Thread: Newbie - Heirloom Blade

I am just starting to gain interest in the straight razor business. I'm enjoying reading and watching videos on all the processes that lead up including the shave. I hope to move into learning this art form real soon.

I do have a question regarding an heirloom I have from 3 generations ago. The blade is a J.R. Torrey, which I believe is a 5/8 piece. The blade has some tarnish on it but seems to be in pretty nice shape otherwise.

Would it be wise to just leave this as an heirloom and in current shape, or would it be worth honing and using this blade in the future?

Thanks for any discussion on the topic.

Jason

Welcome to your new addiction Vwoo Being as I am completely new to the forum and wet shaving in general, take this with a grain of salt, but some pictures would really make it easier for some of the more experienced folks here to give you some advice.

Originally Posted by Vwoo

I am just starting to gain interest in the straight razor business. I'm enjoying reading and watching videos on all the processes that lead up including the shave. I hope to move into learning this art form real soon.

I do have a question regarding an heirloom I have from 3 generations ago. The blade is a J.R. Torrey, which I believe is a 5/8 piece. The blade has some tarnish on it but seems to be in pretty nice shape otherwise.

Would it be wise to just leave this as an heirloom and in current shape, or would it be worth honing and using this blade in the future?

Thanks for any discussion on the topic.

Jason

Honing only refines the very edge of the blade so it cuts better, you can still leave a petina or aged look on the blade as long as the scales are intact. There are several expert honers on here.

Here are a few pics. I believe it's probably late 1800 early 1900 circa.

It's time to hone that sucker up and put it to good use, that thorobred is ready to go, she just needs a tune up. JR Torrey made some of the best razor steel in the world, a little harder than most, but it will take an amazing edge and hold it . Definitely a step above the crowd.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

It's time to hone that sucker up and put it to good use, that thorobred is ready to go, she just needs a tune up. JR Torrey made some of the best razor steel in the world, a little harder than most, but it will take an amazing edge and hold it . Definitely a step above the crowd.

I see you are in the KC area. Do you know anyone locally that you would recommend?

Check the clasifieds and look under the heading "member services".

You should definitely hone that thing up, I wish i had a family heirloom to use but apparently my family was just to lame to use a straight :P. As for fixing it up and polishing it, thats all up to you and the decision became yours on how it should look when you inherited it IMHO.

That looks like a really nice blade! When you said heirloom did you mean it has been passed down in your family?

There are some really good honers in the classifieds that live in MO, a couple are in the K.C. Area

Vwoo,

That's one nice looking razor. Just me, but I have several heirlooms and I've pretty much left them with patina. Yours is in very good condition. If you're handling it a lot, put a light coat of oil, mineral, gun, etc. on it to prevent rusting.

Get it honed and use it. Here's the link to member services. Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Beautiful Razor!!

Regards,

Howard