Basic tools needed to start restoring?

Well, I've accumulated a good amount of tools in the past month or so, so I can start restoring a few fixer uppers in my collection. Now I'm just wondering if there's anything else I might want to pick up while I'm in town today. So far, I have:

4000/8000 Norton
12000 Chinese Natural (it's a good one. I'm almost positive it's closer to 16... it's like glass)
Illinois 827
Bench Grinder
Digital Dremel with all the goodies
wet dry sandpaper from 220 up to 1000
and some Maas

Probably going to pick up a 1000 stone today to put a bevel back on the ones that need it.
Any other ideas?

That depends on how far you want to go with restoration? What is your collection consist on? any pics?
Perhaps a DMT to lap your stones?

I'll need to upload some more pics... if you look at other threads I started, there's two of them at least; a Hans Otto and a Joseph Rodgers. I have about twenty more, I guess, that are in various states of disrepair; a few W&B wedges, a few other Sheffield wedges whose maker has slipped my mind at the moment, a russian of some kind, various Solingen blades, some Genco's.... and a few random U.S. makers.

You're all set.
Really. You have more than what I had when I started restoring.

The most valuable thing when restoring is patience :)

Thats a lot twenty razor, do you have any experienced in restoration ? do you know how to hone razors? and make them shave ready!

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Originally Posted by kamikazeproject

Well, I've accumulated a good amount of tools in the past month or so, so I can start restoring a few fixer uppers in my collection. Now I'm just wondering if there's anything else I might want to pick up while I'm in town today. So far, I have:

4000/8000 Norton
12000 Chinese Natural (it's a good one. I'm almost positive it's closer to 16... it's like glass)
Illinois 827
Bench Grinder
Digital Dremel with all the goodies
wet dry sandpaper from 220 up to 1000
and some Maas

Probably going to pick up a 1000 stone today to put a bevel back on the ones that need it.
Any other ideas?

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Those two in red are a danger zone, honestly I would start with just using your hands when restoring the blades, take it slow like Bruno pointed out...
we have a saying "Rush a Restore, Wreck a Razor" if you search out the sticky at the top of this forum "Workshop" there are a ton of threads about how to handsand.. Do some by hand first it will give you a perspective of what you can accomplish, and what the razors can handle...

Good luck

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Those two in red are a danger zone, honestly I would start with just using your hands when restoring the blades, take it slow like Bruno pointed out...
we have a saying "Rush a Restore, Wreck a Razor" if you search out the sticky at the top of this forum "Workshop" there are a ton of threads about how to handsand.. Do some by hand first it will give you a perspective of what you can accomplish, and what the razors can handle...

Good luck

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Ha ha, too true! I used a dremel on a razor ONCE! :boohoo: No more, just hands and sandpaper and micromesh for this cat...on the plus side, I learned I can rescue one with the dreaded breadknifing technique. Every cloud and all that eh! Still one of my favorite razors to shave with as well. Happy days.

Best of luck Kamikazeproject, it's addictive stuff! Plenty of skills to develop in 20 razors, you'll be a sensei by the time you get through them.

Listen to Glen, I put my Dremel away after I ruined a vintage Thistle razor; not only that but the piece of steel that broke off from the blade just missed my face by a couple of inches. HOG

Haha... yeah, got the Dremel for, literally, one razor that has a chipped blade that I'm going to shave a bit off of and reshape. (no pun intended)
Mainly, I just have a bunch of wet/dry and Mother's polish for all that kind of work.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm gonna start out first on the Hans I posted pics of a while back. It's in probably the worst shape of any of them, so... might as well jump in head first. After all, if anything happens to it, it's probably already a goner anyway. Actually, I think the blade is salvageable. The only real issue with it is whether I'm going to be able to get the pitting out completely, and if not, whether any is going to be on the cutting edge. The scales are the real problem with that badboy... total cell rot, I'm gonna have to figure out some kind of substitute that will look close to those green celly's though. The scales were the best thing about those things.

Which reminds me, I did think of one more thing while I was out trying to find a 1000 grit today. (no luck, btw... you'd be surprised how little people who work at the Chicago Cutlery outlet store actually know about anything)

Probably gonna pick up a USB microscope.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Those two in red are a danger zone, honestly I would start with just using your hands when restoring the blades, take it slow like Bruno pointed out...
we have a saying "Rush a Restore, Wreck a Razor" if you search out the sticky at the top of this forum "Workshop" there are a ton of threads about how to handsand.. Do some by hand first it will give you a perspective of what you can accomplish, and what the razors can handle...

Good luck

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I forgot earlier, but meant to ask... what's the word on using a Dremel on low speed with the buffing wheel for final polishing?

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Originally Posted by kamikazeproject

I forgot earlier, but meant to ask... what's the word on using a Dremel on low speed with the buffing wheel for final polishing?

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Dremels can be very beneficial -BUT- in inexperienced hands they tend to eat razors...

Hints:

Your first razor should be a heavy bladed wedgie Ole Sheffield as they are just beefier and less prone to destruction :)

If you insist on fast spinning things around the razor learn to bury the edge, either use a soft piece of pine and keep the edge on it or use a magnetic jig..

Bookmark this page

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

It has all this that I type on all these kinds of threads right there :) it is a great reference

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Originally Posted by Hogrider

Listen to Glen, I put my Dremel away after I ruined a vintage Thistle razor; not only that but the piece of steel that broke off from the blade just missed my face by a couple of inches. HOG

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Oh God no! Not a Thistle! You lost a fine shaver there my friend, 'tis a shame indeed!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Dremels can be very beneficial -BUT- in inexperienced hands the tend to eat razors...

Hints:

Your first razor should be a heavy bladed wedgie Ole Sheffield as they are just beefier and less prone to destruction :)

If you insist on fast spinning things around the razor learn to bury the edge, either use a soft piece of pine and keep the edge on it or use a magnetic jig..

