my first blade restore attempt

[lloydw]

Hi all - I thought I would share my recent attempt at restoring a razor.
I am not too experienced with intricate work with my hands, and patience is not my strong suit, but the many threads and discussions here on B+B helped immensely.
I chose a razor type i enjoy - a japanese YSS - not in the worst shape, but bad enough to get me going, test my skills and learn. Although I could improve quite a ways still - I am really happy and had a very staisfying shave yesterday.

I started with removing the scales by grinding the pins with a needle file - the start of my awakening in how patience in this process is key. I only removed the blade pin - leaving the wedge intact
Steel wool and wd40 after removing the scales removed flaky bits and helped me see what I was working with.

I followed advice and had a small wooden jig with magnets - holding the blade flat. other equipment was a couple wine corks (for some reason there are plenty in my house) and a smaller piece of hard rubber hose.
I then started with W+D paper - initially starting with 320, which i quickly learnt was too fine. I didnt have any lower grits at hand intially. I returned to the start with 150, this was where I spent hours and hours over a couple days.
I followed 150 - 220- 320- 400- 600- 800- 1200. This is the finest paper i can get easily. I tried to alternate directions and found mself holding the blade and using fingers more than the flat jig and corks.
With the progression done - I used Fitz polish by hand on both the blade and a gentle approach to the scales.

A few spots are not perfectly clear but overall I like how it turned out. I dont see any benefit at this point in going higher, i could probab;y spend more time at lower grits, possibly returning to the start after 400 - where i see what is left behind.

I used one of those Ralf Aust pinning kits from maggards as that is what i had at hand. I just got some pinning materials from a friend but the size doesnt match the original wedge side pin. So I used the kit which has one fixed side as a nail and smaller collar. This is my first pinning too - it took some time and patience. The blade is not perfectly centred so I will have to redo in time.

With tape to protect my new finish, I honed on shapton glass - 500, 2k, 4k, 8k. then tomo slurry, water only on jnat - then wd40 on surgical black. Stropped on a restored Kikuboshi strop, linen then leather. The shave was sublime and so satisfying.

I would appreciate feedback on the pinning - or anything else anyone sees.
I think using the ralf aust kit limits my ability to tighten by hammering each side and alternating. I need to try with a rod and 2 sides of collars. I am assuming that I get to centre by hitting the relevant sides, alternating until I get the position and tghtness I want. Is this correct?
I am waiting for some pinning materials - plan on just practicing a few sets to get it right.

Next I plan to try make my own scales. I have some nice micarta but Im looking for something to practice on first.

Thanks for reading - any tips and comments welcome.

 

[Legion]

Looks good, you can be happy with that.

Yeah, next step, make your own scales and pins from scratch. You are well on the way. I've never used those pinning kits, so I don't know how they might effect alignment. Normally issues come from the scale holes being slightly misaligned.

 

[cotedupy]

Great work. To really properly get rust marks out and make something look brand new like that takes a hefty dose of patience and discipline.

Certainly paid off though eh, that's a beaut!

 

[lloydw]

Thanks - really satisfying exercise and I now have a new mindset about a whole bunch of my razors.

 

[Sando]

Very nicely done. Always a pleasure to shave with a self-restored razor. Looks like you have plenty of patience as the sanding turned out particularly well. That’s not always easy ime.

“I need to try with a rod and 2 sides of collars. I am assuming that I get to centre by hitting the relevant sides, alternating until I get the position and tghtness I want. Is this correct?”
Yes alternating is necessary for rounding the pin head which will lead to tightening the collars against the scales. As mentioned centering can be related to how the hole was punched. But that can be tweaked a bit by how much you tighten one side vs the other.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

If the wedge is not glued, you may have some movement that you can adjust the pins to center the blade.

When repining you can also make the pin holes a bit larger than the pin and taper the pin hole slightly with a diamond burr, (not expensive) to give the pin room to expand and move, for blade centering.

Pinning with escutcheon pins does limit your ability to move the pin and aesthetically. Pinning with rod and collars is not that difficult and give you many more aesthetic options and blade centering ability.

