Thread: removing pits with sandpaper

Hey Gents,

So I started restoring my first straight and started with 400 grit wet and dry. After 20 mins getting rid of all the rust and patina it became apparent the razor had a fair bit of pitting. I've carried on sanding for a while now yet the pits are not being removed. Should I drop down a grit to stay 250 grit and try that or should I just carry on at 400 for a little longer?

Cheers.

You’ve asked a very interesting question!

I’m a firm believer in starting high and then going lower very slowly! I’ve seen so many posts where someone has started out using say 220 grit and then struggled with removing the sand scratches!

As far as the pitting goes, it depends on how much you can live with and what you are willing to do to eliminate the pitting! Here’s the link to where I had Glen restore my Great Grandfather’s W&B! You will still see some pitting but as Glen said, to fully remove them, he would have had to regrind the blade! That would have resulted in an altered grind! I love that razor and use it regularly!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...ered-horn.html

I hope that this has been informational and of some help!

I personally have to agree with cudarunner,
I have all vintage blades, some were easily brought to a NOS type of look and belong there IMO.
Some have more character and that is where I like them.
It is a personal thing, I have two that I feel I took to far and they lost some appeal to me and I am in the midst of adding some forced patina to them.
Take it to where you are happy with it as long as the steel is there to work with.
As far as how low to drop in grit hard to give an estimate without some decent pictures and knowing how much you are expecting.

Originally Posted by Obamabeard

Hey Gents,

So I started restoring my first straight and started with 400 grit wet and dry. After 20 mins getting rid of all the rust and patina it became apparent the razor had a fair bit of pitting. I've carried on sanding for a while now yet the pits are not being removed. Should I drop down a grit to stay 250 grit and try that or should I just carry on at 400 for a little longer?

Cheers.

The answer depends on how deep the pits are & how thin the razor grind is. If it's a thick wedge, 250 grit won't hurt it. If it's an uber hollow grind the pits may run very deep regardless of the sandpaper you try.

Cheers Guys

Well firstly the grind is about half hollow I would say. To be honest I'm not really looking for a perfectly flawless blade and mirror finish as that does take the appeal away. I was aiming for a good satin look. The blade itself is actually pit free minus one or two small pits. Most of the pitting is on the tang. Ive tried to attach some files but it won't let me upload them, I'm using a mac btw. If I go to a lower grit is it going to be difficult to remove the scratches?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Obamabeard

. Ive tried to attach some files but it won't let me upload them, I'm using a mac btw. If I go to a lower grit is it going to be difficult to remove the scratches?

Does this help ?
http://straightrazorpalace.com/site-...-pictures.html



Not so much about difficulty in removing scratches if you only go down one jump in the grit progression but more whether it will clear the pits for the extra work.

I just had a blade restored...an old Colley. It had a VERY thin grind, thus, I was left to deal with some pitting.
It still didn't turn out too bad, tho.

The pitting looks deep enough, but it isn't on the edge so no worries there. You wouldn't have any blade left if you tried to remove all of the pitting. You got to a good place with that one