Ok so I found a old razor at an antique store on the blade it says "The Keen Edge razor" Its not perfect but Im happy with it. Anyway's its got some mean tarnish on the blade and i can't seem to get it off. Ive tryed silver polish and a brillow pad but to no avail. Any suggestions?
Polishing Straights
- Thread starter AustinC9
- Start date
Try Maas polish or Flitz. You can get Maas in the houseware soap section at Walmart, near the floor polish and stuff. A carefully wielded Dremel can be a help, too.
It may need a complete restore (i.e., sandpaper and various forms of TLC) depending on how bad it is and if there is any pitting. Post some pics!
-M
-M
Silver polish is worthless for steel and a brillo pad will scratch the steel. Try the metal polish previously mentioned and you can try cape cod polishing cloths. If that doesn't work you can either go the dremmel route or hand sand with ever increasing sand paper grits but depending on the condition of the blade you may have to spend many many hours hand sanding.
I have found that Turtle Wax's newest rubbing compound works very, very well with a dremel and a polishing pad. I have used it to take out the scratches from 600 grit sand paper and it left a mirror polish. Be forewarned: if you apply it too many times, it will polish the etching off.
Is this compound abrasive ? I cant imagine using just a compound to remove 600 grit scratches and still leaving a mirror polish . unless you are using this compound for hours with the dremel .
I have tried lots of polishes and have not yet found one that will do that much work for me . I guess I have one more thing to try . I really hope that it works as you say but I really doubt it could do it no matter how even you are with the sanding . I have found to go from 600 grit to mirror polish you need at least 4 more steps just my millage of course YYMV and all that jazz
if you do go the dremel route be very careful near the edge, I have seen a few straights ruined by people who caught the edge while polishing with a dremel
It is for getting heavy to medium scratches out of cars and seems to break down as you polish. Normally it takes three rounds or so, but I'll be dammned if it does not work very well. So well in fact that I no longer use jeweler's rouge and MAAS.
The first time I used it was out of frustration with a restored razor that I just could not get a good finish. Multiple times, I had worked from 600 up to 2000grit sand paper and finished with rouge then Maas. I had just finished another round with the 600 when I gave it a try instead of moving onto the 800.
The blade in question is pictured below (same blade, different scales). You can see where I did not sand out the pitting yet very little scratching. On an old, heavy wedge, I used it to remove all but the deepest hone marks from the spine. That is the result of going straight from 600 sand paper to a dremel and the rubbing compound. If you are interested, I can take more pictures of the blades I have used it on.
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It is for getting heavy to medium scratches out of cars and seems to break down as you polish. Normally it takes three rounds or so, but I'll be dammned if it does not work very well. So well in fact that I no longer use jeweler's rouge and MAAS.
The first time I used it was out of frustration with a restored razor that I just could not get a good finish. Multiple times, I had worked from 600 up to 2000grit sand paper and finished with rouge then Maas. I had just finished another round with the 600 when I gave it a try instead of moving onto the 800.
The blade in question is pictured below (same blade, different scales). You can see where I did not sand out the pitting yet very little scratching. On an old, heavy wedge, I used it to remove all but the deepest hone marks from the spine. That is the result of going straight from 600 sand paper to a dremel and the rubbing compound. If you are interested, I can take more pictures of the blades I have used it on.
Looks good Henry . if you dont mind taking some pics that would be great.
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I will take some shots of a couple of the others I have cleaned up with this stuff. But since it won't really show how well it works, why don't I make a proper test of it. I have a few blades on the way. Among them, one has some scratches but not enough, I think, to merit sanding and another which will likely take a good bit of sanding. So I will do this: before and after shots of each. With the one that isn't going to get sanded, I will take a before pic and one after each round of polishing until I am done. For the one that is going to require sanding, I will start with 400 then go to 600 and finally finish with the rubbing compound. I will document this razor at each step of the restoration. Hopefully this will give you guys a good measure of how well this stuff works.
Turtle wax rubbing and polishing compounds have rouge in them and yes they do work wonders on razors....
At least thats what I have found, you can also clean up scales with some of the plastic polishes for headlamp covers....The automotive section is a great place for restoring razors....
At least thats what I have found, you can also clean up scales with some of the plastic polishes for headlamp covers....The automotive section is a great place for restoring razors....
Henry
I forgot to ask what is the product called I am very interested in doing my own testing of it
I forgot to ask what is the product called I am very interested in doing my own testing of it
Since I am not sure if I should post a link to the product at Amazon, I will send you a pm and some notes on what I have found works for me.
I tried this with the little felt wheel on my dremel and I am impressed. This stuff will get you to a mirror finish in no time. Are these tricks of the trade to be mentioned... 
As promised, I did a little experiment. Below you have before and after pictures of Germania Cutlery blade. All I did was clean it with some Windex and then polish with the rubbing compound and Dremel. Perhaps thirty minutes of work and I am very pleased with how well this $11.00 Ebay special turned out. This one even has the little "belly" just above the edge. And I was beginning to think blades ground like that were a myth. Once I clean up the scales, I will post the completed razor.
As a cautionary aside, I was also working on a nice, hefty Wade and Butcher. I had sanded all traces of pitting, working from 200 grit up to 600. During the first pass with the Dremel, my attention wavered and the polishing pad caught the edge. Before I could react, a 1/4" x 1" chunk of the blade had bounced off my goggles. Needless to say, had I not been wearing them....So for anyone who is new to this: at a minimum, wear eye protection and heavy leather gloves!
Before:
After
As a cautionary aside, I was also working on a nice, hefty Wade and Butcher. I had sanded all traces of pitting, working from 200 grit up to 600. During the first pass with the Dremel, my attention wavered and the polishing pad caught the edge. Before I could react, a 1/4" x 1" chunk of the blade had bounced off my goggles. Needless to say, had I not been wearing them....So for anyone who is new to this: at a minimum, wear eye protection and heavy leather gloves!
Before:
After
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As promised, I did a little experiment. Below you have before and after pictures of Germania Cutlery blade. All I did was clean it with some Windex and then polish with the rubbing compound and Dremel. Perhaps thirty minutes of work and I am very pleased with how well this $11.00 Ebay special turned out. This one even has the little "belly" just above the edge. And I was beginning to think blades ground like that were a myth. Once I clean up the scales, I will post the completed razor.
As a cautionary aside, I was also working on a nice, hefty Wade and Butcher. I had sanded all traces of pitting, working from 200 grit up to 600. During the first pass with the Dremel, my attention wavered and the polishing pad caught the edge. Before I could react, a 1/4" x 1" chunk of the blade had bounced off my goggles. Needless to say, had I not been wearing them....So for anyone who is new to this: at a minimum, wear eye protection and heavy leather gloves!
Before:
After
first the pictures .
The razor looks good I have to try this stuff out I have picked it up and all I need now is the time to work on it .
as for the dremel catching the edge . try going the opposite way and that will not happen . It happened to me on a W&B once to I learned my lesson real fast always watch your rotation
Nick
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What is the exact type of Turtle Wax rubbing compound you used? The green tub, the heavy duty in the red tub or the premium medium cut compound?
Éric
Éric
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