Gotta in need of metal removal I think...

[justalex]

Hey there, This is my first post in here, I got referred by Gary Haywood the Honemeister - I don't know his forum unfortunately - but I'm posting as I'm looking for some advice on a Gotta I have that has a brittle edge that keeps falling away and I'm finding difficult to hone... pics below.

So there it is, I've started honing it on a 220 grit to remove some metal and see whats what on one layer of tape and I've noticed that the spine on one side is even whereas the spine on the other is super thin on the toe and heel but worn in the middle of the spine. Should I even up the spine before any more honing with the tape?

any help would be greatly appreciated

regards Alex

 

[Snuff]

I believe that the rust forming on this razor is to great to be able to get a good edge on it, no matter how much you hone it the spots will keep appearing on the edge. Welcome to the forum, greets Ron

 

[garyhaywood]

Nice to see you joined up:thumbup: . This is the forum i spend most of my time on. I have no forum of my own.
Like i said to you i'm no expert on this type of thing. like snuff says it is a very rusty looking razor. seems to me like you will just keep running into deep rust and pits so i carn't see you getting a nice bevel never mind a shaving edge.

lets see what others think, ralfy should be able to advice you on this as he does restoring.

gary

 

[mysteryrazor]

I think what you have is intergranular corrosion beside surface rust. I have run into this before and could not save the razor.

 

[Harvitz81]

That razor appears to have been a victim of cell rot. I don't think it looks salvageable. If you still have the scales that this came from, I would make sure to keep it away from your other razors or trash them altogether.

 

[torbenbp]

Sometimes even the very best intentions just aint enough to salvage a razor in dire straits...judging by your photos,this one would take a tremendous amount of metal removal and would most likely leave the razor unusable. When the spine needs more work on one side it`s difficult to maintain the correct angels. But even worse,this razor seems to suffer from heavy corrosion/pitting at the very edge or near it. This most likely means,that no matter how much metal you remowe you`ll always get to a new place of heavy corrosion or deep pitting. This will cause the edge to crumble,leave an uneven edge,pitted edge and God nows what other things would turn up.

Ralfy really is the numero uno when it comes to tricky tasks like this...

But if it were my razor,I would burry it in silence. Sometimes its just too much trouble.

Torbs

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Mmm interesting, welcome from me

I would work all the pits out on both sides of the blade, making sure there were no visible pits near the edge, then you will be able to see if there is enough material left to take and keep a good edge, you may have to decrease the width of the blade to find some firm ground, be aware though that there should be a stabilising "ridge" that runs parallel to the edge, about 1/8" above it, if you take this out you may find it very hard to get a good edge, as both the grind and bevel angle will be altered.

All being well you won't end up with a blade thats useless, as said it's hard to tell from photos, I wouldnt like to say it's celluloid rot
That caused it without seeing the scales, could be it was simply put away wet.

Best of luck.

Ralfson (Dr)

 

[justalex]

Thanks for all the replies, I think it may just have been put away wet as the scales are - on the surface anyways - spotless.

@Ralf: do you think I should correct the uneven spine wear first before continuing with one layer of tape as I think I should correct it before it causes a wavy edge.

cheers Alex

P.S I'll post images of the scales just to make sure it isn't cell rot.

 

[Bart]

I think I should correct it before it causes a wavy edge.

The shape of spine wear has not as much influence on the shape of the edge bevel as often thought. One major influence in how both flat parts develop over several sharpening jobs, is the grind of the razor. The slightest unevenness, either in thickness of the blade, or a deviation in the straightness of the blade, or a slight misalignment between the edge part and spine: these all show up at the bevel and spine wear as uneven width. E.g. imagine what happens of we sharpen a bended blade. At one side the bevel would be wide at the middle and narrow at the ends, while at the other side, we would see the opposite: a narrow bevel in the middle that grows wider at both ends. It is consequence of sharpening on flat hones. The bevel and spine wear level up with the flat hone, and compensate whatever the blade deviates from flatness by altering their boundaries.

Narrower hones and the X-stroke both counteract these effects, because both follow whatever deviation the blade might have, better than wide hones combined with straight strokes.

In this particular case, the first thng to do, is to check with a small straightedge if the spine wear is actually level. If it is, no matter how much it varies widthwise, I recommend to leave it as is. Even if the spine wear would show some kind of dimple at a particular spot, I would still not advice to sand it all flush with the lowest spot, as there would be a serious risk of making the spine too narrow. And unless you were to use an extremely narrow hone, such a dimple at the spine wear would not translate into a dimple at the edge bevel. Imagine you'd file a deep dent in the spine. It's not as if next time you hone, this dent would miraculously transfer to the edge bevel.

Kind regards,
Bart.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

^^^^^ Just as I see it, often just adding 1 layer of tape, using a narrow hone, and a good rolling X stroke, will even out a wavy bevel.

And also, perfectly straight even bevels are not vital, I have had some great shaves off razors with bevels that look like the belly fin of an eel

Best regards
Ralfson (Dr)

 

[justalex]

Here's a pic of the scales;

can't see anything looking like cell rot, but it was probably stored with scales with cell rot.

I'll leave the smiling bevel just now, it doesn't seem to be making a massive impact on the shape of the edge, it still looks pretty even

 

[pinklather]

Hi Alex,

It it turns out the Gotta is DOA, don't lose heart. There are MANY really good razors, even some big names like the Gotta that can be had for little money. Also, the lesser names can give magnificent shaves too. If you have to shop again and get stumped, I know the guys here can help, and I'm happy to as well.

I still have one blade where the pitting is just fatal - as far as value goes. 'Can't grind out one nick in the blade without exposing another. Ironically, it shaves fine. Others can be ugly ducklings, but still deliver the goods day in and day out. Don't let one unfortunate buy turn you away from great shaves. We all get our turn. I certainly have done likewise.

 

[justalex]

It does look pretty bad, but I haven't touched it since I got a new coti, honed 3 razors from my collection today which has been long overdue and it done it really well, I love it.

Getting back to the gotta: Its been steadily getting cleaner as I've been removing steel. It might be fools gold but, i'm gonna keep grinding away and see what happens.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

^^^^^^ :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Regards
Ralfson (Dr)