So did I do this, or is it corrosion?

[2bit_collie]

So I have been buying beaters on e-bay to practice honing. Recently I got a Ludo Red Imp, that was absolutely black on the tang and tail (first photo). I then tried cleaning it up. I mainly used a Dremel with a felt cloth wheel loaded with abrasive. I tried red, green and white rouge in various spots as well as 1u diamond paste. I also tried some hand sanding with various grits 400-2500. I did NOT use a sandpaper wheel on the Dremel. When I started the surface of the tang and tail were flat. When I had gotten down to clean metal, it was clear that the surfaces were not flat, particularly on the tail (2nd photo).

So my question:
Was the contoured surface caused by me grinding away too much material with the Dremel, or is this really just a function of how deep the oxidation had penetrated into the metal? Or perhaps a little of both?

If this is nature at work, so be it. If it is really all me and there is a better way to clean up the razor, open to suggestions. Better to learn now, before I mangle something I care about! One bit of good news - while it isn’t obvious from the 1st photo, there was much less oxidation on the blade itself, so really haven’t had to do any real cleanup there. Even if I did something evil to the tail, it shouldn’t impact shaving capability.

Follow-up question: The thing that was getting it shiniest was the 1u paste. Will it get shinier if I moved on to smaller particles? At what point is the finish as shiny as it will get to the naked eye?

 

[Doc226]

These normally come with blackened tangs. I have done this with fun bluing liquid.

It is supposed to be there.


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[hydro-magic]

Corrosion and pitting probably had a lot to do with that. It's pretty impossible to keep a surface flat with a Dremel though. If you want it to be flat, better to use a sanding block. Once you get all the pitting out you can work up to finer and finer grits of sandpaper. It should be pretty shiny by the time you hit 2000 grit and it'll minimize the time on a buffing wheel. Final polishing with even a large buffing wheel will round off edges but if you try to do too much with a Dremel, since it's so small, it's hard not to end up with a wavy surface. So you want that final polishing to go pretty fast. The finer the polishing compound you use, the shinier and more mirror like it should get. It's up to you how far you want to take that.

 

[2bit_collie]

These normally come with blackened tangs. I have done this with fun bluing liquid.

It is supposed to be there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That would explain why the blade was so much shinier!

 

[global_dev]

Some, very few though, have patterned or hammered tangs. Some were like that, i feel like one or 2 dubl ducks models.. easiest way to find out is to search out some pics

Red Imp Owners

Hi all you fantastic people, I'm seeking some help from you Red Imp Owners.... What I'm after is a very close up of your logo and name on your scales, so i can redo mine but it must be a very clear shot showing all like mine below. But mine is shot the more members who can post shots the...

www.badgerandblade.com

^Most of the tangs on the first page look flat.

 

[Slash McCoy]

The hammered look was occasionally used on tangs. You can't do that with 1u diamond paste. Remember, that's about 14,000 grit. It would take a lot of dremelling in one spot to make just one of those little divots.

 

[ajduplessis]

Dont know. It looks hammered and I must admit I like the look.

 

[rbscebu]

From a close look at the 1st and 3rd photos, the tang and tail had a hammered finish. You did not cause the final uneven finish.

As for how fine to take your grit, 0.3um (about 100k grit) is about as fine as you need to go for naked eye observation. The limiting factor here is the wavelength of visible light.

 

[Legion]

The first straight razor I ever bought was a Case version of that razor. Not sure what the difference is between the Case and the Ludo, but the blades look very much the same.

I went looking, to see if the tang was hammered, but I couldn't find it. Maybe I sold it. I did find a few razors I have no memory of, which is probably a sign that you have too many razors...

 

[LJS]

I did find a few razors I have no memory of, which is probably a sign that you have too many razors...

I do that all the time with all my stuff. Upshot is like finding a new present, even though it was already yours (and you are so senile you forgot about it) LOL

 

[2bit_collie]

Update...
Today I spent some more time playing with the Dremel and the 1u, 0.5u, and 0.24u diamond pastes. I finished up the Ludo Red Imp that started this conversation. I also tried to take out some marks I had put on a Wade & Butcher with the Dremel and Green rouge in a previous effort.

Most of the time was spent with my problem child - a Geneva Cutlery 5/8 1/2 hollow. For reasons I don’t understand it really reacted rapidly the past week or two - showing rust spots and dark oxidation streaks. Happily they all came off quickly. Then I re-did the pasted strop progression to correct for any damage that might have happened. The most surprising part is that I got through the entire thing with only one nick while handling the 3 blades! I then checked the rest of my small collection to verify that only the Geneva had corroded in the past week.

I then shaved with the Geneva - I have to admit it was my closest shave to date. I even did a Fool’s Pass, though it still feels like I am trying to cut titanium wires on my upper lip.

Tomorrow hope to hone up the Red Imp and perhaps reset the bevel on the Wade & Butcher. I had honed it with tape previously, but if I am going to move it over to the pasted strop method I guess I need to reset the bevel with no tape.

 

[mycarver]

Late to the party I know. But I too had my first BBS shave off a Geneva. Between Geneva and Genco’s I have accumulated around 24 or so. Cheap but great shavers.
I do have a Red Imp but it’s the smooth shaft ( but blackened ) . As to hammered shafts the Robeson line shur-edge was known for them . I have a dozen and 6 are hammered. Though I may have more in other brands.

 

[2bit_collie]

Hi @mycarver,
After the comments about the hammered tang I looked around, and as you would have predicted, I came across a Robeson. So I have one hammered tang now.