Thread: Restoring a blade while preserving etching

Hey all,
Just received my first razor to restore, its an "Original Dagger" from Joseph Allen & Sons. The blade has an etching that currently is in great shape and it will add a lot of character once the blade is restored. That being said, I am afraid sandpaper will significantly damage the etching. I have seen another razor, with the same etchings that was restored, and it was significantly damaged by some abrasive cleaning- I assume sandpaper.

My question is if there is a way to clean the blade of rust and patina with out sand paper. Perhaps a chemical of some sort? I have heard WD-40 might help? Does anyone have any suggestions? Or should I wetsand with very high grit and accept that it will take longer?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Take Care,
John

I have sanded down one too many etchings. Post up some pics for reference. I believe some have had luck with a vibratory tumbler..just got one,but have yet to try it.

As long as it isn't gold wash or a frosted etching, metal polish and #0000 steel wool should be just fine.

every etching I have ever done was not liking even MAAS. pics would help give us an idea but right now it's all guess work.

What theseus said or send it to someone who has a tumbler...that's about all you can do & keep the etchings.

Thanks for the advice. I'll post some pics when I get home from school. Maybe I'll pick up some metal polish on the way home to.

Maas & Flitz are what I prefer to work with, but most any metal or chrome polish will work fine. I like to use thick paper towels like the blue "shop towel" available at the auto part stores. Just watch that edge...

Thanks shooter- and that's enough to eat through some rust and darkening of the blade?

You should know that to give you a good hypothesis we need pictures. Your & my idea of a little rust, tarnish, darkening may vary a bit.

Rust is always questionable, you never know how deep it is. You simply can't hurt the razor by polishing it by hand with a known quality metal polish. This is the least aggressive approach. Then, if you don't get all the rust & darkening off the blade, you can take steel wool to it with either wd-40 or metal polish, then metal polish by hand, and see how it goes. Toothpicks, dental floss, and cotton swabs are great around the pivot point. Sometimes we simply have to admit we have an old razor that may never look new & shiny, the most important thing is how it shaves. I personally like the nostalgia of shaving with an old and imperfect razor, reminds me of...me.

Your right, I should have known better. Here are some pics.