Thread: Can this big Henckels be brought back to life?

The only reason I ask is because it has some rust on the edge. Or will there always be pitting that'll make for a brittle and unusable edge? I'd really really really hate to lose this blade cause it's a 7/8, almost 8/8, carbon steel Henckels blade and I haven't seen too many of those around.

It is hard to say what with full hollows being so thin. All you can do is try setting a bevel first and check the edge with magnification. If you can get to good solid steel in the bevel you're good to go ahead and do whatever restoring on the rest of the blade that you want to.

If it turns out that the pitting is too deep at the bevel you'll start to get holes and chips. You have to try to get past the corrosion to good steel in that case.

Thanks for the tip! That's actually a very good idea. I'll give it a try.
I'm not great at honing yet, but I did set a pretty even bevel on 2 of my other blades. I couldn't get them polished to shave ready, but the bevel was there pretty evenly I think. I'll try a few light strokes with this one till I see some bevel forming and then I'll check under magnification

I want that razor!!!!


If you decide to not take on that project, PM me!!!

If you do take on that project, best of luck. A big Henckels like that should turn out to be a sweet shaver!

So I looked at the razor under magnification and it's not looking great. The pitting is deep enough that I'd have to go all the way above the edge rust to get past any pitting that wouldn't put holes in the edge. Once I'm up there though (that's at least 2-3mm), I start to hit some other pitting that's also kinda deep. Not sure what to do to fix this one up...
I'll send you a message if I decide to let this razor go Craig.

Originally Posted by heirkb

So I looked at the razor under magnification and it's not looking great. The pitting is deep enough that I'd have to go all the way above the edge rust to get past any pitting that wouldn't put holes in the edge. Once I'm up there though (that's at least 2-3mm), I start to hit some other pitting that's also kinda deep. Not sure what to do to fix this one up...
I'll send you a message if I decide to let this razor go Craig.

Usually when the corrosion is so deep and the grind is so hollow , the blade can't be saved, hope this is not the case with this razor.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Usually when the corrosion is so deep and the grind is so hollow , the blade can't be saved, hope this is not the case with this razor.

Gonna keep sanding a bit and trying to set a bevel that is hole free. We'll see how it goes. Like I said, I'd hate hate hate to lose this one.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Usually when the corrosion is so deep and the grind is so hollow , the blade can't be saved, hope this is not the case with this razor.

I too would hate to hear that you can't get to some good metal. If you are really having to take off a lot of metal, might I suggest a layer of tape on the spine to save it from excessive wear. Couldn't hurt.

I have pretty much the same sized Henckels with pretty much the same blemishes. I've tried a while back to remove the crap, which was successful, but unfortunately there's so many remaining residual pits and all making it useless as a shaver. To hollow and pits went to deep. A shame really cause it's a beautiful blade. Good luck with yours.