Assorted Straight Razor Restorations

Thanks! Sometimes I do flip the mock tang upside down as it does a better job (sturdier) holding up the scales for photos (#67), such as the one above of the wedge.

 

Awesome work...

You will continue to pick up on the little tips and tricks that make things Function better each time...


Some safety things I will give you some heads up about, that some of I learned the hard way

Glasses/Goggles - You walk in the shop they go on, Period every single time

Respirator - When you have a nice clean shop you can do this when you are working, once the shop becomes dusted over then it goes on with the glasses

Head cover - Be careful here, I made the mistake of using a Ballcap and ground the dust into my forehead, the Dr. recommended a Bandanna/Skullcap that gets washed after each use..

Long sleeve shirt with Tight cuffs - You need to keep the dust off your arms but spinning things and loose cuffs are dangerous so be picky about your shirts..

Long pants and high socks - The dust will rise when you walk from the floor and get on your legs so protect them also..


Most of the stuff we sand for scales are extreme irritants or very dangerous protect your skin, eyes, and lungs

You do NOT want to walk through the house spreading dust everywhere figure out a changing area to shift the dusted clothes to the washer and you into the shower... Bagging the clothes is not a bad idea if they can't go directly into the washer..


Since 2007 when I started Restoring razors I have had

4 Stitches on my thumb
1 piece of wood out of the eye
Tetanus shot of course Duhhhhh
3 separate skin rashes that I needed prescriptions for all due to dust Shin, Arms, and Forehead

Probably forgetting a few too hehehe

 

Excellent work and very good instruction, I myself use a mock tang using some heavy duty leather as the tang, strange looking at how we do things I see a very close similarities in they way you work things out to the way I do certain things, I'll leave you with a little useful jig I put together for sanding down really heavy pitted blades this jig offers the blade edge a fare amount of protection as you sand the blade.


OK here we have a little sanding jig I made for razors that will need more work than just the buffing wheels with compound, the hardwood section as three rare earth magnets sitting flush and housed out level to the surface of the hardwood then glued down, then a 4 1/2 in X 1 1/2 in piece of mild steel glued firmly on top so that becomes a really firm magnetized plate that will hold your blade and edge very important flush and tight on the plate, also you see a small raised piece of hardwood that stops the blade moving back off the jig tight where the spine sits, also you will need a small hardwood sanding hand held stick with a piece of 4mm leather glued to the rounded off end, now cut your various grades of wet & dry to fit the width of the sanding stick hold firmly and away you go, always slide your razor off the plate when you want to turn your blade over, forgot to add you will need to clamp the jig to something firm while sanding, a good little set up for blades that have some serious pitting going on.

 

That's a great list and some welcome reminders about shop safety, Glen.
I, too, have learned the value of a number of these items through bad experiences; ones that I'd prefer NOT to repeat.
With a couple of asthmatics in the household, I try to be extra careful with the fallout of sawdust and other irritants, both in the shop and on my clothing.
One item I also wear are tight-fitting, hi-dexterity gloves that offer some level of protection around certain power tools, particular the belt sanders and buffers. Nitrile gloves for staining, etc. Loose fitting, bulky gloves are a big no-no around power tools (table saws, joiners, drill presses), so it is worth it to pay a little extra and get good, snug-fitting gloves that improve grip, offer some level of protection and don't impede dexterity.



I sincerely appreciate the input! Thanks!

Awesome, Jamie! Thanks for sharing the idea! I like your sanding stick…..(another idea for me to steal )

 

I had some free time today so the first thing I did was create a jig for my bandsaw to allow for 'blade drift.' Since I'm cutting rather thin (1/8") sections of wood, I needed to find a jig that was easy to operate, and compensated for any lateral blade drift with the saw. Essentially what I made was a false table (larger than the base table on the saw), using the dado groove in that table to align the 'false table' and allow me to slide the new table on & off with ease. Right angle to that slot I routed a channel to accommodate the miter guide. To this miter guide, I attached an 18" 2x2 hardwood piece to serve as the fence. With the fence attached to the miter guide, I can adjust for blade drift on the fly by first establishing the angle the saw wants to cut, and match it with the fence. Sorry if I made this sound over-complicated—it was much easier than I made it sound.

