Mirror finish? I'm not a fan.

[Sando]

I'm not a fan of mirror finishes -of making them that is. It's damn hard. You guys who do it regularly are good! I actually like a blade that has some character, maybe a blemish or some pitting here and there. As long as the edge is clean I can live with some flaws.

I spent a few hours today on a couple blades going from 400 to 600 to 1000 to 2000 only to find a few stray marks that had to be removed so back again to 400 and on up. But once you start going for a mirror it has to be all the way since even one scratch from the sandpaper sticks out badly. I finally remembered the trick to go left/right with one grit then up/down with the next. I think I read that somewheres and I can't explain it but it works like crazy. Give it a shot...

 

[Gamma]

I'm not into mirror finishes, esp on older blades. I have a couple, I think the patina from age is often more to my liking.

I tried to go full mirror once - just once. I used greasless then rouge. Never got it right.
The grind had waves and it drove me nuts.

I commend you for your dilegence - I know it's really tough to pull off.
Whenever I see it done, even if I'm not into it - I always tip my hat for the effort.

 

[KW Driver]

400 is a pretty high starting grit too. One of my GDs got scuffed by the dremel and I spent a very long time with 100 grit working out those scuffs and grind profiles. In fact, I haven't even started to go higher on it yet.

 

[The Mick]

For me it depends on the razor This Shumate i took as far as I could to mirror as a challenge to myself it was my second restoration. I would also say 400 is way to high to start for mirror. This razor I started at 80 grit and went up to 2000 then polished with the drimel and Mass. Yet I had to be careful as it is a hollow grind and was already thin. I just wish I had a better camera than my phone.

 

[Sando]

Yeah, 400 is pretty high. I soaked the blades in Marvel Oil for a couple hours first and then attacked the few areas of rust, which just fell off. It didn't seem necessary to go with low grit. The big hassle I had was the stray mark left behind by moving up in grit too soon. It really sticks out. I finally got them to an pretty good shine. left/right then up/down is key.

 

[silver]

To get a true mirror by hand sanding I've found you need to finish with high grit microfiber (up to about 10 000). Then that razor really shines.

 

[eaterofdog]

Sanding razors sucks and takes ages. I've learned to just pay the extra $20 and get one without much rust.

 

[The Mick]

Sanding razors sucks and takes ages. I've learned to just pay the extra $20 and get one without much rust.

I enjoy the process plus and can't ever find any in my area without much rust.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I seldom do full restores. Vintage blades in my collection usually just get honed, if the scales are all together. But I do a lot of mirror finishes on my GD conversions. Switching directions is really good because you can tell when you have eliminated the scratches of the previous grit. I finish with a diamond paste progression. 3u, 1u, .5u, .25u, .1u, with the Dremel usually. It works pretty well.

Here's some of mine in various stages of sanding and polishing.

 

[California Cajun]

I'm not a fan of mirror finishes -of making them that is. It's damn hard. You guys who do it regularly are good! I actually like a blade that has some character, maybe a blemish or some pitting here and there. As long as the edge is clean I can live with some flaws.

I spent a few hours today on a couple blades going from 400 to 600 to 1000 to 2000 only to find a few stray marks that had to be removed so back again to 400 and on up. But once you start going for a mirror it has to be all the way since even one scratch from the sandpaper sticks out badly. I finally remembered the trick to go left/right with one grit then up/down with the next. I think I read that somewheres and I can't explain it but it works like crazy. Give it a shot...

What I'm not into is gold washes and other engraving. If I had the choice, none of mine would have it. I want something easy to maintain. I'm fine with either a mirror or brushed finish.

 

[johnmrson]

To me it just depends on the razor.

 

[kahowell1]

I worked on this one over the weekend. It was my first restoration so be gentle. I took it up to 12,000 grit by hand. It has a couple of pits but I didn't want to remove any extra material. Besides, it's an old blade and needs a little bit of character.


View attachment 358845


Keith

 

[pmaster]

I don't see any pits in there! Very nice blade and very good sanding job!

I worked on this one over the weekend. It was my first restoration so be gentle. I took it up to 12,000 grit by hand. It has a couple of pits but I didn't want to remove any extra material. Besides, it's an old blade and needs a little bit of character.
View attachment 358844

View attachment 358845


Keith

 

[The Mick]

Great job!!!

 

[kahowell1]

Now I'm scared to sharpen it.

 

[The Mick]

It doesn't matter how pretty it is, if it isn't sharp it wont shave!

 

[kahowell1]

Exactly

 

[Slash McCoy]

Looks very nice, Keith!

 

[The Mick]

What are you scared about? Is it hone ware? or learning to hone? or something else?

 

[kahowell1]

Yeah, I know knives. I put convex edges on the knives I make. Razors are a new animal. I haven't used or owned a sharpening stone in years and hate to screw this blade up.