Sorry if there was a misunderstanding. I have purchased no blades. I did some random searching for blades and their costs, and did some checking on the blade angles. I still firmly believe that the only true benefit between two 'bevel' and three 'bevel' blades is marketing.
not sure what are you talking about, what is 2 bevel and what is 3 bevel blades? Never heard of such Gem blades..... at least not the ones that we use for shaving
Years ago I posted a pic of a 1950s Super Speed that had a handle that looked like it had been carefully coated with years of hardened brown-black wax. Corrosion, mineral scale, soap scum I can handle. This was just gross (was probably also mostly just unrinsed soap residue used by a guy who always shaved with dirty hands). At that point of the hobby, I didn't even want to try to clean it up so I promptly PIF'd it to a member here, can't recall who. He cleaned it up just fine. Lesson learned. Now I consider them fun challenges.
"So, I'll be using a couple of tongue depressors glued together, boring a hole in the end, and inserting natural fibers into the hole until I have a double sided 'natural' toothbrush. Then I'll experiment with it, and post up an instructable." Bookworm Have you done this yet?
I just looked up the cleaner to see about getting some and found VPW SC 1000 was around 25 gallon from Amazon. How much do you need to clean dirty razor... like what you see on eBay? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IMMXFQO/?tag=thshde-20
Partially. I haven't build a full brush, but used the bristles. They do appear to be more effective than nylon. They don't clean off as well, so if you use a polish, I'd mark the brush so that you don't try to use something else. (much like buffing wheels) About 1/4 ounce in a quart of water. It is _very_ concentrated. A gallon could last you years. I have a quart that's 10 years old and not empty. It's something that would be useful if sold by the pint or dram by the shaveden store It appears that Orison's VPW SC-1000 is simply a remarketed/rebadged version of Gemtek's SC-1000. So it should be safe. Here's Gemtek's MSDS - http://www.cleanersolutions.org/downloads/msds/88/SC1000 MSDS.pdf Orison - http://hazard.com/msds/files/ckw/ckwch.html They have the same numbers. One caution. If you spill it, rinse _thorougly_. It's more slippery than a greased politician.
Great I have a small one for jewelry that I got at Goodwill. I have been using Miracle soap with it That seems to work ok. I will have to say though I haven't thrown anything like you have at it. Pictures would be nice so I might be able to duplicate it. Thanks
Bookworm I agree with you about being able to buy it in smaller amounts. I'll be dead and gone long before it gets any where near empty. I could use the cleaner on other stuff if I had a bigger ultrasonic cleaner. I have bought some buffing wheels to use on my dremel. Unfortunately they are wool. I just read that you are suppose to use lien wheels. I don't know why but that is what it says on a site I found on cleaning razors.
I should add that my cleaner is very small. It's probably the smallest one out there. I bought a water heater that keeps water as hot as 198% Fahrenheit for making tea and coffee with. Turns out it works great for my ultrasonic cleaner. I dump in Mr. Clean and add in a Little Squirt or two of liquid dish soap. I actually use something called Miracle II Soap. That stuff works great. Here is my little machine working on an old razor that belonged to my dad. I just found it tonight.
I posted up a thread in General, which may be in Safety Razors now (although it's a general) about using an ultrasonic cleaner, plus how I clean my stuff. I had a small one that worked fine, it just took longer. I have a larger one now with a built in heater, which does seem to work better. The difference between wool and linen is simply that wool is closer packed, so it'll generate more heat and abrasion. If you're doing light touches, I doubt there's a lot of difference. That said, check in the musical instrument forums. Most brass instruments are brass, often plated brass, and those guys know their stuff. Most of the folks here, including me, use Dawn Ultra (blue). They have a 3x and a 2x, I believe. I don't think there's a lot of difference between them for this use. I mix the dawn and the sc-1000 for really bad filth. I just dropped a 1956 (B-2) Red-Tip into one, just for fun. I'm leaving half the handle out of the water, so that only the bottom half and the head get cleaned. The old dried up soap just boiled right off. Tomorrow, I'll take a couple of close ups of the handle, just to see the difference.
That sounds good. Can't wait to see how it turns out. The new Gem I am getting doesn't look real bad.