Thread: First restore

I finally got around to getting my first restore under way on a ebay special I got dirt cheap a while back. The blade is a R. Sutcliffe Sheffield wedge, that had a decent amount of active rust and deep pitting on the blade, and a nice amount of patina on the rest. The scales looked like they were used for BB gun target practice, so I'm building new ones out of a dark exotic wood, can't remember the name. I'm now wishing I would have taken before pics! I like the look of patina so I decided to tape up the tang to preserve it. I then went through progression or grits 60, 80, 100, 220, 400, 600, 800, & I'm planing on taking it up to 2,000 or as far as I think it needs to go. I personaly like the results I have ended up with( left some slight pitting on the blade to tie it in with the tang) but to each his own. I know I havn't seen it before thats for sure. I got the scales grinded down to 1/8" planks and ground them into rough shape. Now I just need to drill the pin holes, separate them & flip them, re-tape them, and give them a rounded finish sanding & some coats of CA glue.Pretty proud of my first attempt. Oh, the scales are inside out, the grain pattern looks ten times better on the sides that will be facing outward on the finished product!(taped together in the pics)Also the grain will match because I cut the piece down the middle, so it will look like the grain runs perfectly through the set of scales!

I have a question though, should my scales be very very close to their finished shape before I do a CA/Gorilla glue finish? Also do I add the glue like one would stain a similarly sized peice of wood? ( rub in with rag, let dry, sand, repeat several times) Do I sand the last coat/finish?
Thanks in advance for any sugestions.












Regards
Louis.

Well I'm not done yet but I finished sanding them, put together with some micro fasteners and took some pics. I still need to CA them & finish the wedge that I'm making out of deer hoof/paw, I think it will match up nice. Does anyone know if there is a way to give the decorative washers I have a patina look to them, to tie them in more?

Sorry for making this thread pic heavy.







Regards
Louis.

Your razor is coming along nicely, and I love the pattern of the wood. I find it goes very well with a trusty old sheffield wedge. For antiquing the washers, perhaps a gun metal blue could be used, or some other patina. It may be a bit risky if you don't know what kind of metal is in them tho. Best of luck, and let us know how it goes.

I don't know about the patina issue, but I do think this is coming along nicely and looking sharp. I have hopes of doing a couple of these myself after things settle down after Easter.

nice shape, I like the points on each end of the scales.

to patina you could try like they do with rat rods and paint the bits, then lightly sand them leaving just some of the paint and exposing the underlying silver. probably go with a very dark brown or dark gray paint I would think...

Great job! It looks excellent. I love the fact that you left some patina on it, gives it character in my opinion.

Originally Posted by MattCastle

Great job! It looks excellent. I love the fact that you left some patina on it, gives it character in my opinion.

I've done the mirror polish and don't mind the work, but lately I've found myself preferring to leave some battle scars behind. I have to agree, as much as I like a highly polished blade, I also like the character of a little patina.