Thread: Restoring rusty, old blade. Which finish do you go for?

So you are restoring an old blade you found, Which finish do you personally like?

The New - strive to achieve a like new finish or The do as little as possible - light sand or polish, leaving pits to show what it has been through.

Can I pick "all of the above"?

I like keeping mine as "vintage" as possible, basically leaving everything except for the active rust.

I aim for a mirror finish..However, there are some circumstances where that is not practical/possibllle (for me anyway). For example, you dont want to loose an etch, or the pitting is just too bad. Or sometimes the patina just suits the razor.
So I guess what I'm saying is that the razor dictates.
Grant

I prefer a "pitless" finish, if I can attain one on the blade I'm working on.

Then, on top of that...I really like the results I'm getting from going 600 greasless to Crox. Not quite a dull satin, and not a mirror.

I like mine to be shiny but I also like to leave the pitting to show some of the age.

There is a world of difference between "shiny" and "polished to a mirror" I myself dont understand this facination with mirror finishes. I totally go with "the razor tells you what it needs"

Originally Posted by baldy

I.
So I guess what I'm saying is that the razor dictates.
Grant

+1
Some razors look great with a mirror finish particularly if they are being rescaled in a synthetic material like G10 or Carbon Fibre.
Others where 'period' materials are being used or the original scales are being retained some patina and light pitting look like they belong.

This is the finish I was talking about on a Greaves American Razor. One of the main reasons l let the pitting one this is to preserve as much of the eagle etching on the blade as possible.

I have a couple of W&B razors that have a very nice vintage look, but a third one that I picked up looked like some dumbass had taken a grinder to the etching on the blade, so that one is getting fully sanded, buffed and polished to a high shine. But my Bow Razors will probably keep most of their vintage look. On the Bows, I'm reluctant to even unpin them to clean the pivot, despite some rust in there, simply because of how nice the scales are.

Bow #1 (currently in my rotation


Bow #2 (a beauty, but the back scale is cracked so I'll probably have to replace them )


The Celebrated that had the etching ground off. This one is getting the full shine treatment and I've already restored the scales with several days of Neatsfoot soaking, then sanding up to 12000, then more Neatsfoot soaking, then a buffing with a cloth.