Resto #2.....scales Razor wrapped in light horn

[screaming_pig]

Greetings gentlemen,

Thought I would share with my second restoration project, razor came from ebay in a pretty awful state, had god knows what gunge stuck to it and some pitting to be taken care of. Good thing it had a very deep stamp on the blade.

Razor stamp says 'William Morton&Son cutlers, Sheffield' with 'Scales Quality, Medium hollow ground on the blade'.

Scales are light horn with brass fittings.

Black buffalo horn wedge.

Comments good or bad always welcome

So to start with how she looked.......
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And with her new clothes on......

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[Freedom]

Really nice job, the edges look wonderfully smooth, and that blade is gleaming.

I tired working with horn this past week and it was just too tough for me.

 

[mycarver]

Beautiful job! Just stunning. I love the look of the horn, almost translucent. I'm sure it's even better in person ( Color quality of monitors etc....)
Mark

 

[gaj90027]

I love those scales - where did you purchase this material?

 

[screaming_pig]

Thanks guys, good to hear the feedback, I find horn really nice to work with, the finish you can achieve is just amazing!! Your right about the photo's Mark, it is even better in person!!
The horn I've had lying around for ages, got a whole stack of the stuff including black buffalo and pressed Ox horn, use a lot of it with my knife making!

Just need to get her on the hones and have a test drive!!

 

[alabamalawyer]

Nice job! The scales and blade look very good.

 

[netsurfr]

Beautiful job. I love those scales!!!

 

[thirdeye]

Beautiful work sir. I really dig light and blonde horn....

 

[BRuhling]

Beautiful craftsmanship! You've really made her look gorgeous...

 

[braxis]

Very nice awesome work!

 

[dsipari]

that is one of the nicest restores i've seen in a long time. No disrespect to any of the guys here that do some great work but,....you got mad skillz!

 

[Nerdman]

that is one of the nicest restores i've seen in a long time. No disrespect to any of the guys here that do some great work but,....you got mad skillz!

+1 very nice work man. Looks good!!

 

[screaming_pig]

thanks guys, well had nearly a week of shaving every day with this razor and its a real peach! First time I've tried something other than an extra hollow ground and I must say I do like the *firmer* feel of a chunkier blade!!

On with the next restore!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rambus007]

Hi Ian. Great job! Are you using a tumbler or buffing wheel with compounds to clean and polish? Just curious because I'm starting my first restore soon. Thanks.

 

[screaming_pig]

Hi Terry, I use a 6" buffing wheel, various mops- sisal, stitched and loose and a few different compounds. I've read a few threads about these tumblers, never actually seen one or know where to purchase from? Whats their proper name, must be something else!!

 

[rambus007]

Hi Terry, I use a 6" buffing wheel, various mops- sisal, stitched and loose and a few different compounds. I've read a few threads about these tumblers, never actually seen one or know where to purchase from? Whats their proper name, must be something else!!

Ahh ok so you do something similar to what Brad does (Undream22) on Youtube. I'm going to attempt that method soon. I started out hand sanding which got my hand tired very quickly, then went to tumbling soon after. They are called vibratory tumblers or vibrating tumblers. I live in Canada and I got mine from a local gun shop. I would have never thought that hunting and straight razor restoration shared anything in common! Anyhow got two tumbers for about $80 cdn and a bottle of Toughnut (walnut) and corncob which I added metal polish too. It's much much slower than using the mop method but I don't have to do much hehe. I recently purchased a used Paige jeweler's buffing machine with venting system for $100! I got a couple of wheels so I'll try it out soon. Do you use greaseless compounds (80 grit, up to 400 grit) like Brad or do you use Brown Tripoli, White Rouge and then Red Rouge?

 

[screaming_pig]

Thanks for the info Terry on the tumblers! May have to look in to those.

Yes I have used greaseless compound but be warned it can be very aggresive, not something I would work with on an extra hollow ground!! To be honest I never really drop below 300-400 range, then on to polishing compounds made by Unipol. In this order- Carbrax, Blue and Hyfin are what I tend to use. I've also used the Menzerna bars but I think Unipol have got the edge!! Heres a link to the stuff I use....http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acatalog/Polishing_Compounds_800gm_Large_Bar.html

 

[rambus007]

Thanks for the info Terry on the tumblers! May have to look in to those.

Yes I have used greaseless compound but be warned it can be very aggresive, not something I would work with on an extra hollow ground!! To be honest I never really drop below 300-400 range, then on to polishing compounds made by Unipol. In this order- Carbrax, Blue and Hyfin are what I tend to use. I've also used the Menzerna bars but I think Unipol have got the edge!! Heres a link to the stuff I use....http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acatalog/Polishing_Compounds_800gm_Large_Bar.html

Thanks for the link and explaining your compound progression. I've been using only 3 compounds - brown tripoli, white tripoli and red rouge. Am I missing something here? I think I need something more aggressive than brown tripoli and have been thinking about a grey coloured emery compound that I saw at the jewelry supply store for about $7 cdn. I think it's the same price as brown tripoli and red rouge. I have also thought about the greaseless compounds but I can't find it in Vancouver; only online and I don't want to pay delivery charges just to pay for one or two bars.

As for the tumblers, here's a link to my successes thus far with tumblers.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149391
Tumblers are very slow - taking 2 to 3 days to do the heavier removal of stuff (walnut) then another 1 or 2 days in corn cob for polishing. The good think is I don't have to do much while it's working and I never have to worry about heat damaging the blade or taking off too much metal by mistake. However, I do still need to remove rust first before dumping the blade in. I would much rather do so anyway so that I don't contaminate my media too quickly.

 

[thunderball]

Beautiful restoration work.