This now enabled to cut accurate 1/8" blanks off larger stock and minimize excess sanding (and material waste). Aside from jig-making, I was able to make two more sets of wooden scales.
These are zebra wood…a fairly-dense wood that can easy to cut, shape & sand. It does really stink when sawn or sanded—good idea to wear a respirator. These scale began as blanks similar those seen in the background. The blanks were halved on the bandsaw so I started with 2 book matched .125" thick forms.

One of the obvious cool things about zebra wood is the distinct grain pattern. I aligned the book match pieces prior to any trimming and sanding.
The end result should be the matching of the grain patterns on the ends (seam).


Not all fun in the shop…My patient Great Dane, Lola, convinced me in no subtle way that it was time to get outside and take a walk.
Beautiful June day for a walk around the neighborhood, too. Lola agreed.

 

Very very nice way to Bookmatch the scales

 

So for the past three days, Ive been busy setting up my new 'buffing station'—complete with all the items I've need to make a king-size mess.
After I had the buffer set up, I realized the cabinet height ( a standard 36") was simply too short for someone my height. So I built a raised box for the base of the buffer, fastened foam tape to the top & bottom (to minimize the transference of vibration to the cabinet), which now made the buffer a comfortable height for me to work. I also created a backdrop from cheap plastic drop cloth to help ease the clean up of compound 'spray.'
You'll see in the pic below I'm using a small container for ice water to help keep the blades temps from going through the roof while buffing. Glen says he does it by feel and can back off to let the blade cool (cold water not necessary). For me, I'm not ready to trust my abilities to gauge the proper temps so to play it safe, I'll keep the water handy.


After a rough start —it took me some time to get the feel for loading a NEW sisal wheel with compound. I was spraying red greaseless everywhere! Then I learned to thoroughly RAKE the sisals to ensure good adhesion to the wheel. It takes some practice— I was finally ready to buff up a blade.

This was the first victim: a vintage Joseph Elliot Best Silver Steel that once cleaned, revealed some deep pitting across both side of the blade and on the tang. It was really not an attractive looking piece—but I had hope to transform it!


My process:
Starting with the large tubes of greaseless compounds
• 80 grit on a 4" sisal wheel
• 180 grit on a 4" sisal wheel
• 400 grit on a 4" spiral-sewn wheel
• 600 grit on a 4" spiral-sewn wheel
Polishing Compounds—
• Emery (blk) on 4" spiral-sewn wheel
• Tripoli (White) (I lost my SS compound somewhere! Grrr!) on a 4" cotton flannel wheel
• ChromOx (green) on a 6" loose cotton wheel
• Jeweler's rouge (red) on a 6" loose cotton wheel

Th most time consuming part wasn't the actual buffing, but the wait time for the greaseless compounds to dry. I did double up on the 80 grit (both wheels) so I could work on one for the 20 minutes while the other wheel with the freshly applied compound could dry. The other great unknown for me was: when is it time to move up to the next grit? I probably spent the vast majority of time on the 80 grit as the blade did have a considerable amount of surface pitting. In hindsight, I could have spent additional time removing more of the 'scars' but after countless loading, daytime waits, and reloading, I was anxious to move on.
One side note that deserves mentioning: there is an inherent risk in using a hi-rev buffer, especially when handling a straight razor blade. For safety reasons, I made sure to wear a heavy shop apron that covered my torso, a good quality respirator (not just a dust mask), and safety googles. I didn't feel ear protection was necessary as it is with most shop tools, but the buffer omits only a very low hum. I began wearing tight-fitting gloves that offered some protection and improved grip. I wound up wearing only one, keeping one hand 'naked' in order to gauge the temp on the blade.

The result: A much-improved finish on the razor! It is far from 'factory-fresh new' (hey, some flaws add character! ), but it is a now a blade I look forward to putting some new scales on!


I didn't count how many hours I spent this first-time using a buffer on blades. I do know this: It was a whole heck of a lot less time than I have spent in the past 100% hand-sanding blades!
My aching wrist is a MUCH happier using the buffer as well. Now I look at the pile of blades I have awaiting cleaning & polishing and have hope….

