Hey everybody.

I bought a Double Duck Goldedge on eBay about a week ago for twenty-two bucks and it arrived this afternoon.

I couldn't tell from the pictures on the auction whether there was honing wear near the toe end of the razor (it appeared to slope), so when I opened up the package I was pleased to see that it had that nice rectangular shape to it. The only flaw, besides the grime, was a small (or maybe you'd call it big?), half-moon nick in the centre of the blade.

Anyhow, I decided to tackle things in order.

First I took a bunch of paper towel and cloth rags along with my metal polish and began to scrub as much of the excess grime off the blade as I could. I then polished up the metal on the scales, returning the original gold shine to the previously orange-looking ducks and lettering. After I had soaped up a toothbrush and cleaned the collected dirt from between the scales (I swear, it looked like there was soil in there!), their condition was restored to like-new.

The blade, however, is a little bit of a different matter.

Using a small cotton wheel on my Dremel, I began to (what's the verb here?) Dremel away at the blade's rougher areas, being careful not to stay in one place too long or go near the scales (which I wrapped in a rag for protection in advance). There was a definite improvement in some spots, and I could see some of the original shine peeking through, but there were some areas that would not give and I eventually had to give up on them and give'er another hand polish and drying.

Then it was to the hone, where I began work on trying to get that chip out. Using the 4000 side, I began.

By the way, this being my first Dubl Duck, I immedietely understood what everyone raves about. Not only is the blade weighted very nicely, but when I was pushing it along the surface of the stone, I felt like I was very much in control of the edge. "This is my razor; there are many others like it, but this one is mine."

After a few minutes of honing and some progress on the nick, I thought to myself, "Woah, you've never done this before -- better call it in."

So now I put it to you gentleman: how should I procede and what should I be careful of when honing the chip out? Has any particular technique worked for you while doing similar restorations?

Also, about the Dremel -- how can I hope to get the existing tarnish off that blade? I know there's a really good razor under there and I really want to bring it out, you know?

Here's where I'm at right now:






Thanks for any suggestions/help you guys can provide!