"Light Restoration"

Hey guys,

I know there are plenty of threads out there on what tools to use for restoration and this may be a repeat of one of them, but I wasn't able to find an answer to my specific question. I've got two razors I want to restore, both will need re-pinned as one looks as if someone tried to remove a washer and gave up, the other because I will have to remove the scales to get at the rust on the tang. One of the blades just has a bit of patina on it, so it just needs a good polishing, the other one has some rust, a good amount of which I was I was able to knock off by using a polishing compound and hand polishing. It still has rust on it though. What I'm wondering is if I decide to go ahead and restore these razors could I get away with just using a dremel to remove rust and remove the pins? Of course I will probably have to send them off to be honed, but I would like to try my hand at restoring.

Just be careful with the dremel and the pins.. I just did this on 2 "light" restorations and now need to make new scales too:w

Well, if you are new and you want to learn, the best thing to do is to hand sand. For the details about hand sanding you can use this wiki article.
Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki

The reason I say this is that hand sanding will teach you a lot about steel and how it reacts to different abrasives and grit sizes. The other reason I say this is that in the hands of a restoration beginner, a dremel is a very dangerous tool, and there are many stories here about people who tried to use a dremel for their first project and ruined the razor and / or hurt themselves.

You should probably hand sand. The dremel will work, but because it spins so fast, it is easy to end up with a wavy finish. Its somewhat easy to create highs and lows, especially when you are working on that one last deep pit.

Make yourself a Bill Ellis razor restoration jig (I'd post a link but the proxy at work is blocking me). That will help a lot.