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- #21
Really? No local stores carry super glue? Because, that's all that CA is...LOL
5 Rare, Restored Straight Razors by Daflorc (Marshes & Shepherd)
- Thread starter daflorc
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Really? No local stores carry super glue? Because, that's all that CA is...LOL
Isn't it a certain type of super glue? I know of a few different brands that list ca in their ingredients, but most say nothing about it. I could be wrong, I just assumed they were made of different materials then.
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- #23
Nope, just plain old, generic or name brand or anything superglue 
Huh, well that makes things easier. Thanks lol this whole time I'm looking for something right in front of me.
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- #25
It can be hard getting complete info on these forums as people take for granted all the details when giving advice. This is how I do CA scales:
Materials - thin superglue, thick superglue (not gel)
1. Sand scales to 320 grit, clean all excess dust off.
2. Apply thin superglue evenly on scale, using a cut-off finger of a latex (or similar) glove
3. Allow to dry completely - if you start sanding when its not completely dry, you'll get a cloudy, goopy area that you'll have to sand out later.
4. Once dry, sand with 320 until all shiny spots are gone (and I do mean every little tiny speck of shiny spots)
5. Once sanded, apply thick superglue (you can use thin the entire time, but thick = 4 coats of thin, and you need at least 15 coats total for a nice finish)
6. Sand thick superglue once dry with 220 lightly, then finish with 320. the 220 gets the overly-thick dried areas while the 320 refines. You don't want to sand through all the layers of CA and 320 helps you not do that.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 three more times. Sand the last coat to 400 then 600 grit. Then buff with white or blue jewelers compound. I'm sure you can do this by hand with mothers polishing compound but it'll take a lot longer.
Nevermind, already covered.
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Outstanding post! C Would you post your method for epoxy as well? I cant get the shine back and need to sand a high spot down, how do I do this?
I had a Marshes & Shepard once, that thing took a ridiculously keen edge, but was smooth as Billy Dee Williams hocking Colt 45
Nice work on all of those!
10/8 blade???? You are a crazy man!!!!!!
Nice work on all of those!
10/8 blade???? You are a crazy man!!!!!!
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Awesome job on an awesome blade.
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- #30
Sure man. The key with both CA and epoxy resin is to put a thick enough coat on so that when you find you need to sand parts of the finish to get the wedge to fit or to sand out air bubbles, dust, or imperfections, that there is still finish left covering the wood when you start buffing. It's hard to overdo it with CA, but any more than 2 (sometimes 3) coats of epoxy resin and now your making your scales too thick. I've seen guys make all sorts of crazy and cool looking scales for their razors, but so many neglect the fact that a well weighted, well balanced set of scales is more of a pleasure to use and strop. I try to keep my scales about 1/8 to 3/16" thick, otherwise they get heavy and bulky. I taper the wedge and pivot ends too, so they look more streamlined. But back to epoxy resin scales:
1. Take a 1.5' x 1' x 3/4" board. Drill 1/4" holes about 3" apart so that a razor scale can sit on two 1/4" dowel rods sticking out of those holes. Make 3 or 4 rows so that you can do multiple scales, since you don't want to waste epoxy.
2. Use small balls of sticky tacky on top of the dowel rods to affix straight razor scales. Epoxy resin is self leveling, so all dowel rods should be exactly the same height in reference to gravity.
3. Have a tupperware bin of some sort handy to immediately cover your scales so they can dry. Dust is your enemy, and even in a completely unventilated room with no dust movement you will likely still get tiny dust specks on your scales that will really **** you off.
4. Mix the epoxy in EXACT quantities using mixing cups from micro mark.com I believe. Clear plastic. None of that paper cup-lined with wax junk that woodcraft sells. Mix it wrong, and it'll never set right, or take forever to set.
