Thread: Tumbling Without Removing the Pins

Hi Group,

I have read the posts here about tumbling, but I think this is always with respect to a blade that has been removed from the scales.

This might have possibly been covered, but is it possible to rig a fixture that will clamp onto the monkey tail and hold the blade in the tumbler, letting the compound swirl around the blade?

Has anyone tried this. If not, I am going to try it and post the results.

Thanks in advance.

David

Are you asking about tumbling a razor with the scales still on? I think that there was some input about this in the tumbler thread and, IIRC, the conclusion was that the scales are likely to get clogged with media and the razor might not get the proper circulation in order to clean the steel efficiently.

What I was thinking was to rig a fixure to hold the blade only up through the shank in the medium so the scales would not actually be in the tumbler.

Edit: I know that a lot of older scales can break while removing the pins, so I was thinking about how to use the tumbler to clean the blade without removing the pin. I know you can buff them, but I have some vintage razors that I don't want to loose the etching on.

And leave the top of the tumbler off? AFAIK, that would just make a ridiculous mess! Plus, you want the razor to move around within the tumbler during the whole process. You can try if you like, but I don't know about it...

Originally Posted by BingoBango

And leave the top of the tumbler off? AFAIK, that would just make a ridiculous mess! Plus, you want the razor to move around within the tumbler during the whole process. You can try if you like, but I don't know about it...

Thanks, I will end that quest now.

Originally Posted by BingoBango

And leave the top of the tumbler off? AFAIK, that would just make a ridiculous mess! Plus, you want the razor to move around within the tumbler during the whole process. You can try if you like, but I don't know about it...

Depends on the tumbler and how much media you have in it.
I run mine all the time without the lid on.

I would imagine if you had enough bars/clamps you could rig something up, but would be easier to just learn how to unpin/repin the razor, it's a skill you will probably want to learn anyways, and makes cleaning razors much easier.

Originally Posted by superbleu

Depends on the tumbler and how much media you have in it.
I run mine all the time without the lid on.

I would imagine if you had enough bars/clamps you could rig something up, but would be easier to just learn how to unpin/repin the razor, it's a skill you will probably want to learn anyways, and makes cleaning razors much easier.

Thanks, but I'm not trying to avoid learning to re-pin. I was just curious if it had been tried.

I don't mean to end your experiment! I've been proven wrong before, so if someone does it again I won't be shocked.

Come to think of it.... If you're willing to ruin a tumbler bowl for the test, this idea just might work!

Cut a slot near the bottom of the bowl, below the "water line" of the media, and carefully insert the blade through the slot into the bowl. then seal the extra space around the razors with tape so media doesn't pour out. Fill up the bowl and turn it on. Ideally the hole will be low enough that the razor can be slid through the slot and not rest on any surface.. I'd keep an eye on it the first bit to make sure the razor doesn't move around too much in the hole.

Anyone have any thoughts? I'd hate this idea to ruin a razor. Here's a picture I drew to help visualize.

I think it might be a viable idea,,,

The only negative I can think of is if it works you would have a shiny clean blade and a dirty tang.....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I think it might be a viable idea,,,

The only negative I can think of is if it works you would have a shiny clean blade and a dirty tang.....

Thanks Glen,

I was Ok with buffing the tang. It was the etching on the blade I did not want to loose.

I know many things have been tried by the experienced guys here, an I was just thinking maybe this would be a good compromise.