Blade tumbling

Hello Gents,

Well I just purchased a tumbler and some walnut and corn cob media.

Now, it is not going to get a lot of use, since I only have about 10 blades to do for myself. After that, it's just gonna sit. So I thought, why not offer this service to you guys! since I learn so much here I figured why not give a little back. It is a small tumbler so I would be able to do 2 at time I think, but that doesnt mean you can't send me more blades at once.

I was thinking of charging a small fee, I still do not know what would be a fair price so im just gauging interist at the moment.
I would not care how you shipped the blades to me, but I will only ship back usps Priority with delivery confirmation, and insurance would be extra. So it doesnt matter how many you send me, cuz I'll send them back in a small flat rate box. So there will be one time 5$ fee for that, but you can send as many blades that fit in the small flat rate box.

The machine is not here but as soon as I am done with my blades, It will be ready for you guys. You guys can hand sand your own blades up to 600 or 1500 grit, send them to me and I'll tumble them for you. please let me know if it something any of you would be interisted in. I think for a small fee this could be a kool service. thanks guys!

ps, I haven't done any tumbling yet, my blades will be the first, so I will post before, during, and afters, and you can decide if you like them, and if it is something you would like, let me know! thanks again!

That sounds like a great idea!

FiveOhNine said:

That sounds like a great idea!

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Thanks!
I am going to expirement to see if i can speed up the process. I have seen most guys go up to 600 grit, then the blade spends 3 days in the tumbler with walnut and a couple days in corn cob. I am thinking that if I sand up to 1500 even 2000 then drop em in there it should only be about a day in the walnut, since the scratches will be less and much finer. If anyone know if that would work, let me know.

I believe there was an attempt at doing that , and the result was scratched blades.

mainaman said:

I believe there was an attempt at doing that , and the result was scratched blades.

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Thanks, do you have a link to a post? i just want to check it out before i try it, as it doesnt make sense to me why it would scratch, since sanding to 1500 removes deeper scratches that the 600 leaves behind. Correct me if i am wrong, but i just think it would make it easier and faster for the walnut to remove 1500-2000 scratches.

I have an old blade that chipped, so i will use that as my test dummy and see how it works!

Nerdman said:

Thanks, do you have a link to a post? i just want to check it out before i try it, as it doesnt make sense to me why it would scratch, since sanding to 1500 removes deeper scratches that the 600 leaves behind. Correct me if i am wrong, but i just think it would make it easier and faster for the walnut to remove 1500-2000 scratches.

I have an old blade that chipped, so i will use that as my test dummy and see how it works!

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I do not have a link, but what is to stop one blade to scratch the other in the tumbler? Also people that have been tumbling for a long time do 1 blade at a time if I am not wrong, and avoiding scratching could be a good reason for that.
You can test with a pair of blades and see how it goes.
here a big thread on tumbling razors may be the post was there I can't remember:
http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/workshop/18075-new-idea-experimentation.html

O, now I see what you are talking about. I thought you were refering to the tumbler causing scratches if I sanded to 1500-2000. But I see that you meant doing more blades than one in the tumbler. I read on that thread where people had good results doing 2 blades at a time. But I will try 2 and see if it works, if not, no big deal, one at a time it will be. Like I said before, I think I an get it done faster in the tumbler if I sand them up to 1500-2000.

Nerdman said:

O, now I see what you are talking about. I thought you were refering to the tumbler causing scratches if I sanded to 1500-2000. But I see that you meant doing more blades than one in the tumbler. I read on that thread where people had good results doing 2 blades at a time. But I will try 2 and see if it works, if not, no big deal, one at a time it will be. Like I said before, I think I an get it done faster in the tumbler if I sand them up to 1500-2000.

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My only concern for the tumbler was the threaded rod, but I covered it with flexible tubing and I never had problems.
I was able to shorten the tumbling times per blade using 20 micron diamond paste along with rubbing compound in the walnut media. I was able to achieve very bright mirror finish that did not require tumbling in corn cob.
The diamond paste has been tried by others too and they also reported great results.

Sand half the blade to 600, half to 1500 and tumble it alone.

mainaman said:

My only concern for the tumbler was the threaded rod, but I covered it with flexible tubing and I never had problems.
I was able to shorten the tumbling times per blade using 20 micron diamond paste along with rubbing compound in the walnut media. I was able to achieve very bright mirror finish that did not require tumbling in corn cob.
The diamond paste has been tried by others too and they also reported great results.