5. 10 minutes after you pour on the epoxy, use a pencil torch 6" away to pop any bubbles forming. Do this every 10 minutes or so if need be. I usually do it twice and come back the next day to a couple late-forming air bubbles
6. if you're mixing small amounts of epoxy to eliminate waste, paint it on with cheap paint brushes for the purpose, making sure to cover all sides of the scales. Then, once it's leveled, pour small amounts over the scales so that the reflection of the wet finish in the light is even and not wavy.
7. Design your scales so that the highest point is in the center of the wood, and the scales taper down on all edges. This will help the epoxy fall and level properly.
8. Once dry (the following day - late) remove the scales and sand the drips off on a belt sander so that the inside of the scales are flat, making sure to not take scale material off. I usually leave my scales a bit thicker when I make them, so that when I get to this stage I can sand them as thin as I want. I usually coat the inside of the scales in CA.
9. If you coat the insides of the scales with CA or anything, when you go to position the edge, you won't get a tight fit. So you need to sand flat the inside of the scales that contact the wedge.
10. Do your best to only sand the edges of the epoxy resin-coated scales. If you do that, after sanding up to 1,500 grit, you can use a buffer to bring some of that gloss back and it'll look like the whole thing still retains that super-high gloss from the finish. If you have to sand the faces of the scales, do what you need to do, but make sure you work back up to 1,500 grit sandpaper, then buff.
11. Final buffing should be the finest jewelers compound you can find - either blue or pink, and a loose sewn buffing wheel on a buffer. I'm unfamiliar with the hand-polishing methods.
12. I personally glue both scale to the wedge, using a very sophisticated "eyeball" method, that sometimes has to be repeated a couple times to get right. Gluing the first scale is easy - the second one takes talent, because it has to exactly match the first. Then I go back to the belt sander and sand the excess wedge so that it's perfectly flush with the scales. I usually sand into the finish a little here, which is why it helps to have a thick coat of epoxy. When the scales and wedge match, sand the area up to 1,500 grit then buff.
Thats a nice tutorial, thanks!
Also beautiful work!
Also beautiful work!
Awesome work on the restoration.
Very impressive.
Very impressive.
that last one is MASSIVE!
Thanks Daflorc, that was very helpful. The next question is the buffing out of the epoxy. I find that even slow speeds and keeping an eye on heat, I get some melting or burning. I can do CA buffing with no issues at all but like the thickness of epoxy so I would like to get this under control a bit better.
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- #35
What kind of wheel are you using to buff, and what kind of compound?
I buff with a loose sewn cotton buffing wheel. You need loose-sewn because it deflects pressure and gives you delicate contact with the scales. I also use blue jewelers compound, which, like pink, are the finest compounds you can polish with. Even white jewelers compound will not give you that high-gloss you are looking for. Also make sure you're sanding to at least 1,500 grit before you hit the buffers with epoxy coated scales. I use micro mesh. It is infinitely better than regular sandpaper for this job. I sometimes even go to 2,400 grit micro mesh, just so I can reduce the amount of buffing I do.
Also, I move the scales quickly along the epoxy-coated scales. If you let the buffing wheel sit in one area for more than a second, you risk melting or burning. You can go over the same area multiple times, just make sure each pass is 1/2 second or so.
Another thing to consider is the brand of epoxy resin you are using. They're not all the same. I've used a couple different ones - some takes weeks to set hard. Some you can push a fingernail into even after 3 days of curing time. The BEST kind of epoxy resin is by System 3. Woodcraft sells it and its probably also gotten on Ebay.
NOTE: even after using the best epoxy, with the best compound, the gloss you will get on the scales is not quite as glossy as the gloss right off the freshly cured epoxy. I've been experimenting with this, and find that fine plastic polish gives it that extra edge - use a cotton cloth to rub it in by hand. Some people also use hard-setting car wax as the final step, though I don't really like this method, as it wears off easy - it will give you that final gloss, though.
Absolutely stunning!
hot damn thems some pretty blades
Beautiful razors and thanks for the finishing tips, too!!!
Those are some sweet restores and some BIG blades!
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