Making the Blade Safety Jig

Here is a simplified version of how to make the "new and improved" version of the blade safety jig that Kerry Jones shared with me. There really isn't a whole lot to it and the materials photo should enable you to figure everything out. If not, then maybe razor restoration may not be something you should be messing around with... know what I'm sayin' there, three fingers?

The wood base can be just about any type of wood. Since you will be putting a piece of thin metal over it, wood hardness is not an issue. Instead of a popsicle stick, you could use any similar stick that is commonly found in any craft store. Or cut your own. Just be sure it is not thicker than the width of your razors because the extra height gets in the way.

I use T-88 epoxy for most of my needs when it comes to holding things together. To me, it's the best adhesive ever made. With that said, go ahead and ignore the wisdom and use your own dang glue to hold the steel sheet that you have cut slightly over sized to the block of 3/4 inch thick wood. Of course, that's after you have drilled three holes that are approximately 1 inch apart on a straight line 1 inch in from the edge of the wood. Make sure it's the left edge... (that's a joke, son, I say, that's a joke.) In place of the metal sheet, you could try some Formica, but still cut it a tad bigger than the wood. Contact cement works just fine for this. Works for the metal sheet too, come to think of it. It would be faster than the T-88 thing if that is an issue.

After the metal sheet isn't going anywhere, go ahead and use a file to take the edges down to the wood. That's really old school, but it works. Otherwise, use a belt sander to make quick work of it. Once it's done, run some pilot holes for some 3/4 inch brass brads to hold the popsicle stick down. Also glue it. Any of the aforementioned gluing procedures will suffice. It will look something like this when you are done. If you are intending to fasten the jig to a workbench, drill some holes for (2) #6 screws and countersink them.

This last pic shows how the razor is placed on the jig to keep the cutting edge down on the surface of the metal and help prevent damage or injury to you while you work on it. Extreme caution must still be your foremost concern. This jig will only help you keep your fingers... but it doen't guarantee it.

For those of you who still don't want to make your own, I should have some ready in the next day or two. You can go here to get them.

Recent Razor Output

Some of you may know that I also make custom straight razors in addition to restoring the vintage ones. In case some of you missed it, I also make custom knives. Drop by for a visit:

http://www.billysblades.com/

Anyway, I just finished up 11 custom razors, with 9 more close to a completion date as well. I am in the process of honing 8 of them that have just been purchased. This first one is my humpback model with stabilized curly maple scales. I thought it would look good with a bit of color, so I added a yellow gemstone to the blade. Oh, I also took up engraving so I could dress my work up a tad.

This next one is my humpback model with Kauri swamp wood. This stuff has amazing grain and its appearance is hard to beat. My good friend, Gary, from New Zealand sent me some choice pieces of this wood. Gary kind of dropped of the end of the earth. Hopefully, it's only temporary. Gary, I'd like to hear from you...

This one is my Irish/Slope point humpback with stabilized spalted maple for scales. The scales have an acrylic finish that gives the appearance of being covered in glass. I engraved the top of the spine with an alternating leaf pattern and the bottom of the tang with the same motif.

This is one of my favorites. It's a sloped humpback with Mopani for scales. I also lined the scales after embedding some colored twisted wire on both sides.

The blade is engraved with a running wheat pattern on the spine and the bottom of the tang. I also ebellished the top of the spine with a 2mm yellow gemstone.

This last one for show and tell is my sloped humpback with cocobolo scales. Engraving is a running wheat pattern on top and bottom.

Making Wedges

This may help those of you who want to make your own wedges for the butt of your straight razors. It is not difficult, especially after you see how it is done. Many materials can be used, including the same stuff you used to make your own set of scales.

It is important to remember that the wedge is just that... a wedge. It has to have a slight taper. Otherwise it becomes just a spacer. Spacers do not belong at the back of a razor. Make sure you taper whatever material you use. Colored plastics work great. One of my favorites is the use of buffalo horn.

I often get the statement that it is too difficult to match the angle of the dangle to ensure that the inside surface that is perpendicular to the side of the scales is, indeed perpendicular. Towards the end of the video, you will see how easily this is accomplished.

Bill's Straight Razor Info: Any Questions

Bill's Straight Razor Info: Any Questions
Safety Jig

Celluloid Rot

Some of you may have heard of celluloid rot, but never quite understood it... probably never saw what it looked like either. There might even be a few of you who knew of it, never saw what it looks like, and might not really understand it until it bites you.

