Question about vintage straight razors

[Slash McCoy]

I get sanding parallel to the edge, with the sandpaper wrapped around a wine cork. I've been using dowel lengths, but I want to try cork.

Having trouble forming a mental picture of how best to manage sanding perpendicular to the edge, though. How do you do it? It seems like a great idea, since you'd be able to tell when you had properly addressed the scratches from the prior grit, but all I can picture is awkward motions that would destroy the edge and the honing guide, or constantly dislodge any tape I might have put in place to protect them.

I use rubber hose. It is more conforming and you can get a lot of different diameters and degrees of firmness. 99.9% of the time, my sanding action is parallel to the edge. When I want some perpendicular scratches, and actually I use closer to a 45° angle, I use a wrapped piece of hose kept parallel but moved back and forth obliquely. A sanding block made from a piece of flat rubber mat can be used but I like the hose. When the blade is laid down flat on a plate, with most grinds the sanding will not leave scratches all the way out to the edge because the angle that you attack the blade with is much shallower than a normal honing angle, because you are sort of bypassing the limit imposed by the spine's thickness.

You are right, sanding across the blade can be awkward, but sometimes it is a handy technique, and you will find your own method.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I get sanding parallel to the edge, with the sandpaper wrapped around a wine cork. I've been using dowel lengths, but I want to try cork.

Having trouble forming a mental picture of how best to manage sanding perpendicular to the edge, though. How do you do it? It seems like a great idea, since you'd be able to tell when you had properly addressed the scratches from the prior grit, but all I can picture is awkward motions that would destroy the edge and the honing guide, or constantly dislodge any tape I might have put in place to protect them.

Holding the razor takes practice. Get a box of Band-Aid brand bandages. Eventually you figure it out through trial and error.

Just wrap a small piece of sandpaper around the cork and rub. I use this technique to sand in both directions.

I also like to use a really small piece of sandpaper to get all the way down to the edge.

And all the way up to spine.

You can also use the top edge of the cork to get into the nooks and crannies. Because I had torn the sandpaper in half before taking this photo, the sandpaper is missing, but you can use your imagination.

I previously posted a few other techniques here:

What's on your work bench right now?

Blue acrylic scales are ready to be fitted.

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Get a couple (9X11 in) sheets of 6mm craft foam, use one as a work surface, covered with a paper towel, to make a disposable surface for cleaning. Cut the other sheet into 3x3 inch pieces. Place two 3x3 pieces on the sheet with about ¾ inch space between them, place the blade on one, the tail on the other, scales between the two squares. When you press on the blade, it will bury itself in the foam, cannot cut yourself and the blade is well supported.

Wrap a synthetic wine cork with another piece of 3x3 foam and wet and dry sandpaper. The foam will conform to the shape of the blade hollow and also make the sandpaper and cork easier to hold. A synthetic cork is flat on the ends and allow you to get into tight spaces, like where the blade meets the stabilizer.

If you cut your sandpaper into 3-inch squares, you have 8 sanding surfaces and you can use every inch of your paper. The foam will allow you to sand down to the edge without danger of cutting yourself and is easier on the fingers for long term sanding.

The OP’s razors would easily clean up with 000 or 0000 steel wool and WD40, and polish with any good metal polish and paper towel.

If you are hand sanding you must sand in 2 directions to get a flat surface, it is also faster and your sandpaper last longer.

600 grit will clean and refresh a razor nicely, 1k will polish and you can finish polish with any good metal polish or a buffer.

 

[lloydw]

Great tips here - thanks all. I have just done a razor for the first time - need improvement and these tips will help going forward

 

[alpster]

Easiest and SAFEST way to sand and polish a razor by hand is with a sanding jig. I made this one out of scraps around my shop and some magnets from Harbor Freight. No chance of cutting yourself and complete control of pressure and direction.