the blade and scales lightly off and on for an hour being very careful not to overheat either..

I was proud that I was able to save the etching on the blade.. it took a lot of extra effort to sand around the etching and continue to remove all the rust, pitting and scratches before continueing to the next grit. There was plenty of rust on both sides of the blade, tang, and monkey tail.. but the largest amount of rust was on the spine! It took several days just to work on that one area..wow!! Getting the tang and Jimps to shine up was also a challenge with the criss cross markings on the tang.

Someone said ... hey your not finsihed till you shave with it.. so I got it sharpened and shaved with it yesterday morning and it shaves great... There is a special thrill recieved from shaving with a razor that you have had completely apart and have rubbed every milimeter of it for 2 weeks before putting it back together to shave with... It was a very satisfying shave and close too!

Everyone should restore at least one razor so you will appreciate all the beautiful restorations you see on SRP and all the work required to make them look so great!

Thanks again to everyone for all your help support and advice... couldn't have done it without you and that's the truth!!... Here's just a few more pics.. Sorry... pictures just don't do it justice... hey but I may be a little biased!!

Maq

P.S. Before and After pics are available on the first post of this thread.

I'm not positive, but I think you need to put your razor into the actual competition thered to get counted in. Might want to check that while there is still time.