To put it simply, celluloid rot is when the celluloid scales on your razor go south and the gasses emited from the breakdown of the composition causes the steel to rust quickly. It will even chew through light coats of oil to do its business. It's ugly and it can ruin a razor collection because it's basically contagious. That means that a razor with celluloid rot will stimulate the same process in the celluloid scales of your other razors that may be stored in the same box or container or whatever. *Addendum ~ that is what I had been told from other razor enthusiasts for many years. However, I think what is more likely is that the infected set of scales merely attacks the exposed steel of the other razors, especially if they are in a closed container together. So saying that it is contagious isn't all that wrong to say since the whole idea is to remove the infected razor before it damages the others in your collection.

I have noticed a couple of things. Black scales don't seem to ever get celluloid rot, and the ones that get it the most are the semi-transparent amber and orange colors. If any of you have had different experiences, please share them. I have found almost a perfect illustration of celluloid rot, as sad as it is, because I could have fixed this razor up really nice and added it to my site. Because of the "disease", it will be quarantined and be relegated to a life of experiments. Vile experiments.

The pic of this razor from the auction page is no longer available because it was quite a while ago. I forgot to copy it... my bad. There wasn't exactly a whole lot of info in the description, and the pictures the seller provided sure didn't show the detail I would like to have seen. I must admit that I might have missed the pattern of damage anyway, mainly because celluloid rot isn't running rampant through the razor population.

This first pic shows the razor closed. Notice that there isn't a whole lot of rust above the edge of the scales. This is one of the things to look for when trying to discover if the scales have rot, or not.

In this second pic you can see the areas of the blade that are affected by the gasses being emitted. Looking at the "stains", it's hard to tell that those are relatively rough areas well on their way to forming their own colony of pitting.

This third pic shows a little closer look at the damage. Can any of you spot anything different or similar about the pattern?

Picture 4 shows the detail on the other side of the blade. Look at the pattern closely and see if you spot what is going on.

OK, I will remove the mystery. Look at the areas I have circled in this last picture. Can you see the correlation between the colors and the rusting patterns? The white/yellow areas of the scales do not have the disease, whereas the orange shades have it bad.

Remember, the most prominent characteristic of celluloid rot is that the rust will be within the confines of the scales as opposed to the area exposed to air. The areas exposed to air usually would rust first. There will be a pop quiz on this subject at the end of the year, so remember it....

Blade Safety Jig

Credit for this invaluable jig goes to Kerry Jones. It's nice to see someone take something I might have said and run with it.
Thanks a ton, Kerry
I made improvements to my own "Kerry Jig" by rabbeting a 1/4 inch thick by 1 inch wide area along the base of the hardwood and set a bar of solid copper there that is held in place with a thin bed of epoxy. This helps dissipate the heat that is generated when using sanding discs, wheels, or buffs near the edge of the blade. You can also use aluminum. Both items can be found at your local hardware store.
The round objects in the photo are magnets. Use a series of the strongest ones you can find in a piece of hardwood to hold the blade down while you are working on it. This allows you to use both hands and also provides a flat surface to protect the cutting edge. The best I have found are rare earth magnets. They are here: http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/

A cordless 7.2 volt dremel has two speeds. The slower speed works pretty good when you work a blade edge. I would not get close to the edge with any grits larger (rougher) than 320. Use fresh discs. Once they become worn, they heat everything up too much. Use light pressure as you are sanding and keep the disc moving to lessen the heat build up.

Use an old blade that is useless to practice some of your "moves". Intentionally heat the blade edge with the discs until it turns color; it will usually be brown first and go right into a "cemetery dead" blue. Then, you will have an idea what not to do on your good blades. Once the blade turns ANY kind of color other than shiny, the blade is toast there in that spot and it will be worthless as a shaving implement.

For those of you who don't want to, can't, or have the tools to make one of these jigs, guess what? I have made a few of them and they are available on my web site. Here is the link:

http://www.billysblades.com/Other%20Goodies/4567.htm

My New Restoration CD is out

Haven't had much of a chance to hang around here lately. I've been very busy moving into a new house, setting up a new workshop, and finishing my updated CD on Straight Razor Restoration.

The first CD had a generous 74 meg of information dealing with the basics of fixing up that ole razor of yours. This new one has closer to 300 meg. Part of which is a little over an hour of video instruction.

Even if you aren't in a position to restore your own razor now, this CD will not only let you know how the work is done, but will allow you to spot the work other people may have done to the razor you just bought.

It will also let you know what to be looking for in a razor so you don't wind up wasting money on lemons. Either way, it's a good read... I promise.

Go to my site to learn more about it...
http://www.billysblades.com/Straight%20Razor%20Book.htm