 

A couple more Elliot shots—
The tang was really a mess with some deep pitting. It smoothed out rather well…

Not true mirror-smooth finish, but still quite a change from its former condition…

This particular blade would have perhaps been better suited for more of a matte finish vs a shiny gloss, due to the amount of surface imperfections present.
Maybe in the future, when I begin to develop a better feel for this, I'll have more control over the process and the end results. This test run for me was educational as I could evaluate the changes each step provided on the finish.

 

Yesterday, I managed to make a new wedge out of ebony to go with the zebra wood scales. Today and over the weekend I will be attempting to finish the 'poly finish' on those scales and now that I have a blade 'ready-to-go'—I might actually start pinning.

Who knows? I may actually have a completed razor (!) sooner the I thought!…. Exciting!

 

Kevin, You seem to be taking everything one slowly measured step at a time and thinking it all through... makes perfect sense to my slightly OCD way of thinking

The razors are looking better and better

 

Thanks, Glen.
I am being deliberate in my pacing—which doesn't make for the most exciting of threads to follow, I admit— but every time I give in to my impatience and rush through a process, I inevitably make a mistake.
'Tis a learning process…

 

Back in the old days of Razor Restoration, (2007 hehehe) I came up with a saying that pretty much stuck

"Rush a restore,, Wreck a razor"

 

Can I make a plaque of this for my shop? Copyright fees do apply, of course. I'll have my attorney draw up the papers.

Practice pinning & peening: I've dreaded doing this as last time I pinned a razor (months ago), I really struggled. Of course, back then I rushed it so naturally I had to redo it 2 t 3 times before the results were 'okay.'
Since that time, I've watched pinning videos (some quite good, some leaving me scratching my head), and actually practiced on old stock, popsicle sticks, etc. Plus, this time I have a smaller ballpeen hammer (4oz vs 8oz), so ideally I won't be so heavy-handed with the blows.
I have to say, this time, my peening went far better than before. 'Light, repetitive taps' with the hammer—I did practice these on my finger cuticles —ensure even, balanced results plus allowed better control in shaping the end.
I picked up a couple of small jeweler's files that really came in handy in softening the harsh 'nipped' end. The results were a secure endpin that also looked halfway decent...


Once some of the scales are finished, I can finally start doing some assembly.
Preliminary coats of finish drying on several sets of scales…

 

More of my 'Two Steps forward, Three Steps Backwards' dance…

Inserting the new ebony wedge into the scales, and the fit and alignment looks good. Unfortunately, on the pivot end, the alignment is off. This alignment is critical to get right so the blade opens and closes properly. I thought I had checked my squareness (90°) of the drill bit to the plane of the scale, but obviously somewhere I goofed. This may be a salvageable mistake (re-drill?)…or I least I hope it is.

Wedge end/pivot end…


At least the Joseph Rodgers 7/8 blade destined for these scales is coming along nicely. I've only taken it to the 600 grit stage so far. I do like the matte look of the blade.

 

Great work.

 

Here's another image showing the amount of the angle in the misalignment. I'm wondering aloud if I can do the same thing here on the scales as I did with the oversized holes in the blade shanks: fill with epoxy and drill a new hole.
Patch in hole with epoxy, redrill the correct pivot angle. The potentially 'larger' hole caused by the redrill will probably be covered with the large external washer. Hmmmm……...

Thanks! My warts and all…...

 

What size is the hole now ????

 

The original pivot hole was made with a 5/64 bit.
I filled this existing hole with 5-min epoxy, let it set overnight.
This morning, I redrilled the hole (same bit) with the scales at a precise right-angle to the bit.
The result? The pivot pin now slides easily at a 90° to the scales, with minimal play.


As far as evidence of 'covering my tracks', the 'new' hole is no bigger than the previous opening, but slightly shifted 'southwest' in direction. In the image of the two 'fish heads' below you can see the 'new' pin hole with evidence of the fill. Under the double washer, one cannot see the evidence of my blunder….

 

Man, there's some great work here

 

Thanks for the encouraging words!
I'm hopeful some decent shave-ready razors will actually result from all these efforts.

I've gone back and began refinishing the zebra wood scales pictured above. I didn't like the way they were looking (uneven finish, rough patches, etc) during the finishing stages and so I went back and re-sanded all four sides of the set.
I also noticed some horizontal scratches (evident only under certain viewing angles & lighting ) in the nice blade (see post #94) I thought was ready to go—so back to buffer to remove those scratches.
It's a process.......