Thread: Frustration finally sets in

Well i really hope this is the last post on my 1st razor project. I am hand sanding the razor to a mirror finish, and i was at 330 grit give or take. And i see deeper scratches(from past grits) so i have to go back to 120 grit, this is the third time i have gone back the 1st time was unrelated, is there any way for me to get a even sand, i was thinking about magic marker on the entire blade but then it would be well getting off with the super fine grit. Please help me out Thank you

You need to spend some time at 120 getting it as uniform as you possibly can, then move up slowly, that is the best advice I can give you. Do not try to jump from 120 to 320 and expect those 120 scratches to come out... Go from 120 to 150, then to 220, then 320, 400, 600, etc. That's just the cost of admission with hand sanding, it's a pain. Remember to keep your scratches going in one direction if you can, just like paint strokes show up in a painting if they are not consistently one direction, so will those odd ball scratches.

If you have to take a few days off, do it. That razor will still be there when you get back to it, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Good luck.

I do not know if you looked up the hand sanding tutorial in the wiki, so here it is
Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki

hope this helps

Stefan

Here's what I do when I hand sand. I would say that your first mistake (and I can't really even call it that without seeing the beginning of the blade) was going all the way down to 120. That's really coarse for a blade. I start at 220. However, since you're their, you kind of have to continue.

Sand tip to heel of the blade in strokes parallel to the edge and spine. Make the surface a uniform scratch pattern. Get all of the pitting out with the low grits; 120, 150, 220. Move on to the spine and tang, again sanding tip to tang.
This is the important part:
When you get the surface uniform, make witness lines with the grit you're on perpendicular to the current lines. So get the surface looking nice, then run the sandpaper up and down on the blade, around the spine, up and down on the other side and then up and down on the tang. Make sure you cover the entire razor with witness lines. All you should see on the razor are the witness lines. Cover the whole thing.

Move to the next higher grit. Sand parallel to the edge again. When the witness lines are gone, you should be done with that grit. Sand a little longer, then make new witness lines with the current grit. Keep doing this all the way up to 2000 grit for a mirror finish, or go higher to 8000+ for an amazing mirror finish.

Yes hand sanding sucks. Like has been said, it's just the price of admission. Think 10+ hours for 220-2000 grits. Also, just a booster here: It will be tempting to say, "That's good enough." Fight that urge. You deserve to have a nice razor, it's just going to take time and energy to get it there. If you need a boost, pm me. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!