[gssixgun]

The SWMBO stopped in Couer d' Alene and picked up brand new media for the tumblers, yesterday, so I am ready to go on this.... I will get as good a "Before" pic as possible and post it... Then take progress pics as it goes....

[joke1176]

I have used media finishers, and glass beading cabinets in the tool & die industry.
I bet the tumbler will dull the edge, but not wreck it. Even so, if it was a razor I actually cared about, I would put some electrical tape over the bevel. But I am paranoid.
I wish I had one of those little home models, walnut shells or med-fine abrasive media would work great.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[ByronTodd]

I can't wait either.... After all, that licensing fee of mine might pay dividends in razors!!!

Of course, the wife might get just a wee bit upset if I buy another tool for myself...

[Mike_ratliff]

The problem with a tumbler or a sand blaster is it removes metal from inside the pitts as well as the top metal...
sand paper removes the high spots...

If you want a way to sand without being present, I would think some sort of low speed low heat belt sander would be better... I'm picturing a leather or canvas belt with diamond paste, and a clamp to hold the razor in place. You'd have to use a large roller or guide to keep the belt in even contact with the blade... unless you only intend on using it on wedges.

[gssixgun]

This will be the test razor... A Fredrick Reynolds 7/8 Barbers notch full hollow with etching.. I picked this one for a few reasons

1. It has a shaving edge quite sharp for an e-bay razor
2. It has etching..
3. It has patina and rust..
4. It has jimps...
And the # 1 reason, it had a broken scale and it was real easy to pop it loose




Gentlemen Start your engines..... OK yer tumblers
I will check on this a take more pics as the experiment proceeds...
May the razor gods smile on this, I would hate to break this blade, it could be a nice restore

[gssixgun]

First let me welcome you guys into the shop, or as the wife calls it "The Glen House"
Yep it's a mess just like any good working shop should be
(Plus it keeps her away)


Just to make sure all the non-gun nutz know what we are using for this experiment, these are brass tumblers, they are usually 2 different sizes, for the experiment, I am using the smaller one, because I feel the the higher speed of media rotation will keep the blade suspended better...

[gssixgun]

7:00am PST
I don't care what the time stamp says trust me it's 7 am here...


Hmmm Purple Heart scales??????



Lets see if it survives the plunge first.....



Will update the progress in about 12 hours when I get back in from work...
This is the whole object of this experiment if I can drop a blade in the spinner and then be at work and have it polishing all day or all week and then put together a razor on my next day off Hmmmmmmm this can't work it would make life way to easy

[Traveller]

Holy Shi* Glen ,Look at all that snow outside the window,no wonder you send the wife out to pick up your supplies.We are all watching the pot waiting for the timer to run down and see the results.Best Regards Gary

[2Sharp]

I haven't tried it yet but I have the stuff to do it. I can reload all my shells and some I even pour my own bullets.

bj

[gssixgun]

Originally Posted by Traveller

Holy Shi* Glen ,Look at all that snow outside the window,no wonder you send the wife out to pick up your supplies.We are all watching the pot waiting for the timer to run down and see the results.Best Regards Gary

I didn't notice that until you pointed in out
Yeah I wasn't kidding about not being able to get into my shop from Dec 1st till now... I actually was walking on about 6 feet of crusted snow to get into the shop this morning... I can't wait till work is over so I can check the "pot"

[gssixgun]

Nice reloading station set up BJ...

[gatorfan]

Originally Posted by floppyshoes

I was looking at vibratory tumblers on ebite the other day and had the same thought. I'm interested to see how well they work on heavy/deep pitting. Sometimes grinding seems to be inevitable.

I also looked at vibratory tumblers on ebay. Looks like you can get some pretty good deals on them. Can't wait to see the after pictures and the results of your experiment.

[gssixgun]

OK here are the results so far...
Keep in mind I am using the walnuts shells still as just a cleaner, as soon as all the rust, patina, and gunk are gone then I use the corn cob with a metal polish "loaded in" and go for a nicer finish... So far the results are very promising, almost all the rust is gone, the patina has disappeared, and the blade and tang are beginning to take on a satiny shine. Notice the etch and the tang stamps are legible now....
Also though you can't see it, I can tell you that the blade still has a pretty good edge to it....
This is after 12 hours while I was sitting at work !!!!!!

[Mike_ratliff]

I'm already impressed...
I didn't think the tumbler would really do much of anything.

[gatorfan]

Looks pretty good. The tumbler media - can it be reused with the same effectiveness?

[gssixgun]

Well this has been going for 24 hours now....

Here is the good news:
There is no damage at all the the blade...
The edge still has a little bite left to it,not quite as sharp as when I dropped it, but the edge is by no means rounded or folded...
The finish is very smooth and satiny..
The jimps really came clean as well as the tail..
The etching is absolutely beautiful and clean

Here is the bad news:
The tang next to the pivot hole is clean but there is slight pitting that is still there...
On top of the spine there is tiny spot of that black crap that is so hard to get off (even with sandpaper)...

Continuing from here I used a piece of 400 grit paper and spent exactly 3 min cleaning by the pivot hole and roughed up the black spot...
I will check it at 7pm tonight and decide the next step at that time..







Please forgive my lack of photography skills !!!!! it's the best I can manage...

[Doc]

far as I can tell there aint no bad news. bad new would be all I could find was a piece of the tang this morning! Keep up the good work!!!!!!