Thread: Joy to disappointment in the blink of an eye

Last week a made a trade on FB for a Shumate Dollar. It came in today and I was happy as can be. It had a lil minor rust on it so I decided i'd take it to the garage and pull out the Dremel. I use my Dremel often for leather work, wood work, and other crafts and projects so I thought, no problem. So I put on the lil wire brush and start working on the rust spots, everything is going great, until.... One lil slip and the Dremel goes of the edge of the blade, at first glance I thought it was just a lil ding, but upon further inspection, I realized I actually cracked it. I didnt realize how delicate these things are, but now I know and will take it as a lesson learned. So what started of as a day of great joy, quickly turned into a bit of a bummer. On better note, I'm still alive and it's only materialistic, so I'm all better now. Here's a couple pics. The scales are in great shape and the pins are nice and snug. Would have been a great razor, I think. Back to the shavette for now. Have a blessed day!

Bummer! But, like you said, you're still alive.

Originally Posted by JaimeCobos

Last week a made a trade on FB for a Shumate Dollar. It came in today and I was happy as can be. It had a lil minor rust on it so I decided i'd take it to the garage and pull out the Dremel. I use my Dremel often for leather work, wood work, and other crafts and projects so I thought, no problem. So I put on the lil wire brush and start working on the rust spots, everything is going great, until.... One lil slip and the Dremel goes of the edge of the blade, at first glance I thought it was just a lil ding, but upon further inspection, I realized I actually cracked it. I didnt realize how delicate these things are, but now I know and will take it as a lesson learned. So what started of as a day of great joy, quickly turned into a bit of a bummer. On better note, I'm still alive and it's only materialistic, so I'm all better now. Here's a couple pics. The scales are in great shape and the pins are nice and snug. Would have been a great razor, I think. Back to the shavette for now. Have a blessed day!

I did the same thing.

I was so mad I threw my dremel away. From now on, anything I can't do by hand ain't gonna get done.

Believe me, I know EXACTLY how you feel.

I told my wife the same thing. Next time I'll use sand paper, ha.

We always say be very careful using dremmels when working on straights. Just one false move and...well you know what can happen and make sure you always use eye protection when working with one with a razor. it doesn't take much to send a metal fragment flying and they act like guided missiles right towards your eyes.

Sometimes it's just best to do things by hand. Glad you didn't get hurt! I don't think the razor is a loss, the crack is pretty close to the tip so it's possible to shorten it.

I doubt it was you or your dremel. Pitting and metal fatigue were probably what really caused it. It probably would have cracked eventually. The way I see it, that last thin portion of the blade near the edge is nearly as thin as a DE razor and look at how easily they can be snapped in two.
I know a lot if people have good luck restoring razors but your always taking a chance of something going south when you start cleaning one up. In the future, try spraying it down in Balistol oil, let it sit and then use different grades of rouge to take out the light pitting. Do as much of it by hand as possible. A mistake by hand is easier to fix then a mistake done by a power tool. I don't restore razors but I have a lot of experience restoring antiques.
Don't take it too hard.

I have a Robeson coming to me later this week. That one is shave ready so I'm not gonna mess that up, lol. Is it really possible to just shorten the blade on this one?

So guess what ? You still have some options here. A) you can keep it as is for display and posterity orrrrrr.......B) Now I have seen this done with good results but it takes some work. You can grind down that tip making a custom short detail razor. Seems about a year or two ago someone of expertise did just that and it turned out smashing from what I remember. Make smaller scales,polish that baby(maybe even put in a barbers notch if you're adventurous enough. It will not be the same animal you started with no but, it will still be a functioning razor for detail or travel, always look at the bright side of your life(Monty Python reference). Cheers !

Or you could put it up on ebay with some blurry photos