Try tapping the pin in the direction you want the blade tip to move. For example, if when looking at the razor from the tail closest to your face, and the toe tip needs to move to the left, tap the back, tail side of the right pivot pin, to push the tip to the left.

A lot depends on the ability to move both pins, some times you can move the blade only by moving the pivot pin, so experiment.

If the wedge is not glued, you can also get a bit more movement by tapping the wedge pin on the tail side. It does not take a lot of pin movement to move the tip. Once centered tighten the pins slightly.

Practice pinning 3 wood tongue depressors. After a couple you will get the hang of it. Polish a 2, 4, or 6-ounce ball peen hammer. I like to dome, and mirror polish the flat face and use that side for pinning. The polished ball is used to spot shape and smooth the pin dome. You can peen a pin head perfectly smooth and symmetrical with a bit of practice, or just polish them smooth and round with metal polish and rough cloth or a buffer.

Mostly I use a 4 oz hammer. Practice using a glancing blow on the corners of the pin, move the hammer around the pin with light blows, or you will bend the pin.

I find it easier to file with a 6-inch file, than a needle file, if you want extra protection for the scales, drill a hole the size of the pin through a piece of aluminum can or a water bottle and tape securely with a few wraps of tape, tape over the pin, the file will cut through the tape and protect the scales.

Most Hobby shops and good hardware stores, Ace in the US, stock 1/16 brass pin stock. I buy in bulk from Texas Knife Supply.

Nice work on the blade, and nice razor. I like the faux Ivory scales.

 

[JaggardJ]

Very nice! It looks light years better now.

 

[lloydw]

If the wedge is not glued, you may have some movement that you can adjust the pins to center the blade.

When repining you can also make the pin holes a bit larger than the pin and taper the pin hole slightly with a diamond burr, (not expensive) to give the pin room to expand and move, for blade centering.

Pinning with escutcheon pins does limit your ability to move the pin and aesthetically. Pinning with rod and collars is not that difficult and give you many more aesthetic options and blade centering ability.

Try tapping the pin in the direction you want the blade tip to move. For example, if when looking at the razor from the tail closest to your face, and the toe tip needs to move to the left, tap the back, tail side of the right pivot pin, to push the tip to the left.

A lot depends on the ability to move both pins, some times you can move the blade only by moving the pivot pin, so experiment.

If the wedge is not glued, you can also get a bit more movement by tapping the wedge pin on the tail side. It does not take a lot of pin movement to move the tip. Once centered tighten the pins slightly.

Practice pinning 3 wood tongue depressors. After a couple you will get the hang of it. Polish a 2, 4, or 6-ounce ball peen hammer. I like to dome, and mirror polish the flat face and use that side for pinning. The polished ball is used to spot shape and smooth the pin dome. You can peen a pin head perfectly smooth and symmetrical with a bit of practice, or just polish them smooth and round with metal polish and rough cloth or a buffer.

Mostly I use a 4 oz hammer. Practice using a glancing blow on the corners of the pin, move the hammer around the pin with light blows, or you will bend the pin.

I find it easier to file with a 6-inch file, than a needle file, if you want extra protection for the scales, drill a hole the size of the pin through a piece of aluminum can or a water bottle and tape securely with a few wraps of tape, tape over the pin, the file will cut through the tape and protect the scales.

Most Hobby shops and good hardware stores, Ace in the US, stock 1/16 brass pin stock. I buy in bulk from Texas Knife Supply.

Nice work on the blade, and nice razor. I like the faux Ivory scales.

Thanks for the tips. i have seen the polished hammers, will definitely give that a go.
I am planning on practicing pinning with another blade and perhaps some cheap mdf while I source materials. I am relatively remote in South Africa but I’ll get what I need if I am patient.

I now have a few blades I see getting the full treatment over the next few months.

 

[lloydw]

Very nicely done. Always a pleasure to shave with a self-restored razor. Looks like you have plenty of patience as the sanding turned out particularly well. That’s not always easy ime.

“I need to try with a rod and 2 sides of collars. I am assuming that I get to centre by hitting the relevant sides, alternating until I get the position and tghtness I want. Is this correct?”
Yes alternating is necessary for rounding the pin head which will lead to tightening the collars against the scales. As mentioned centering can be related to how the hole was punched. But that can be tweaked a bit by how much you tighten one side vs the other.

