Thread: What I'm learning...and amateur's restoration

I have Lepage 5 minute epoxy in a syringe. It's supposed to dry transparent and is showing a maximum adhesiveness for wood, metal, glass, ceramic and concrete (on a scale of 1-3) and 2/3 for plastic.

Alright, here's where I am....

1. I DO NOT have the patience that Vlad has to sand metal.
2. Prior to adding epoxy to scales, rough the surfaces to be glued, CLEAN WELL (ethanol), and add epoxy, longer drying is better.
3. When sanding, add a lubricant to speed the process (similar thinking as creating a slurry on a hone). Tuf-glide works good, mineral oil works better.

Well, I have the images of what I've done so far. Prior to the 1500 grit, I cold blued the blade, and then went on to sand at 1500 grit. What I thought was neat was that the stamping on the back tang was darker even after the 1500 grit. However, I'm thinking when I get to Maas/Dremel buffing, this will be gone.

What I do not show is that after the images were taken, I'd sand perpendicular to the sand patterns in the image, at the same repective grit. I did this prior to starting the next higher grit. I am suprised at how subtle the differences in the pictures are...OK, fine, I was a LITTLE let down at how similar the images are. HELL, this hand-sanding is not fun!

Still yet to sand: 2000 grit, 4000 grit, 6000 grit, 8000 grit, Fabuluster/Maas mix, Maas, Renaissance wax, DONE.

THEN hone!

I have not been overly concerned (other than suprised that they are still there) with the spots along the edge. I figure those will be gone after I hone the edge.

C utz

Thanks for the info Chris. Btw. this is some nice work

Thanks!

I'm not completely happy with it, but will wait and see when I am done sanding and polishing. Perhaps I'll have a Vlad moment....let the razor sit away for a bit, and come back to it. Only then will I like it

I am a bit concerned about the scales too.

It's funny, on one hand, after going through all this work, I don't know how you guys can sell these! However, on the other hand, after going through all this work, I can see how you'd never want to look at this razor again!!

C utz

I will take any donations of gorilla glue going.

Very nice work Chris. The 400 to 1500 is a huge step. It would take many, many hours to get 400 grit lines out with 1500.

When you get fed up leave it alone and do something else. First time I managed to sand a blade I left the blade with 320 finish. I felt that was the best I had patience for.

I would say leave it alone for a while, but don't pin it. When you get a break and feel like sanding again, sand the tang with 600, 800, 1000 then 1500. Since I know that you have finer paper, go up to 2000 or 2500 before polishing.

The tang is quick sanding. It is the blade faces that are a PITA. You will see a polished finish like you've never seen it before. That result will give you the resolve to do it more patiently next time.

I find that smaller grit steps make minced meat out of previous grit striations. With 600, 800, 1000 the previous grit lines almost wipe off. From 1000 to 2000 it takes quite a bit more work. So I now try to use a smaller grit spacing. I stay on one grit a lot less and overall the sanding goes faster.

Originally Posted by C utz

It's funny, on one hand, after going through all this work, I don't know how you guys can sell these! However, on the other hand, after going through all this work, I can see how you'd never want to look at this razor again!!

I go through it all the time but mostly lean towards the latter.

AND a change of plans!

The W&B 'Special' is not cleaning up as well as I'd hoped. BUT, the scales are almost finished, SO I decided to use the blade from an equally deserving razor. I have a Joseph Rodgers & Sons, that needs a new set of scales. The blade is already in great condition (NO pits etc) and she polished up to an amazing shine (I kept the grind marks.).

So attached is where I am on the scales. They are bloodwood, attached to a 0.005 brass liner and blue plastic liner (You'll be able to see those when I pin the whole set up together).

They have been sanded: 120, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1500, 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000 grit (from 220-8000 they were hand sanded...cramped up the hands rather well too!).

They have 3-4 coats of Truoil on them. After each coat (after dried) was sanded with 8000grit paper.

I have to say, they have an extremely shiney gloss finish! (you can somewhat see that from the scanner reflection on the edges).

My question is, should I get some of the "Birchwood Casey gunstock Wax" that the truoil container recommends, or will this make the finish look more matte/hazey/dull? Can I sand it after adding the wax? OR, should I leave well enough alone?

C utz

I got the wax but I didn't get quite up there with the scales... Using all of my spare time (from searching for a job) to finish the renovations that need ventillation so I only have the flooring and electrical work to worry about over the winter. Currently I should be shaping the brass liners and filling the pores in the wood with brass dust.

WELL, here is the final product:

5/8+" Joseph Rodgers&Son's (Sheffield); 3pin; brass end spacer; bloodwood scales (3 coats Truoil/1 coat renaissance wax), brass and blue plastic liners.
(Originally was to have a 5/8" Wade&Butcher special blade, but that one is still being restored....)

A little plain, BUT on advice from my wife, I kept my first set of hand-made scales 'simple'. The next set should be a little more fancy...

All in all, it's 'ok' in my opinion. There are a couple of things that I am NOT happy with, but will improve on with time, such as getting the end spacer flush with the scales and maybe making the scales a little more thin.

BUT, all in all, I'm happy.

I forgot how frustrating it is pinning scales when one pin is not already set.

Next I'll try to have a blade that is overhauled too, for a 100% restoration...

Till then, enjoy!

C utz

Originally Posted by C utz

I do not think I have the patience to sand the blade as well as Vlad does. (This is a WHOLE nother topic to write on 'learning').

Using a Dremel with buffing wheels (mesh = 220-400grit), flap wheel (120 grit) or any rotary sanding of pitting only makes my job last longer

I don't have the patience either, but I discovered an alternative.

They're called "buffs", not buffing wheels, available from Dremel and Sears. They're not whels. They look like fibrous powder puffs, and they come in coarse (180), medium (280) and fine (320). I've found no doscussiion of them here or on Bill's CD, and I'm wondering why.

What I like about them is that they produce no scratch lines at all, and the 320 is not a bad finish, but I try for something approaching a mirror finish. In any case, the coarse will quickly take out most pitting I run into, and I'm left with a totally smooth surface. The coarse produces a good, healthy spark. I usually work my way up to the 320 and then jump to a 1K sandpaper (hand).

I experimenting going from the 320 to a fabric polishing wheel with green compound (fabuluster or something like that), and I got a pretty nice shine. To get anything really mirror-like I need to go to at least 2K sandpaper by hand, and the compounded polishing wheel removes the scratch lines quickly. I also tried 4K sandpaper and 9K, but I seem to be getting diminishing returns. The 9K gives a very shiny finish, but I cann still see scratches if I move the blade around under a light.

This approach works really fast, like less than 1/2 hour from pitted blade to shiny one. I have to admit, though, that I've left some barely noticeable pit marks. I just haven't had the patience to get a Vladsch finish. But I'm still learning. Maybe when I understand the process better I'll figure out a way to get a perfect mirror finish. Or maybe I'll just have to learn to be more patient.