Forged club maintainence...

[Bigvivec]

I have developed a problem...I have been picking up dings on the leading edge and soles of my irons...have a small chip in the leading edge of my pw and 6i and a pinky tip sized indentation/scuff on the sole of my 4 iron...

Anyone have any tips on repairs of this? I have used a file to smooth the areas, and plan on bringing a sharpening stone home from work to put the finishing touches on smoothing them out, but any suggestions would be welcome...

[Butter Knife Guy]

Personally, I just leave them be. I know they're there, just don't care enough to do something about them. Irons are tools, not showpieces. They're meant to get scratched/dinged up over time. Besides, any area you touch with a file will likely begin to rust anyway, as you're scraping away the finish on the iron when you apply it to the club.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Butter Knife Guy

Personally, I just leave them be. I know they're there, just don't care enough to do something about them. Irons are tools, not showpieces. They're meant to get scratched/dinged up over time. Besides, any area you touch with a file will likely begin to rust anyway, as you're scraping away the finish on the iron when you apply it to the club.

I'm talking about dings that affect playablity...not bag chatter that some worry about...these three clubs met with some serious underground geology and are missing a bit from each...two of the three needed smoothing as there was a "hanger" for lack of a better word that if passed over carpet (indoor practice swing) would snag and twist the head...

I'm with you with the clubs as tools thought...that's why I could care less about the finish while filing away and soon to be rubbed with a sharpening stone...just wondering if there was another way...

[halk]

The one problem with using a file is that a file is going to leave deposits of iron which is going to promote rust. Using a sharping stone or a very low speed grinding wheel used to sharpen knives (wheel turns at a slow speed and uses water to keep metal cool) would be the preferred method. The rotary grinding stones using come with a cloth polishing wheel that you can apply a small amount of metal polish to further smooth out the surface. Since most who are not wood workers are not going to have a rotary tool sharping device I would lean toward using a stone to remove the nicks also the stone should not have been used to sharpen a steel knife again small particles of steel are going to get embedded which is going to promote rust.

On the other hand since you use these clubs quite often rust would not necessary be a problem only storing the clubs for a extended period of time would you need to worry about rust which can be taken care of with some type rust inhibiting coating.

Sorry about the long post but I think your method of using a file and stone for general repair is OK unless you are a wood worker and and have access to slow speed rotary grinders and buffing wheels.

Hope this helps BigV.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by halk

The one problem with using a file is that a file is going to leave deposits of iron which is going to promote rust. Using a sharping stone or a very low speed grinding wheel used to sharpen knives (wheel turns at a slow speed and uses water to keep metal cool) would be the preferred method. The rotary grinding stones using come with a cloth polishing wheel that you can apply a small amount of metal polish to further smooth out the surface. Since most who are not wood workers are not going to have a rotary tool sharping device I would lean toward using a stone to remove the nicks also the stone should not have been used to sharpen a steel knife again small particles of steel are going to get embedded which is going to promote rust.

On the other hand since you use these clubs quite often rust would not necessary be a problem only storing the clubs for a extended period of time would you need to worry about rust which can be taken care of with some type rust inhibiting coating.

Sorry about the long post but I think your method of using a file and stone for general repair is OK unless you are a wood worker and and have access to slow speed rotary grinders and buffing wheels.

Hope this helps BigV.

Thanks for the replies guys...

I really don't mind rust, just the metal burrs...but I did find that using the file worked somewhat, but once I gave the heads a once over with the sharpening stone (big 3 or four kilo one we had in the kitchen) I was able to smooth the heads out in a matter of seconds with no apparent damage to the finish...I used the fine grit which on the stone I had is probably around 1000 (pretty fine)...worked like a charm!

[pick-it-up]

After my clubs were damaged, I used #400 and #600 sandpaper on them and it worked quite nicely.

As far as avoiding these problems, check out the Ogio Stinger bag (or other models with the cart system).



Also, I usually wrap my towel between my clubs when I transport them in my trunk.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by pick-it-up

After my clubs were damaged, I used #400 and #600 sandpaper on them and it worked quite nicely.

As far as avoiding these problems, check out the Ogio Stinger bag (or other models with the cart system).



Also, I usually wrap my towel between my clubs when I transport them in my trunk.

I just like to test the hardness of rocks...

[wb4tjh]

Wrapping a towel around iron heads to keep them from banging together during transit is a darned GOOD idea.