Hi All
Just wondering if this old razor is fixable and how much work it's likely to take, it's been in a box for about 60 years and it's got a bit of rust and the edge looks pretty rough.
Blade is 3/4" wide.
2b
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Hi All
Just wondering if this old razor is fixable and how much work it's likely to take, it's been in a box for about 60 years and it's got a bit of rust and the edge looks pretty rough.
Blade is 3/4" wide.
2b
Going by what I'm seeing that looks like a very straightforward bevel set through the progression and you have yourself a nice little shaver.
If you can get a solid bevel set then it is absolutely restorable.
Looks like a fairly straightforward process to clean it up and reset the bevel. Not bad for 60 years out of use.
What I call..a quicky.
Some flitz or Maas, and time on the hones.
Hell yea it's salvageable! What Outback said.
Id start with getting bevel set. If and when that happens you will know your in good shape and you can save the blade. But as outback said, looks like a quicky.
Thanks everybody, guess I better order a stone.
The razor was my great great uncles, from what I've been able to find online it may have been made by ERN and one of their better models, it came with a couple of pig bristle brushes and a Gem stone/ strop, the old jack knife and slide-o-matic lighter are kinda cool too :)
2b
From the pics, it does look like a fairly easy restore.
With that said, being that it's an heirloom, you might give some thought to either allowing someone with more experience to do the work OR set it aside until you have more experience.
You'd be kicking yourself in the arse if you were to damage it.
Just a thought-----
good point, maybe I'll go thrift shopping and see if I can't pick up something cheap to practice on, it'll take a while to get a stone so I'll have some time to think it over.
2b
Some may digress but learning to hone should be last on your list of things to learn.
Making Lather
Proper Stropping
Clean Close and Comfortable Shaves
Should all be learned way before learning to hone--Just my honest opinion--
With that said, once you have a truly shave ready razor, learning how to 'touch up' an edge can be included in the lather, stropping and shaving :tu
Hi and welcome. I'm with Cuda on this. As someone who learnt it all at once it is much easier to get a professional job of honing and learn proper maintenance. You will spend a decent time on the hones to get it right and you still wouldn't know for sure as you haven't already experienced a shave ready razor.
Send your first one out to get a benchmark and consider getting the full set up later. A basic progression is 1, 4 and 8k stones. The best way to learn is give a shout out for anyone local for some one on one help. Will save frustration and a bit of metal.
Despite what the others have said, I doubt that old bird is salvageable. You should send it to me for proper disposal. I'll send a PM with my address.
uhhm, twoBirds,
I am much more qualified at razor disposal. I have disposed of several horribly aged Wade and Butchers over the past years, which makes me a more reputable razor disposer than all others. I will DM you the disposal address. please include all stones , as I can assure you with a low 0% degree of certainty that they are warped and dished, and will benefit from disposal as well.
you must learn :
= saying goodbye to money - starting out isn't free
= learn to stop and maintain strop, razor, brush
= produce consistent lather
= shave with proper angle
= hone, and maintain hones
= restore any razor you come across
= deny to all outsiders that you have an SR addiction or lifestyle
= learn to smuggle finds past the SWMBO
Had to look up SWMBO. Lol
Fortunately SWMBO is partial to a close shave :) I'm thinking that if I put it right I can leverage the free razor as an excuse to buy the extra fine and extra extra fine diamond stones I've always wanted, "Gee Dear, it would have cost $300 to buy a comparable razor, so I'm $40 ahead as the plates only cost $260" :D
Probably won't work, I'm beginning to suspect she's smarter than me :)
I actually do a fair amount of honing, carving tools, planes, spokeshaves, drawknife, and chisels. Which is why I want diamond plates, waterstones don't stand up to the kind of sharpening I do.
2b
I beg to differ but you have not 'Honed' anything, you have 'Sharpened' the carving tools etc. This misunderstanding that 'I can sharpen knives, etc' is one of the most misunderstood ideas when it comes to straight razors
I am a former meat cutter and I'll tell you straight out that the difference between Honing and Sharpening is Black and White. The hones are completely different, the angles are different and the pressure used is entirely different.
How many of those tools have you set the bevel with using a 1000 grit stone? NONE! That's where it starts with a straight razor.
I'll make you a deal, I'll pay for a Pro of my choice to hone and or clean up that heirloom razor for you including shipping home to you N/C! All it will cost you is about $7.10 to use USPS's Small Priority and have the razor very well padded and the information on where to send the razor when it's done.
I'll send you a PM on how to make this happen.
You guys are killing me to death! :roflmao
We are having fun aren't we? :)
just wanted to say that I would never try to sharpen this razor without even knowing what shave-ready looks like on a straight razor, especially not a straight razor I'll be using myself, now if it were for my brother in law ... :D
2b
HAR!...........
Please.take Roy up on his offer. Dont try to learn to HONE on a family razor.
When i first started to learn to use a straight and hone and restore and lather and strop and..... all at one time, Roy gave me a lot of guff about it. He kept saying to slow down and learn one thing at a time. I didnt listen. After about a year into my trip of learning it all at once i finally figured out how to hone. To took me a lot of time. Waisted a few razors along the way and i too thought i knew about sharpening. I kept telling Roy "its only sharpening". To this day Roy digs at me about my "sharpening statment". Trust me, its not sharpening in the way you would sharpen anything else!
the diamond plates your wanting are not razor hones, but ill go with another suggestion, just go ahead and buy the diamond plates that you are so fond of for tools(every tool guy says this) and do it yourself, that way when it really gets messed up we can say we told you so like a few hundred others.
guys advise only works when someone listens, heck a free honing. guy wanting to spend 260$ for a 20 dollar honing and cleaning, so there you go
doesn't know what shave ready is cause he thinks tools are sharp,, I can put an edge on a knife that would make you go wow. but I don't shave with my knife.
Tc
Guess you didn't read my last post?
Just thought of another advantage to using a straight, I doubt my dearly beloved will ever borrow it to shave her legs, was a real problem with the mach 3 I had for a while :)
2b
I tried to talk my wife into using the straight on her legs. I even offered to do it for her. She looked at me like I was crazy. :shrug: Well, Maybe so, but at least I tried.
Lol, I've seen that look a few times :) when I said I was going to start using a straight razor for instance, and just recently when I told her I was sending it to Indiana to get sharpened, dropped it in the mail a few minutes ago :)
2b
So, 2b, who is going to hone it for you?
Inquiring minds need to know! :shrug:
There is something deeply rewarding about having shaving set a man of the family from way back actually used, congrats! :)
my mistake, Idaho, dang, looks like I sent it to the wrong place, Doh, too late to catch it at the post office too, ahh well, if the zip code doesn't get it where it's supposed to go it'll come back here, no worries.
I'll give the post office a call in the morning and see if it's fixable, everything is electronic including the shipping label so it may be.
It was supposed to go the Glen Mercurio at Glen Star Customs.
2b
Yup...A ways-off.
You will get it!
The zip should make it happen?
we found it! and if me and yo can 2 chimps with seeing eye dogs can ! Tc
well, after an hour and a bit on hold I found out that it shouldn't be a problem, they ship by ZIP first and address second, so it'll already be in sandpoint before anybody looks at the state.
One thing about living in Canada, with only 10 provinces and a three territories it's pretty hard to get them mixed up Y'all got waaay too many states :) Note to self, if I ever found a country be sure that all names are short enough that no one feels the need for abbreviations :)
Thanks for all your help and encouragement everybody, and for all the chuckles, if all goes well I should have my first nick in a couple weeks :)
2b