Thread: Hey folks!

Hey guys! My name is Josh, and I'm a knifemaker from Maryland!

I started on my first knife when I was 15, I made it from a file that my great grandfather used in the steel mill before retiring with 35 years under his belt. Needless to say, it was absolutely atrocious looking, and I later messed it up beyond repair. After making and selling a few blades to friends and family, I picked up a 2x48 Kalamazoo grinder and some bar steel and the rest is history.

Almost a year ago, I went to an estate sale that caught my eye because of the massive amount of machinery that the deceased gentleman possessed, and just as I was about to leave, I spotted three straight razors for sale. A William Bocking(anyone have info?), a Keen Kutter, and a third one that I didn't open because of the rust. I thought that it was too forgone.I payed the nice lady $15 for the Bocking razor, and was out the door otherwise empty-handed.

Since getting a steady income (I'm only 18), RAD has really nipped me in the rear, and the lovely people here are only making matters worse! I buy razors to restore/refurbish, hone and use. It's easily been the most expensive hobby of my life, but also been the most rewarding. Nothing feels better than taking a turn of the century W&B from gross and grimy to shiny and sharp.

An intro wouldn't be an intro without some pics, so here goes.. My first "restoration".

It's a mid-20th cent Genco razor that I got for $3.00 at an antique store.



Blade was chipped as you can see, and the scales had started to off-gas, so I unpinned them and ground the blade down.

A few hours of work.. Annnnnd...





A pretty sporty little "chopped" razor.

Still has some stain spots from the rust that I need to buff out, and the edge is near butter knifed, but I'll have her shaving lickity-split!



Thanks for looking, and I hope to be more active!

Welcome on board, if you have any qusetions, feel free to ask, nice save on the genco too.

Welcome to SRP

Cool little razor

Thanks gents!

Cornicus,

Welcome to Straight Razor Place. That appears to be a good restoration of a broken blade. The scales look striking, too. and I like the design. Overall, I think it is a handsome razor. My only concern is the perceived — mine — imbalance in the razor: I assume the blade is a 5/8 that is sawed off, but the scales look big and, I assume, heavy for the size of the blade.

Thank you for your greetings and feedback!

Believe it or not, the balance point is right in the pivot point, and it's a pretty decent shaver from what I've tested - with only about a day's worth of stubble. It's definitely the smoothest opening razor I've ever put together - usually with my builds, the inner washers are gritty. I polished them and the inner micarta and it's silky smooth. It holds closed when upside down, but opens with the lightest touch.

I made sure to balance the weight of the handle so that it wasn't much more than the weight of the blade, and took the daunting task of thinning out the micarta liberally with medium-grit paper. Really this wasn't a test of practicality, but rather a project that I threw together willy-nilly in an attempt to test the boundaries of my abilities. What I can say is that SRP has already taught me A LOT.

I almost want to buy a chopper with shot scales and use the same pattern for those. I think the curves would look better on say an 8/8 or 15/16 than a run of the mill 5/8 - just finding a blade that thick that isn't a wedge or that doesn't cost over $50 is a problem..

Tomorrow or Saturday I should be getting some Outer's gun blue, which I'm going to use on the hollow of the blade. Should give it a pretty cool look. If it turns out well, I'll post a picture here.

Thanks again for your reply and constructive criticism.

Stay sharp!

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you are off to a good start on that shorty. Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with.

Matt

Hi and welcome. Nice work on the restoration.

Hi there & a warm welcome to the forum. Great job on the broken blade. Keep that up & no telling what you'll be up to next!

I hope your next one is even better with a good blade that wasn't chipped. I made knives from files way back when I was your age!!!