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Thread: The Foundation of Our Lives Built On Hollow Ground

  1. #1
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    Default The Foundation of Our Lives Built On Hollow Ground

    I have never restored a razor before. Never really even thought about it until recently. Never sanded down a piece of steel. I have no experience making things shiny, or neat, or anything even close. Today all that changed.

    I won an ERN Hollow Ground 11/16 off the bay and I received it over the weekend. Tonight was the first night I got to really sit down with it and give it a full assessment. I had stopped by the auto parts store and picked up a couple of sets of various grit sandpaper. As i sat there looking it over, I couldn't help but think about the life this razor must have had. It was severely rusted around the pivot. The scales, which weren't the originals, were broken. I could barely even make out where in Germany this ERN was born. So I grabbed the 100 grit and went to work. I discovered the pitting was about as bad as I thought, but that there was still good metal left underneath. I started to just go all out and get all the deep pits and imperfections out, but for some reason I didn't. I don't know if it was the fact that I'm new at this and didn't feel comfortable taking on such a daunting task, or if I felt like the blade deserved to be seen in its imperfect state. Like it had earned those pits and those scars. It just felt right. So I moved on to the 150 grit. Then the 220. All the way up to 2500, taking snapshots after each level. When I was finally finished, I looked back to the first photo. I couldn't believe I had actually done it!

    Is it perfect? No. Not even close. But I didn't really go for perfection. I just wanted to give this new friend a good cleaning up. A new lease on life. A new start.

    I still have to get new scales, which I will probably order this week. I am not a woodworker of any kind and I'm not looking to spend a fortune on a custom set. I'm thinking of a set of Ebony that are on the "Invisible Edge" website. The only problem is that I don't know If they will accommodate the 11/16 blade. Any suggestions or pointers are greatly appreciated. Below are a few progressive shots. Let me know what you guys think
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  2. #2
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    Default

    The clean up
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  3. #3
    Junior Honemeister Mike_ratliff's Avatar
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    I have an old montgomery ward razor that still shows it's imperfections... It isn't beautiful, but I like it's personality too much to steal that away...
    looks like a job well done.

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    tkpeebles (01-20-2012)

  5. #4
    Razor Vulture sharptonn's Avatar
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    Looking Good! The pics in the rough seem to indicate a slight bellied grind! Don't go too far! Seems like a bit of a frown, Honing will get it! Going to be nice! Good steel there!
    "Don't be stubborn. You are missing out".
    I rest my case.

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    tkpeebles (01-20-2012)

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    Senior Member blabbermouth Geezer's Avatar
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    I am glad you went with hand sanding! That is a really good way to learn and get ideas. Nothing wrong with fancy tools but the ideas usually come during the quiet moments!
    Thank you!
    ~Richard
    Havachat45 likes this.
    Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
    - Oscar Wilde

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    tkpeebles (01-20-2012)

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    Thanks guys! I appreciate the encouraging words! I don't know. The blade seemed pretty straight to me. Maybe a weird angle or something? Anyone know where I can get a decent set of scales at a reasonable price? I didn't really find and that spoke to me on the vendor pages. Open to any suggestions!
    Thanks
    Tyler

  10. #7
    Senior Member jeffegg2's Avatar
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    Nothing wrong with leaving some pits, all a matter of taste. Some even leave the patina and just hone as is...

    I have a blade with some serious pitting that I may do a "half" sanding job to keep all the lettering on the blade.

    You would be surprised what just polish will do to fix up a blade. Pits and all....

    Enjoy,
    Jeff.

  11. #8
    Senior Member jeffegg2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tkpeebles View Post
    Thanks guys! I appreciate the encouraging words! I don't know. The blade seemed pretty straight to me. Maybe a weird angle or something? Anyone know where I can get a decent set of scales at a reasonable price? I didn't really find and that spoke to me on the vendor pages. Open to any suggestions!
    Thanks
    Tyler
    Ya, lighting does strange tricks to distort objects.

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