Thank you - that makes sense and I just need a few practice runs

 

[Frank Shaves]

Nice job! The blade looks great. I would not sweat the fact that the two pins are not identical matches. As you develop your skills, you can always go back.

Can you send a photo of the wood jig with magnets?

I ask because I use a wooden block but have trouble keeping the blade in place.

 

[lloydw]

very simple - used four very small magnets - that I found easily. I’m not sure if one bigger rectangular magnet would be better but this is definitely strong enough

 

[Frank Shaves]

Nice! Thanks for posting.

I have trouble when the edge of the blade is touching the wood. I may try a thin strip of the magnetic plastic material you can cut with scissors/knife - to raise the edge off the wood.

 

[lloydw]

I actually found that I mostly held the blade and used my fingers to get to the edge - also the direction perpendicular to the edge. The jig came in handy at coarser grits initially and when my fingers needed a break. I really had to spend time resetting the bevel edges as i gave up trying to protect it all the time. Maybe the magnets or jig could lift the edge slightly, fixing the blade in position but allowing access to the edge - you’d have to be careful from a safety point of view

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Great stuff. That's an inspiration. I'm now collecting the materials to make some scales, but I think this year might see me try my first "rescue" operation.

 

[StellaNova]

Thanks for the tips. i have seen the polished hammers, will definitely give that a go.
I am planning on practicing pinning with another blade and perhaps some cheap mdf while I source materials. I am relatively remote in South Africa but I’ll get what I need if I am patient.

I now have a few blades I see getting the full treatment over the next few months.

There are a few local web sites that sell knife making and jewelers supplies. Between them they have things like tools, pinning materials and scale materials. If I remember correctly, there is even a local knife makers guild.

Just do a site seach on "knife making", and you will be sure to find something.
I have never bought anything from any of them, but I know somebody who has bought from the Jewelers suppliers. For what it's worth.

I also found 1.5mm diameter K&S brass rods to use as pinning rods at the big art shop in Fourways. I am sure there are other hobby shops that sell similar things.
There is also the option of looking for 1.5mm diameter brass brazing rods.

If you need something to practise with as H Brad suggests, you can eat lots of ice creams on wooden sticks and then pin the sticks together. Or you can buy tongue depressers at large chemist chain stores.

Nice work so far, keep it up.
I will keep an eye out for your exotic material custom scales some time in the near future.

 

[lloydw]

Thank you! I did buy some micarta from a knife supplier locally but find the blanks too short - unless I buy bigger blocks which I don’t have the tools to cut into 3mm pieces accurately. I’ve since managed to get some acrylic sheets which im finding easier to cut and shape (and cheaper) than the micarta. I’ve done a few blades and now have lots of acrylic to get through

I’m not in jhb unfortunately but should be there in about a month or so and I’ll look up options

 

[wabisabi blades]

Nice work, it looks so much better now! If I were to say anything I think it looks like there is quite a bit of lower grit scratches left behind. Going back to 400 sounds like the right thing to do if you want to get it perfect. I go up to 800 then use rouge on a Dremel. It is really quite fast at getting the 800 scratches out then onto metal polish to get a mirror finish.

 

[lloydw]

That looks incredible - I have sanded a few now and do run out of patience a little. I th8nk 8 should g3 doing hours at 400. Maybe try one for hours and see how clear I could get it

Nice work, it looks so much better now! If I were to say anything I think it looks like there is quite a bit of lower grit scratches left behind. Going back to 400 sounds like the right thing to do if you want to get it perfect. I go up to 800 then use rouge on a Dremel. It is really quite fast at getting the 800 scratches out then onto metal polish to get a mirror fi

 

[gte343v]

You have inspired me to pick up my restoration project - back to sanding!

 

[Smokingnshaving]

Absolutely beautiful work, can say my first restoration did not even come close to this level.

Like anything practice makes perfect, for the longest time I had trouble peening and reattaching scales and it took half a dozen broken scales, lots of cursing and pulling stuff back apart before it finally clicked. I use 1/16 solid brass rod and brass micro washers in I believe #00 from microfastener for most of my repinning work.