tat2Ralfy
Well-Known Member
So its on to the Blade, what I do is use Abrasive paste on cotton mops (Greaseless paste in the U.S.)in 3 grits, 80, 150, and 300, I only use the 80 if the blade really needs it, because its rough stuff.
I use a "Rat tail" in the bench drill, the fastest this runs is 2600 rpm, which helps to keep things cool.
As does my magnetic blade holder, it also gives me a much safer way of gripping onto the blade whilst working it, both on the paste and later on the polishing mops.
working carefully and being sure to cover the whole blade or tang (we need to avoid creating dips or flat spots) and always checking for things getting too hot, I work 1st with the 150 grit, then the 300, making sure before I change grits that the entire surface has only the scratches from the grit I am using, this gives the blade a uniform matt sheen, and its fairly easy to see if any pitting is still present, in which case I will keep at it until its nice and smooth. on full hollow grounds its sometimes almost impossible to remove all the marks close to the edge of the blade, there simply is not enough steel, also and well worth noting, you will find if you gently rub your finger down the blade from spine to edge, you should just be able to feel a slight "bump" just above the edge, the profile of the blade is a very slight figure 8, we dont want to remove that stabilising bump, so again its important not to go mad with the abrasive at that part of the blade.
After the Abrasive comes the polishing mops, again mounted in the bench drill, again not running too fast.
I use 3, a hard Sisal mop with a grey compound, then a softer stitched cotton mop with a brown compound, and to finish a soft un-stitched cotton and green compound.
Working as before, I am careful to avoid overdoing it at the edge, and constantly check for heat, if the blade starts getting too hot for me hold with bare hands, I take it off the holder and holding it by the tang, fan it in the air to cool it off.
I make sure that I have worked the entire blade, and have polished out all the marks left by the previous polish or Abrasive paste before going on to the next one. Also it is important to remove all traces of polish both from the blade and holder, as we move to a finer finish.
After the final mop I hand polish the blade with a good metal polish (I use Peek) and a soft cotton cloth, and inspect it to see if I need to go back to the mops to remove any marks I might have missed.
Now the blade is ready to mount in the scales, if the pivot hole is loose on the pin I will either fill it with epoxy and drill it to size, or fit a bush using the same tube that I make my washers from, in this case I opted for the tube, first I had to drill out the tang the right size, then I cut a bush, filed the ends smooth and pushed it into place.
The blade was fitted with 2 thin friction washers inside the scales to prevent wear, my handmade washers went on the outside, and a gentle but firm peening finishes the pinning off nicely, the whole razor is then given one last polish by hand, and the finished item looks like this.
All thats left is Honing, and boy was that fun! I used my Kai 400/1000 waterstone to breadknife the edge and form a bevel, once that was shaving arm hair I dulled it on glass, and performed a Dilocut with my Les Latneuses, stropped 60/60 on Dovo canvas and leather, HHT was as good as I get, I am just off to shave with the old girl now, thanks for looking guys and a big thanks for all the advice and help.
Regards
Ralfson (Dr)
I use a "Rat tail" in the bench drill, the fastest this runs is 2600 rpm, which helps to keep things cool.
As does my magnetic blade holder, it also gives me a much safer way of gripping onto the blade whilst working it, both on the paste and later on the polishing mops.
working carefully and being sure to cover the whole blade or tang (we need to avoid creating dips or flat spots) and always checking for things getting too hot, I work 1st with the 150 grit, then the 300, making sure before I change grits that the entire surface has only the scratches from the grit I am using, this gives the blade a uniform matt sheen, and its fairly easy to see if any pitting is still present, in which case I will keep at it until its nice and smooth. on full hollow grounds its sometimes almost impossible to remove all the marks close to the edge of the blade, there simply is not enough steel, also and well worth noting, you will find if you gently rub your finger down the blade from spine to edge, you should just be able to feel a slight "bump" just above the edge, the profile of the blade is a very slight figure 8, we dont want to remove that stabilising bump, so again its important not to go mad with the abrasive at that part of the blade.
After the Abrasive comes the polishing mops, again mounted in the bench drill, again not running too fast.
I use 3, a hard Sisal mop with a grey compound, then a softer stitched cotton mop with a brown compound, and to finish a soft un-stitched cotton and green compound.
Working as before, I am careful to avoid overdoing it at the edge, and constantly check for heat, if the blade starts getting too hot for me hold with bare hands, I take it off the holder and holding it by the tang, fan it in the air to cool it off.
I make sure that I have worked the entire blade, and have polished out all the marks left by the previous polish or Abrasive paste before going on to the next one. Also it is important to remove all traces of polish both from the blade and holder, as we move to a finer finish.
After the final mop I hand polish the blade with a good metal polish (I use Peek) and a soft cotton cloth, and inspect it to see if I need to go back to the mops to remove any marks I might have missed.
Now the blade is ready to mount in the scales, if the pivot hole is loose on the pin I will either fill it with epoxy and drill it to size, or fit a bush using the same tube that I make my washers from, in this case I opted for the tube, first I had to drill out the tang the right size, then I cut a bush, filed the ends smooth and pushed it into place.
The blade was fitted with 2 thin friction washers inside the scales to prevent wear, my handmade washers went on the outside, and a gentle but firm peening finishes the pinning off nicely, the whole razor is then given one last polish by hand, and the finished item looks like this.
All thats left is Honing, and boy was that fun! I used my Kai 400/1000 waterstone to breadknife the edge and form a bevel, once that was shaving arm hair I dulled it on glass, and performed a Dilocut with my Les Latneuses, stropped 60/60 on Dovo canvas and leather, HHT was as good as I get, I am just off to shave with the old girl now, thanks for looking guys and a big thanks for all the advice and help.
Regards
Ralfson (Dr)
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