Question about straight razors

**Kou** · 06-02-2012, 09:20 PM

I bought this rusty razor and tried removing the rust, is it good enough to be used now? How do I go about honing and stropping it? I have a 4000/8000 grit stone and a leather strop, how many passes along each side should I do?

Also, how do I clean it up to make it look shiny silver? What products should I try to use? right now it still looks kind of grimy

Thanks!

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**jamesspo** · 06-02-2012, 09:31 PM

You'll probably want to ask this over on the Straight Razor forum, as you'll get more attention there, most likely. However, to get you started, you should read through the honing section of the B&B ShaveWiki:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Honing

If it was rusty, there's pretty much zero chance that's it's usable in current form. It's going to need to be honed. It's difficult to answer the question of "how many passes along each side". In short the answer is "until it's done". That's where one of the key difficulties comes in - determining when you're done. If you're completely new to straight razor shaving and honing, it may be best to buy a shave ready straight razor first so you can understand what a shave ready razor feels like before embarking on honing cold turkey. I don't mean to discourage you. If you're intent on honing what you have first, you can certainly do so..it's just not the normal order of things, if your intent is to shave with it, and you're new at doing so. Definitely read through that wiki page to get a feel for the process. It can be pretty involved, and is a skill that needs to be learned. The equipment you have can certainly get you to a shave ready edge, but not as good as it could be with a nice finishing stone added on.

**CharlieFoxtrot** · 06-02-2012, 09:35 PM

First you'd be better off in the restoration sub-forum. I've only been honing a couple months, but I can tell you that you'll need a bevel setter. I use a DMT 600/1200, but a lot of guys use a 1k. You can set a bevel on a 4k but it'll take a minute. You need to progress through the 4k to the 8k. It's time to move on when you have maximized each hone. I suggest reading through the wiki and searching through the honing sub-forum. There is plenty there to get you started. After 8k, I use a C12k as a finisher. It's slow and I normally do a 100 laps on it. I strop on CrOx and FeOx pasted balsa then 50 linen, and finish with 100 laps on leather. Lately I've been playing with lapping film to finish the razor on and it's a lot cheaper than any rocks out there. To polish the blade maybe use a buffing wheel and compound? You'd have to ask the guys that restore them. I'm working on one but I haven't moved past the scales yet.

**smalltank** · 06-02-2012, 09:52 PM

Sandpaper grits 800-2000..start from the bottom..or get a dremel..is that a crack in the middle or tarnish?

**smalltank** · 06-02-2012, 09:53 PM

Sandpaper grits 800-2000..start from the bottom..or get a dremel..is that a crack in the middle or tarnish?..looks like a tiny chip in the edge

**cb91710** · 06-02-2012, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by smalltank

looks like a tiny chip in the edge

I can see a couple or three... and they're deeper than a bevel is typically cut.

That blade is going to take some TLC from someone who knows what they're doing before it'll shave well.

**Price** · 06-02-2012, 10:13 PM

Actually, that blade looks heavily modified. The shoulder should not normally protrude below the blade, so you'd have quite a difficult time honing that guy up to shave-ready. Sorry, but I think that one might be a loss. At least you can use it to practice rust removal and polishing. There are plenty of serviceable blades on the BST for not much dough. I'd stay away from fleabay and antique store resto jobs until you have a better idea what you're looking for.

**GreekGuy** · 06-03-2012, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by Price

Actually, that blade looks heavily modified. The shoulder should not normally protrude below the blade, so you'd have quite a difficult time honing that guy up to shave-ready. Sorry, but I think that one might be a loss. At least you can use it to practice rust removal and polishing. There are plenty of serviceable blades on the BST for not much dough. I'd stay away from fleabay and antique store resto jobs until you have a better idea what you're looking for.

+1

Looks like a goner to me. Even if you had the tools and experience to correct the issues I don't think it would be worth the effort