Extreme pitting - suggestions

pmaster said:

I'd be uncomfortable leaving some active rust in there.

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I would use evaporust to soak overnight then polish. It will kill any active rust in the pitting. You can get it at Autozone or Tracktor Supply Store ect...

I'm working on this right now. I soaked it then did some sanding to smooth it up a little but left most of the pitting on this one.

Yeah the pictures I showed were actually post-Evaporust and after a light sanding at 220. Hopefully it removes most active rust, but I will spend some time with 80grit sandpaper and see how it looks, and possibly proceed to forcing the patina.

Yours looks quite nice so far!

Just my bad luck with pitting and devils spit... But my advice is: if it's at all on or close to the edge.. Don't buy it!

Johnsebesta said:

Just my bad luck with pitting and devils spit... But my advice is: if it's at all on or close to the edge.. Don't buy it!

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Yeah I believe this is the best advice by far. Somehow I always take pity on those straights in very bad shape going for a few $, thinking "hey, it'll be a challenge, I can save this one", but it doesn't always workout
On this one I should still get something decent however, and luckily the edge is clear of pitting (after 1-2h on the dmt 325).

Doc226 said:

Fishing store, use lead weights or the lead free weights, hammer it to side and sand smooth. Wear gloves and respirator.

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Just wanted to say thanks again for the tip about using fishing lead weights, I just bought some and it was very easy to hammer them to the right size. It is much more annoying to get copper/brass to the right size, but with lead, fairly easy process!

pmaster said:

Just wanted to say thanks again for the tip about using fishing lead weights, I just bought some and it was very easy to hammer them to the right size. It is much more annoying to get copper/brass to the right size, but with lead, fairly easy process!

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And you can cut it with an exacto knife then burnish it in shape... I see why it was popular back in the day

Seen worse.

Legion said:

Seen worse.

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Yeah but that pitting is freaking cool

Heespharm said:

Yeah but that pitting is freaking cool

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That's what I thought. That project was called the "Freddy Krueger Razor". I even made it with green and red scales to match his sweater.

Legion said:

Seen worse.

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Very impressive! I love this! very nice work!

That i some seriously cool pitting! Its amazingly even over the blade.

Legion said:

Seen worse.

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That's sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heespharm said:

And you can cut it with an exacto knife then burnish it in shape... I see why it was popular back in the day

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Have you noticed the lead wedges are a bit hard to get to a silver-shiny finish? I have a few old lead wedges I kept from old scrap scales and reused for other scales, and these usually buff out to a very nice mirror finish, however the lead fishing sinkers I used to make my own don't seem to polish as well, they remain of a greyish tint. I'm guessing it maybe due to the purity of the lead or something...

I've been trying to finish a few projects I started. I worked a lot on this Pitts razor lately, spent many many hours with as low as 50 grit w/d sandpaper. I figured yesterday that it was enough and finished the progression and polished the blade. Short of a regrind this one will keep a lot of pitting anyway as it is far too deep.

I made some nice black scales and used a black wedge, but this is where I am very frustrated... The wedge I used (pinned and glued with CA) is too thin, and the blade sits too high for my taste. I'm undecided...keep the scales for another straight, try to remove the wedge to do another one, or pin it as is. Here's a quick phone shot:

I fixed some scales that had a too narrow gap for the blade to rest in. I wrapped some sand paper tightly around a Popsicle stick and sanded between the scales until it fit to my liking. The scales were wood, so I'm not sure how it would work for your scale material. For what its worth, I think the razor looks awesome the way it is.

Well, I ended up using the scales for another razor finally (suspected W&B, heavily rusted). A warped razor I posted about in another thread. Somehow the warp aligned a little better with those scales, so its two birds with one stone. I'll just make another set for the Pitts razor.

A quick shot of it:

Picks of the razor?

Here are two quick shots of the blade. They don't make it easy to compare with the original ones but I will make some better ones once the razor is scaled (when I get some more free time in 1-2 weeks).

[/QUOTE] hammer it to side and sand smooth.[/QUOTE]

Grind it to fit, paint it to match.


In Christ
SB