First Attempt to restore a straight

[Luc]

Now, I didn't take proper pictures of the straight before but I have a few of the straight from Bit2 before he sent it to me. It's a 11/16 - Frederick Reynolds - Sheffield.

So far, nothing serious, around 2 hours work with a 600 sandpaper... I would need something a bit more aggressive for some bits and pieces (400 probably) and I want a 1000 or 1200 to finish the blade.

It's already pretty good. I didn't think it would be like that.

Why 600? My local hardware store s....k and only had that in stock or 100... So I went for the smootest one...

I'm not done, there are still some imperfections on the blade that I want to get rid of. That's why I need a 400. Tiny bits here and there.

This is fun!

 

[Bit2]

Drastic improvement so far.
Probably get a nice shine with that higher grit paper.

Good work,

John

 

[professorchaos]

Looks good so far! My I offer one wee bit of advice? Sand from spine to edge. Whatever scratches aren't removed will look like grind marks. Scratches running from heel to toe tend to stand out.

 

[Luc]

Cheers John!

Thanks Henry, point taken, I was sanding from tip to toe... I noticed that it was scratching a bit more. Circles weren't that good. I will try it.

I will get different grits this week!

 

[Muirtach]

Looks good so far! My I offer one wee bit of advice? Sand from spine to edge. Whatever scratches aren't removed will look like grind marks. Scratches running from heel to toe tend to stand out.

That is a great tip I have never noticed before and one that I just happened to discover on my own this last week.

 

[leighton]

Looks good so far! My I offer one wee bit of advice? Sand from spine to edge. Whatever scratches aren't removed will look like grind marks. Scratches running from heel to toe tend to stand out.

Yup.

However, its a lot easier to do that with power tools. Not saying you should go out and buy one...

Kidding. What you want to help you sand spine to edge by hand is a magnetic jig to hold the blade in place. Instructions for building one can be found at Bill's blog. Do not have the url off hand. You'll have to dig it up.

 

[persco]

http://razortips.blogspot.com/2009/02/making-blade-safety-jig.html

s.

 

[Luc]

Thanks all the tips. I got more sandpaper yesterday. 280-400-1200 (I already have 600).

To be continued this week-end...

 

[Cedrck]

Looking good so far, when the time comes to hone, you may have to pay special attention to the toe end of the edge.

 

[chainfire]

Kidding. What you want to help you sand spine to edge by hand is a magnetic jig to hold the blade in place. Instructions for building one can be found at Bill's blog. Do not have the url off hand. You'll have to dig it up.

Ray-Man sells this gigs cheap (it seems to me anyway) here on B&B or over at SRP.

 

[Luc]

Sanding is going well. I tried to do up and down as suggested by Henry, I think I will go that at the end. For some reasons, going from left-right on the blade seems to be more effective.

I used some 220/600/1200 on the blade. I still have some scratches but they need a close look to be seen. I will work on that. I think that I should get a 800 grit paper.

I still have some stains here and there, hopefully, session #3 should do the trick!

 

[mdunn]

its coming along nicely

remember to get rid of all the scratches you want to get rid of before moving to a higher grit

 

[Cedrck]

Those pits at the spine may be left alone, they won’t affect honing or shaving… unless you prefer an absolutely clean blade but it’s looking good so far.

 

[Luc]

Thanks Gents. I still need to work it with the 220 for a bit. I'll try to get rid of the pitting on the blade. The black spot in the middle (pic #4) was worked on for at least 60 minutes yesterday... It was 3 time that size, I think I can still reduce it.

I broke the scales on my Wade & Butcher as I did some sanding a bit on that one. It's allowing me to do the full blade. Pitting on that one too, I can post some pictures later.

It's coming together nicely!

 

[Luc]

I will have some more work right after this one...

Got this from ebay yesterday!

 

[Luc]

I just finished sanding the Frederick Reynold, I will be sending it for honing tomorrow.

While I was at it, I started the William Webster (above) and will post all the pictures tomorrow. I had to stop, I ran out of sandpaper.

I also need to get some epoxy. I broke the scales to sand the blade. I tried to remove the pins but I don't have the right tools to do so. Long story short, the scales broke and I will reglue them as they feel pretty tough. I will play with those scales a bit and fill the holes as I'm sure I can use those for a while!

 

[Luc]

I finished buffing the razor yesterday. I don't think I will be able to get rid of everything by hand, I would need some power tools but here's the result. I will package it in a few minutes to have it honed.

 

[Luc]

A few pictures of the William Webster. It was going well until I ran out of sandpaper. I'll get some more today and epoxy to fix the scales as I broke them. There's holes in the scales, like termites ate some of the scales... I will fill those, re-sand and I should be able to re-assemble the razor and have it honed!

 

[Luc]

Part 2 of 3

 

[Luc]

Part 3 of 3