Thread: First handsanding progressions Ever!!! What do you think?

First of all I want to thank all of the SRP members for the wealth of knowledge, it still amazes me how much you folks are willing to share and help guide the rest of us.

I am starting my FIRST EVER restoration project. I chose a Wade and Butcher hollow ground round-point as my first victim. The blade itself has a small amount of pitting and rust but I thought it would be a good one to start with. I ditched the scales and then began my journey.

After reading several other users "how to's" on hand sanding I did the best I could with the grits I had available to me. I can live with the results but I know there is much room for improvement. One particular pitting mark was quite deep and I decided to leave it after sanding quite a while in fear of unevenly sanding a divot in the blade (I know to evenly sand the entire length of the blade) or taking off too much of the steel. I started with 120 grit all the way up to 2000 before finishing on the buffing wheel with some Blue Magic polish.

After finishing I can still see some scratches and I'm sure this is from moving on to the next grit too quickly or too much of a jump between grits or a combo of both. Overall I am pleased with the results for my first time and realized how much I need to make a sanding stick to save my hands. Also, I relish in constructive criticism so please share your thoughts.

There are a few small pit marks near the edge which should come out with honing when I set the bevel.

Apologies for the poor lighting in the photos, a light-box is my next project.

The finished product is post #3 is this thread. Thnx

Looks nice, the smooth lines of the blade lend it self well to hand sanding.
Sometimes even a very fine grit paper can pull away a piece of metal and mess everything up, mostly on stainless steel.

Attachment 130870Attachment 130871

Looks good
If you are worried about some of the scratches, try to use some sort of lubricant while sanding upwards from the lower grits. I use either water or parafin oil while I hand sand which IMO give a smoother finish than just dry sanding.

Nick.

Nice work, looks good to me.
Nothing wrong with leaving a trace of pitting there IMO.
Dont get me wrong, I love a mirror finish, but as you said, sometimes you dont want to remove too much steel.
Sounds like you have learnt a lot from reading, and experience will teach you the rest.
You making new scales?
Grant

I have some pins, washers, etc. on order right now and am going to attempt to make some scales soon. I still need to get some scale material. Probably a hardwood or horn, I wonder if one is more forgiving than the other for the first time around in regards to sanding, polishing, making scales in general? I did save the intact old scales and will probably just use them for reference and not get too crazy.

Just ordered some grey G10 scales for this blade, gonna try to keep it clean and subtle. I will post some pics of my success or failure of my first run at making some scales. With all the info in regards to making scales on SRP I do believe I can at least make a valid attempt.....

I think you did a great job. Patience is key and you're off to a great start.

nicely done!

Originally Posted by dtrain17

I have some pins, washers, etc. on order right now and am going to attempt to make some scales soon. I still need to get some scale material. Probably a hardwood or horn, I wonder if one is more forgiving than the other for the first time around in regards to sanding, polishing, making scales in general? I did save the intact old scales and will probably just use them for reference and not get too crazy.

That's a good looking blade!

I know you've ordered some G10 already, but just for future reference, horn has the advantage of not requiring a finish (other than perhaps a soak in some neatsfoot oil) whereas wood will need some kind of finish to seal it up. Both can work fine, but there are some different processes involved.

Since you've already done a great job sanding the blade, you have probably already seen this, but just in case, here's a link to a ton of useful info:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

Good luck!