Newbie Restore Project #2 - from start to finish

[Nxspam]

Nick,
My favorite part was the cigar selection during the restoration. I would have thought that a Churchill would be more appropriate, but in retrospect, you made the right choice.

Curious about why you painted the inside of the scales. Was that an aesthetic choice or done for some practical reason?

Yep. When I bought the acrylic sheet, I went for dark grey. I didn't read the description properly and didn't realize that they were transparent and not solid colored. I talked with some members here, and I think it was Kentos that suggestion a lite sanding followed by a coat of paint on the insides. That's what I did, and it it turned out OK. They look black now, but I like black. I have to learn to read descriptions properly.

The cigar was a petit corona. 25 - 30 minutes max. I like making and shaping scales and I can do it pretty quick now. That belt grinder is excellent for it.

 

[jasoninusaf]

Well I love your hillbilly wheel! I am also thinking one could get by with a hand-piece dremmel kind of set-up too. A am a dental lab tech and have a lot of experience with polishing metal as well as acrylic and I certainly would not want to do the rough sanding with a hand-piece but I'm sure it would work good for the polishing. Once again great work and you have inspired me.

 

[Nxspam]

Well I love your hillbilly wheel! I am also thinking one could get by with a hand-piece dremmel kind of set-up too. A am a dental lab tech and have a lot of experience with polishing metal as well as acrylic and I certainly would not want to do the rough sanding with a hand-piece but I'm sure it would work good for the polishing. Once again great work and you have inspired me.

I have a Dremel rip off. A big set with lots of attachments, but unfortunately I've found it quite useless for razor restoration. The guys here use them for customizing and pimping, like putting pattern on the spine, but they're not very useful for restoration work in general apart from removing old pins and scales.

After I do the basic shaping of the scales on the grinding belt, it's all hand sanding until its time for buffing and polishing on the hillbilly wheel. If I said I use about 2 - 3 hours on scales from cutting out the paper template and two strips of acrylic and on up to the final polish, the belt grinder is about 10 minutes of that time. The blade never goes near he belt or the wheel grinder. Just hand sanding followed by a final polish on the wheel using two different cloths and compounds. There's not much use for a Dremel in my process, except for removing old scales. But I could be wrong, some people may find a use for them.

Brad Maggard has a razor restoration video tut on YouTube that is very good and long. Very informative.

 

[JGKC9AYC]

A most excellent job sir!
Anytime I can find an excuse to tell the wife I need tools is great!
Guess you're going shopping again soon?

 

[ChicagoBob]

Great result on your restoration. You have inspired me also. I just bought 3 old razors from an antique mall. The worst one looks a little better than what you started with. I just got a quote for a professional restoration. $150.00 to $200.00. I only paid a little over $10.00 for it. It's a Wostenholm I*XL.

I think I will take some encouragement from your success and try sanding and polishing the blade and then maybe send it off for professional sharpening and new scales. Or maybe I'll use the old scales as a template for some new ones.

 

[jpcwon]

Wow that came out really nice! I too am just starting to get my feet wet in the world of restoration but I have a LOOONG way to go. I'm still getting the hang of repinning, then I have to work on sanding/buffing!

 

[Nxspam]

Great result on your restoration. You have inspired me also. I just bought 3 old razors from an antique mall. The worst one looks a little better than what you started with. I just got a quote for a professional restoration. $150.00 to $200.00. I only paid a little over $10.00 for it. It's a Wostenholm I*XL.

I think I will take some encouragement from your success and try sanding and polishing the blade and then maybe send it off for professional sharpening and new scales. Or maybe I'll use the old scales as a template for some new ones.

hi ChicagoBob

You should go ahead and try. This is only my second or third. Buy some quality sand paper at the lower grits, 180, 240, 320 etc, and see if you can work with 320 to remove the worst. If you can't, go lower and try 240.

Dont worry about exact numbers. If you can't find 240, 260 or 220 is fine. The idea is, use the highest grit rating that gets the job done. If its going well at say 320 grit, then dont go lower and create new scratches. When all rust and dark staining is gone, move up in grits. I go up to 1000. Give your self plenty of time. Have the sand paper and the blade handy and pick it up and sand every once in a while. I did it like that for about three weeks. All in all I think I put in more than 35 hours sanding, but I did it while I was watching tv or just relaxing.

A buffer wheel will put the final sparkle on the blade for you, but don't think it will sand pitting and scratches away. It won't. You must do that with the sand paper. You'll be amazed at how far you get with sand paper alone.

I think the scales are quite straight forward. The wedge can be tricky, but scales are pretty easy. Good luck with the project, and have fun with it.

Feel free to contact me if you think I can help. Who knows, maybe I can?

 

[Nxspam]

Wow that came out really nice! I too am just starting to get my feet wet in the world of restoration but I have a LOOONG way to go. I'm still getting the hang of repinning, then I have to work on sanding/buffing!

Thanks, and good luck with your projects. Don't forget to post images. I've just ordered ivory colored acrylic sheet for my next project.

 

[ChicagoBob]

Thanks Nxspam; I will take your advice. The one in the picture is the worst by far of the three I bought. I am glad you said to start with a high grit sandpaper if possible. I watched that start to finish video on youtube and he started with 80 grit. I know a little bit about sandpaper and I couldn't believe it. 80 grit is what you use to sand rust off of cars. It is really rough.

Don't be surprised if you get a private message from me. I am sure I will have a few questions. First stop is Harbor Freight tools. I like your cheap grinder and polishing wheel.

 

[Nxspam]

Thanks Nxspam; I will take your advice. The one in the picture is the worst by far of the three I bought. I am glad you said to start with a high grit sandpaper if possible. I watched that start to finish video on youtube and he started with 80 grit. I know a little bit about sandpaper and I couldn't believe it. 80 grit is what you use to sand rust off of cars. It is really rough.

Don't be surprised if you get a private message from me. I am sure I will have a few questions. First stop is Harbor Freight tools. I like your cheap grinder and polishing wheel.

No problem. I'll help where I can, but don't think I'm an expert, I'm not. I'm just doing my best and learning as I go forward. On a side note, I just received the ivory colored acrylic sheet for my next project. I looks great , and I'm thinking it will be fantastic for scales.

regards,
nick.

 

[otto76]

Looks great, what a difference! I like the inventive polishing set up too.