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Awesome! thank you for the helpfull information. like i said, i havent done it before so i will try it out and if it works out, I just wanted to help the guys here polish up some blades at a cheap price. Again, thanks for the help

Jim said:

Sand half the blade to 600, half to 1500 and tumble it alone.

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Good idea! I will do that with the first blade I try. I will post pics on this thread next weekend when I start it.

Nerdman said:

I will post pics on this thread next weekend when I start it.

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I look forward to your report.

I have a couple blades that I will be sanding soon. I'm a little pressed for sanding time to go from, let's say 600 grit all the way to maybe 2000 grit to get a real nice shine. If it's just $5.00 shipping total I can see where sending several blades could possibly save me some work and time on sanding and would be willing to spend maybe $10 - $15 a blade (not sure what the going rate is) for the service, makes perfect sense to me.

I've seen where you can get a mirror finish using a buffer and compound but that takes a lot of 'hands on' time, something I don't have. If throwing them in a tumbler and leaving them for a few days gets close to the same results I'd say you are about to be come a very busy man. I'll be sending a few your way. Will be looking for comments and pics with results. Keep us posted. Good Luck!

DoughBoy68 said:

I have a couple blades that I will be sanding soon. I'm a little pressed for sanding time to go from, let's say 600 grit all the way to maybe 2000 grit to get a real nice shine. If it's just $5.00 shipping total I can see where sending several blades could possibly save me some work and time on sanding and would be willing to spend maybe $10 - $15 a blade (not sure what the going rate is) for the service, makes perfect sense to me.

I've seen where you can get a mirror finish using a buffer and compound but that takes a lot of 'hands on' time, something I don't have. If throwing them in a tumbler and leaving them for a few days gets close to the same results I'd say you are about to be come a very busy man. I'll be sending a few your way. Will be looking for comments and pics with results. Keep us posted. Good Luck!

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Thanks Doughboy68, $10 to 15 sounds about right, but lets wait till I get the tumbler and get a few blades under my belt. Ill post up before, during and afters of diffrent grits and then you cansee if it something you would liek to do to your blades. I will keep you posted. It does seem ez enough, but we all know, there is always more to it. Should be fun either way though, and to be honest, thats why we do it right!!

Do you cover the cutting edge when you tumble? I have a couple tumblers and was actually going to ask if you could tumble the blade without damaging it. I'll be sending it out for sharpening when I'm done.

From what I read on the big post (linked above) it looks like tumbling is one of the best restoration techniques out there. Mirror finish, no damage, the blade doesn't heat up. It looks like it has everything going for it as a method.

I'm curious to learn about your experiences.

Haiku said:

From what I read on the big post (liked above) it looks like tumbling is one of the best restoration techniques out there. Mirror finish, no damage, the blade doesn't heat up. It looks like it has everything going for it as a method.

I'm curious to learn about your experiences.

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I think the only down side is time. I don't mind having a blade in the polisher for a week but the guys trying to restore a lot of blades need a faster answer. Usually a buffer. Everything I've restored has gone through the polisher. I think it's great.

Haiku said:

From what I read on the big post (linked above) it looks like tumbling is one of the best restoration techniques out there. Mirror finish, no damage, the blade doesn't heat up. It looks like it has everything going for it as a method.

I'm curious to learn about your experiences.

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Yes, I have read that it is pretty safe and the results are very nice! and I am very curious as well, it should be fun! The polisher should be here tommorrow, I have the polish and compunds and the walnut media. I purchased some corn cob media, but I think the grain is too big. I guess I will find out soon.

DogHair said:

I think the only down side is time. I don't mind having a blade in the polisher for a week but the guys trying to restore a lot of blades need a faster answer. Usually a buffer. Everything I've restored has gone through the polisher. I think it's great.

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You are correct, it will take a lot of time. but if the results are as nice as i expect then it will be worth it. I agree that the fastest method is on the buffer, but I am only doing 10 blades for myself, so it will be fine just for me. the guys restoring for a business for sure need to use a buffer to keep up productivity. But, like I said, I am only doing my 10 blades and a few here and there as I collect them, so I figured why not just do a few blades for you guys instead of just letting the tumbler sit.

Sounds good to me. I got a few old ones I need to disassemble and sand, so I might get off my *ss and do it!

I have two tumblers now - one for walnut and one for corn corn. I have two versions of walnut, with red rouge (tufnut) and with turtle was polishig compound. The corncobs has metal polish. I'll be happy to offer similar services to people in Vancouver for those that don't want to send out their blades. Does anyone in Vancouver new this service. It sure beats sanding all the way up to 2000!