How do I get an old straight shining again?

[burningdarkness]

Morning, B&B.

My first eBay special just came in the mail yesterday and I spend all of last night polishing with Maas. The blade looks a lot better than it did before, but it's still not gleaming like a mirror. Any recommendations on the most cost effective way of getting the blade to a mirror finish?

Thanks, all.

 

[Thebigspendur]

A picture would help.

In general it first depends what the finish is. if its matte or satin it will never be like a mirror no matter what you do. If its a mirror finish and has rust and or corrosion you would have to remove it which would mean either hand sanding with a variety of sandpapers and /or using a dremmel. If you've used metal polish the next step would be something like cape cod polishing cloths which have more abrasive in them but don't expect magic. This is just general advice. Without seeing the razor we're working blind here.

 

[burningdarkness]

Here we are... some pictures of the blade after I spent time cleaning it up. Unfortunately, I didn't take any before pictures, but if I did, there would be a marked difference.

Thanks for the help!

 

[gugi]

If you want the pitting out, you need sandpaper. Start with 100 grit, may be even less and only when the pitting is gone progress to the higher grits. On each grit make sure all the scratch marks from the previous grits are gone. Go up to 1500-2000 before you do maas. Will probably take you several hours.
The hone wear will remain - you need a regrind to fix that and I wouldn't do it on a full hollow anyways.

 

[burningdarkness]

Thank for the info! I'm not too worried about the hone wear, but do you suggest any particular progression of sandpaper grits?

 

[gugi]

Generally larger jumps between grits mean more time. I'd say 100-200-400-600-800-1500-2000
but it largely depends on what you find in the store. You may want to take a look at the restoration section of SRP - there are some good tips.

 

[burningdarkness]

Generally larger jumps between grits mean more time. I'd say 100-200-400-600-800-1500-2000
but it largely depends on what you find in the store. You may want to take a look at the restoration section of SRP - there are some good tips.

Thanks again. I'd like to note that the spots in the blade are completely smooth and aren't indentations. Would this still be pitting?

EDIT: Or maybe they're just extremely minor, thus making it difficult to tell?

 

[Seraphim]

Look up "hand sanding" over on SRP. It is an arduous task, but can bring a blade back from the grave.

USE A BACKING FOR THE SANDPAPER! If you use just sandpaper you risk cutting the ^%$#% out of your fingers.

Or so I've heard...

 

[gugi]

Yes that's pitting alright, and if you want mirror finish all the metal above the bottom of the pits must go. If you're curious try higher grits sandpaper for a bit and see the progress you're making with it. The best way to learn what works and what doesn't....

 

[burningdarkness]

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I've got a couple more questions. With regards to the hone wear, would it be classified as light or is this more serious than that?

Additionally, are there any tricks to shine up the scales? (black plastic)

I'll definitely check out SRP tonight.

 

[Seraphim]

High grit sandpaper and polish works wonders on plastic too!

 

[burningdarkness]

High grit sandpaper and polish works wonders on plastic too!

Plain old Maas polish?

 

[Thebigspendur]

I wouldn't consider the spine wear to be heavy at all. For the age of the razor I think its light. If I were you I would just clean it up as best as possible. That razor has a lot of pitting and hand sanding will be a big job. Unless you intend selling it of course, then you want it perfect but for your own use I'd just clean it. The pitting won't affect the shave quality and genco's are superior shavers.

 

[burningdarkness]

I wouldn't consider the spine wear to be heavy at all. For the age of the razor I think its light. If I were you I would just clean it up as best as possible. That razor has a lot of pitting and hand sanding will be a big job. Unless you intend selling it of course, then you want it perfect but for your own use I'd just clean it. The pitting won't affect the shave quality and genco's are superior shavers.

I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, so I want it gleaming.

Also, I recently came to realize that I like 6/8 blades. This razor has a really tiny blade, which I wasn't expecting. So it may go up for sale if I don't like the shaving experience from it.

Thank you Seraphim, gugi, and Thebigspendur. You guys have been extremely helpful.

 

[Seraphim]

I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, so I want it gleaming.

Also, I recently came to realize that I like 6/8 blades. This razor has a really tiny blade, which I wasn't expecting. So it may go up for sale if I don't like the shaving experience from it.

Thank you Seraphim, gugi, and Thebigspendur. You guys have been extremely helpful.

Try it a few times first!

I started out with two 7/8 blades. "What real men shave with"

Then settled on 6/8ths..."These are what I like!"

Now I really am digging 5/8ths as well.