Assorted Straight Razor Restorations

Discussion in 'Razor Restoration' started by HolyRollah, Mar 24, 2014.

  1. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    "Sanding block"? Is this something you made just for polishing blades? Can these be purchased? (I'm not a tool guy.)
     
  2. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    The block was an idea I borrowed from Bruce (@Stroker) See here— who explained to me the benefits of having a sturdy, secure base when sanding or polishing blades.
    It's nothing more than a plank of wood with a raised lip on one side. I simply added a row of counter-sunk rare-earth magnets and a thick foam pad under the base (for comfort).
    [​IMG]
     
  3. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    Do you put anything between the magnets and the blade to keep it from getting scratched?
     
  4. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    What size magnets are those? I'm guessing 1/4 in. diameter, but what about depth?
     
  5. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    The magnets sit flush with the wood surface so there is little risk of scratching the blade. They are 1/2" diameter by 1/8" deep.
     
  6. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    Thanks.
     
  7. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Your welcome. Amazon has them, by the way.
    Magnets
     
  8. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    So does the local Michael's. I'm already looking. ;)
     
  9. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    @HolyRollah - Can you use this when the scales are still attached?
     
  10. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Yep. This is especially handy when sanding a blade and when one wishes to keep the scales intact. This razor will be getting a new set so the scales pictured are merely for demonstration.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2014
  11. rmcintyre84

    rmcintyre84 Got out of the kitchen

    Ok. Thanks. I'm trying to nail down the physics of this. With a razor in this position, would you sand from below the scales, or from over the raised edge? Either way looks uncomfortable to me.
     
  12. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    I prefer to sand with the spine close to the raised edge of the block (similar to what is pictured). Because I don't wish to rest the blade on its delicate edge, I apply downward pressure on the tang to keep the edge lifted off the block. With the scales on, this is more easily accomplished by rotating the scales so they are perpendicular to the blade. The downside to this is you are applying more pressure on the pin joint and risk breakage at the pivot. The challenge is to sand aggressively enough to remove material, but not so hard as to ruin or break the edge of the blade.
    The magnets are quite strong, so a thumb on the tang will keep the blade edge off the block. DO BE WARY of the blade edge! Even a 'dull 'edge can slice.
     
  13. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    This Beau Brummel#44 is starting to take shape…Still some more minor clean up on all the tight spaces on the bolsters, but the blade is looking clean.
    I have to limit how much sanding or polishing I do right now as my CTS flares up regularly.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    lindyhopper66 likes this.
  14. Darkbulb

    Darkbulb Cookie Hoarder

    Love seeing how this progresses....
     
  15. Dapper-in-a-can-man

    Dapper-in-a-can-man and Dad-on-hand

    That's beautiful Rollah!
     
  16. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Got this odd little 4/8 razor with some unique scalloping. It is cleaning up pretty well. Should be a an interesting little guy when finished…
    [​IMG]

    I've a couple of other razors I've finished 'rescuing' and I hope to photograph them sometime tomorrow.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2014
    vwp528 likes this.
  17. Dapper-in-a-can-man

    Dapper-in-a-can-man and Dad-on-hand

    :eek::eek::eek::eek:
    I want one
     
  18. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Busy day today, but I managed to take a few 'studio' shots of a couple of recent razors that are turning out pretty well.
    The first is a Frederick Reynolds 4/8 'Whisker Razor' Sheffield—one of the group I snagged from several antique stores back in my March birthday bonanza.
    It was pretty grungy, and the one side of the scales near the pivot pin was pretty rough in both look and feel. The blade is cleaning up pretty feel, and I hand-sanded the rough scales (200 up to 1500 grit) until they were super-smooth. The appearance of the scale material, although quite smooth to the touch, wound up looking rather 'unique.' I've some more clean up to do on this razor, and it hasn't yet been honed (see minor ding in edge).

    'Veined' appearance on pivot end of scales:
    [​IMG]

    Close up of pivot and tang. Obvious more cleaning & polishing to do on this tang...
    [​IMG]

    Blade stamp:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    vwp528 and Adonis like this.
  19. Darkbulb

    Darkbulb Cookie Hoarder

    Fantabulous
     
  20. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    On to the Scales
    I have a number of razors in need of new scales, so I decided to take the plunge and make some new scales.
    These first few sets will be made of wood (I have blanks of cocobolo, zebrawood, black walnut, yellow heart, purple heart, plus some horn).
    Since I have extra sets of purple heart wood—a wood I have seen used to great effect by luthiers—I decided to start with the purple stuff.
    [​IMG]
    For a template, I used the old, broken scales off a Joseph Elliot and a Wostenholm IXL. The original blanks were 2x6x.25"—so I halved the width on the bandsaw so the final thickness of each piece was approximately .125."
    These will be eventually thinned on the belt sander. The two sections were covered with masking tape on both sides, and held together with dbl. sided tape (thanks for the tip, @Jamie Mahoney !). The original scales were traced onto one side and then each scale was trimmed down outside the lines with a bandsaw. I initially used a scroll saw, but I found the band saw to be easier…go figure! Once the scale shapes were cut out, I then drilled the pin holes with a 5/64 bit.

    This is what the results looked like:
    Two purple heart scales, rough-cut….
    [​IMG]
    Tape sandwich: you can see the material is still on the thick side. These will go next to the belt sander @80grit to begin first the smoothing of the sides before thinning there thickness.
    [​IMG]

    Just for giggles, since I recently got a package for Microfasteners of various pins, nuts and washers, i installed one of the threaded brass pins with washers & nut. The little tool they sell to fasten these is a must. My plan is to eventually pin this traditionally, but for set-up, I can see how these little fasteners will come in handy.
    [​IMG]
     

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