So tonight I took the plunge and sanded a blade. It had been horribly scratched by some nimwit's attempt to "clean it up" with much too low a grit. To be honest, I wasn't sure it wouldn't be worse after my attempt.
I had heard on this forum to start high and work down to an effective grit. So I started with 5k wet/dry wrapped around a wine cork, no effect. Similarly, no effect with 4k, 3k, and 2.5k. But 2k visibly reduced the scratch pattern, and with some serious elbow grease I managed to remove the scratches.
I then worked up the progression I had tried earlier and ended up with a smooth, shiny, beautiful blade. Perfect? No. But close enough for a first attempt and 90 minutes of hand cramping work. And a definite improvement from where it started. I finished by polishing it with Flitz and called it a night. All in all, about as much effort as I expected, but with much better results than anticipated. And a significant amount of satisfaction in bringing this disfigured blade back to its natural state of beauty and function.
Next ... On to honing this blade (a Clauss U.S.M.C.) in order to PIF it to an active or retired Marine. And then, at some point, removing the most egregious staining on my more favored razors.
I had heard on this forum to start high and work down to an effective grit. So I started with 5k wet/dry wrapped around a wine cork, no effect. Similarly, no effect with 4k, 3k, and 2.5k. But 2k visibly reduced the scratch pattern, and with some serious elbow grease I managed to remove the scratches.
I then worked up the progression I had tried earlier and ended up with a smooth, shiny, beautiful blade. Perfect? No. But close enough for a first attempt and 90 minutes of hand cramping work. And a definite improvement from where it started. I finished by polishing it with Flitz and called it a night. All in all, about as much effort as I expected, but with much better results than anticipated. And a significant amount of satisfaction in bringing this disfigured blade back to its natural state of beauty and function.
Next ... On to honing this blade (a Clauss U.S.M.C.) in order to PIF it to an active or retired Marine. And then, at some point, removing the most egregious staining on my more favored razors.