Bookmark this page

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

It has all this that I type on all these kinds of threads right there :) it is a great reference

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Awesome. Yeah, to be honest, using a power tool on paper thin, razor sharp steel scares the bejeezus out of me. haha After I posted that last comment I broke out that Hans and some 220 grit and started going to town. It's actually not as time consuming as I thought it would be. Thanks for the help.

if you go back far enough :)

here is an Otto I did for myself by hand

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...h-restore.html

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

if you go back far enough :)

here is an Otto I did for myself by hand

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...h-restore.html

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Yeah... that thing's awesome. I just got the inlays off mine. I have no idea what I'm gonna do for scales, actually. I think I'm gonna try to make some out of dyed polyester resin... we'll see how that goes. haha

What kinda hone do you use to set a bevel, by the way? I'm kinda looking for something on the cheap, because I've spent...uh... a lot of money on razors/hones/etc. this month. haha I found a 1000 for about twenty bucks, so I was thinking of that maybe.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Oh God no! Not a Thistle! You lost a fine shaver there my friend, 'tis a shame indeed!

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Yeap, and I keep the damage razor in a drawer in my tool box to remind me not to trust Dremels. I thing I am going to donate it to the Salvation Army. HOG

The lowest priced 1k stone that I have used and I know works is the King which is available in many places like Rockler and Woodcraft even many Co_Op and Ace carry them...

The Naniwa SS 1k is hardly any more money, but most of us have to order them :) so it kinda comes down to the few bucks extra for shipping

IMHO Dremels aren't the 'issue' - lack of patience is... along with rare 'freak' incident.

Impatience, lack of thinking the process through, or blue-moon mishaps can be just as damaging with hand sanding or a grinder as they can with a Dremel. As gssixgun pointed out, practice with either a junk or forgiving blade (e.g. wedge) is key.

I live in a townhouse and therefore have no 'permanent' workspace - e.g. no room for a bench grinder fitted with muslin or sisal wheels. My only choice is either hand sanding or a dremel - all of which is done out doors at a patio table on my deck March thru October. And after a day spent working on the computer, my hands/wrists can't tolerate hours of hand sanding so Dremel it is...

My first restore - which won the SRP First Restore Contest in Jan 10 (post #47) was done with a Dremel using homemade sanding drums per the threads posted by Toxik. I've since moved on to using greaseless compounds with 1" muslin wheels on the Dremel (for example my lastest two - a Jos. Smith and a Boker).

I've restored at least a dozen blades (I know, not a lot compared to the pros but a pretty fair number for a 'free-time' hobby done only when weather permits) and have yet to have any 'dremel' damage occur for three simple reasons: I take my time... and I pay attention... and I make sure I don't give the dremel wheel a chance to grab a blade edge or 'over work' a surface.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't fear or discount the Dremel. As long as you understand it, respect it, and are attentive and patient with it, it can and will give you amazing results... and can be a fantastic alternative if hand sanding or full-size buffing wheels aren't an option.

Best of luck with your restoration projects. Have a blast!

IMHO Dremels aren't the 'issue' - lack of patience is.

Impatience and lack of thinking the process through can be just as damaging with hand sanding or a grinder as they can with a Dremel. As gssixgun pointed out, practice with either a junk or forgiving blade (e.g. wedge) is key.

I live in a townhouse and therefore have no 'permanent' workspace - e.g. no room for a bench grinder fitted with muslin or sisal wheels. My only choice is either hand sanding or a dremel - all of which is done out doors at a patio table on my deck March thru October. And after a day spent working on the computer my hands/wrists can't tolerate hours of hand sanding so Dremel it is...

My first restore - which won the SRP First Restore Contest in Jan 10 (post #47) was done with a Dremel using homemade sanding drums per the threads posted by Toxik. I've since moved on to using greaseless compounds with 1" muslin wheels on the Dremel (my lastest two restores for example - a Jos. Smith and a Boker).

I've restored at least a dozen blades over the past two years (I know, not a lot compared to the pros but a pretty fair number for a 'free-time' hobby done only when weather permits) and have yet to have any 'dremel' damage occur for three simple reasons: I take my time... I stay focused... and I make sure I don't give the dremel wheel a chance to grab a blade edge or 'over work' a surface.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't fear or discount the Dremel. As long as you understand it, respect it, and are attentive and patient with it, it can and will give you amazing results... and can be a fantastic alternative if hand sanding or full-size buffing wheels aren't an option.

Best of luck with your restoration projects. Have a blast!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

The lowest priced 1k stone that I have used and I know works is the King which is available in many places like Rockler and Woodcraft even many Co_Op and Ace carry them...

The Naniwa SS 1k is hardly any more money, but most of us have to order them :) so it kinda comes down to the few bucks extra for shipping

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Well, I ended up going with the King... found one for 19 bucks on Amazon with free two day shipping, so... couldn't pass that up. Went ahead and got a DMTD6C, too, because I've never really used the 4000 side on my Norton very much, and when I was working with it the other day, it seems like it needs to be lapped for some reason. One of the corners kinda slopes off slightly and it [I]feels[I] really sandy and gritty, like I've heard some people say on here that the very tops of the 4000 can be when you first get them. So, I think I'm gonna lap it and take it through the gauntlet of wet/dry.

Try to remember that it is best to comletely restore the blade and repin it in the scales before you begin the honing process. Save your fingers..........

Jerry
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Originally Posted by mrsell63

Try to remember that it is best to comletely restore the blade and repin it in the scales before you begin the honing process. Save your fingers..........

Jerry
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You mean nobody wants to see pictures posted of a newly restored razor held up by freshly shortened fingers? haha