Thread: First Restoration

OK.....after many hours of work, I have something to show for it. I used a progression of sandpaper (150 through 1200 grit) and then some polishing compound and a variable speed buffer and the finish is better than I had hoped. I can still see some of the scratches from the sandpaper, though. The scales cleaned up beautifully with just some soap and water ( and a toothpick around the scrollwork). So, here are some pics for reviews and comments. Don't hold back on your comments 'cause I wanna learn from this. I have a couple of more that I want to work on but I really want to know what areas I need to improve on before I tackle some of them. As always.....thanks to all for the input and advice.

That fantastic. For polishing the scales I use Solvol Autosol, I think Mass is about the same, however I dont think that you need to do that to those scales as they look great as they are.

Congrats! I think you did a wonderful job, especially for a first. You managed to clean up the scales well without breaking them, and removed the gunk from the blade and even managed to put a very nice polish to it. Peening looks fine to me, only thing is perhaps polish the peens. It helps if you polish your peening hammer, it doesn't take long to do and will show in your work.
If you normally are sanding horizontally, along the edge, it could pay off to go over the blade from spine to edge before you go to a finer grit. Doesn't have to be thorough, it will show easily when you have managed to get rid of the marks from the last grit.
I think you should be proud of your work, well done. Now hone it up and let's know how it shaves

Thanks for the notes. I'll be putting her to the hones this afternoon and hopefully be shaving with her tonight. I've been sanding in small circles and finishing each level with horizontal strokes. I'll keep in mind to alter that for the next project. Polishing the hammer and cleaning up the peens is something I never thought of. Thanks for the encouragement and keep the critique coming, I'm sure it'll help.