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Hi folks,
I'm considering buying a Fritz Bracht (Dovo) razor but I'm a bit concerned about the color of the metal.
And since I'm no expert at all, I'd appreciate some hints on the condition of this razor.
I'll probably go check it out myself (if the owner approves)
Attachment 84380
Are there any visible flaws visible to the expert's eye ?
From what I can see it looks as if it was never finely polished and left slightly unfinished to give the metal a "frosted" look. There does seem to be some excessive spine/hone wear towards the toe.
Maybe it's been a bit rusty and hit with a wire brush? WOuld make a good shaver, but more than likely never a prom queen...
The first thing that occurred to me when I saw the 'frosted' look was cleaned cell rot. The way the pattern of patina is all over the blade/tang. If that is the case the scales will have to be replaced. I could be wrong though, I was wrong once before.
Looks to me it was rusty and had minor pitting which was cleaned up leaving the surface you see. Of course that's just a wild guess.
There is rust & pitting in the bevel & edge but a new bevel may solve that.
Jimmy, I had thought about cell rot but what I see is too evenly distributed the entire length of the blade, shank and all.
I agree with nun2sharp, that does not appear to be the pattern of scale cell rot. What could have caused that texture/color on the steel I do not know. My suggestion would be to purchase the razor only if the price is low. The purchaser just does not know what it will take to get the blade looking new again.
As an example just last nite I started restoring 3 razors. The worst looking, the Boker with scalloped spine, looked really bad but was the easiest to sand down, and the best looking one, the big blade, had deep pitting underneath the patina that took a good bit of time to sand out.
new sander - a set on Flickr
The finish somewhat reminds me of metal that has been beadblasted, but not the color of it.
When I was growing up my dad had a bucket with some diesel fuel in it. If he found a rusted pocketknife or pair of pliers that would not open he would toss them in there and forget about them for a few months. It worked most of the time. The color reminds me more of that. (This was back when diesel was diesel and did not have dyes and other things added or removed from it)
It may have been bead blasted, it does have that look to the metal.
Reminds me of my welding teacher in ironworker's apprentice school .... said I had 'gorilla welds' ..... they're strong but they're ugly. Same with that razor ..... I've bought such as that before and even if it is cheap, to me it ain't worth the time and effort to clean it up ..... if it will clean up. OTOH, if doing restoration is your thing ..... that is a different kettle of fish.
Salutations,
I am not an expert on wear on razors, but the color reminds me of carbon damage from a fire. I could be mistaken but the "Made in Germany" marking appears to have some shine to it still, if this is so then the discoloring happened after it was scaled. If that -is- fire damage then you may want to think twice before buying. Heated razors can be more prone to chips, cracks, and other such problems.
Cheers,
JackofDiamonds
I agree with Jackofdiamonds, it looks like fire damage. I dont think that it was heated to the point of loosing temper though, just a thought, because the scales are still intact. Correct me if I am wrong, but if it was hot enough to loose temper wouldnt the scales be melted? if it is fire damaged that is.
