Thread: keeping blade cold while buffing to save temper?

referring to using a buffing/grinding wheel to polish and clean blades; i've heard of keeping a bottle of ice water handy to cool the blade down. is there anything wrong with actually chilling the blade prior to working it? i'm thinking keep it in an ice bath for a few minutes to actually get it ice cold and then try to keep it chilled while buffing that way it never actually gets "hot".

basically; would you break the temper managing to keep the blade cold rather than letting it warm before chilling it in the ice bath?

Freezing the blade before working on it might buy you an extra 30 seconds of buffer time before it gets hot.
It won't hurt anything, you just won't get much of a benefit from it.

A full glass of water and ice cubes. Dip the blade as often as necessary.

Originally Posted by HNSB

It won't hurt anything, you just won't get much of a benefit from it.

My thoughts exactly.

If you are doing things right the blade just doesn't heat up....

I know that sounds like bragging but here is a thread that has some really good buffer info in it

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...-question.html

Watch Brads Restore Vid too


By carefully moving the razor all the time, using light pressure, and keeping that finger along the back of the blade you just don't get the blade hot...

I keep a room temp water bath always there, but hardly ever use it for buffing....

I would be concerned about thermal expansion cracking the blade if you got it too cold first.

Also, like Glen said, if you're doing it right buffing won't get the blade super hot. I dip what I'm working on in room-temp water fairly frequently just to be careful, but proper technique will keep it from getting anywhere near temper-blowing temperature. Keep in mind that by the time the temper on most carbon steel would be acutely ruined the ruined portions of the steel would be hot enough to ignite cellulose on contact. That's pretty dang hot!

thanks guys. i figured a very light touch would be needed as polishing is a process that removes as little material as possible. i've read a lot of ruining the temper of a blade on buffer wheels so i was curious if this method would be useful.

Hello ron,

This link about the Iceman (Bill McCann) might be of interest to you. He uses dry ice during the grinding process.

Regards,
Neil

The main thing to remember is that when you are buffing a full hollow with greaseless, you do have to be very light on the touch as well as keep the blade moving. Even with that on some of the old thin blades, they will heat up in an instant. I sometimes just back off after a second or two on the wheel and constantly keep an eye or finger out to feel for warming. I will dunk frequently on these as it takes just a second of not paying attention to get a burn spot on the razor. Once you do a few you get a much better feel what what is going on and what the guys are talking about becomes second nature.

Have fun,

Lynn

If a blade was buffed and you can see that the blde has a blue colored hue is it ruined?