N00b sez hi + serious rust issues

Hi all! I've been shaving with a straight razor for several months now, and it's a joy. My standard razor is an A. Feist & Co Luna Razor (that probably needs a good honing). I just recently acquired 2 old razors from my Grandpa. One is a Bengall from Sheffield, England, and I am interested in restoring it. The real reason I'm posting is because the other is in pretty rough shape. It's an Otto Deutch 5/8 but quite rusted. I was hoping someone here could direct me to a solution. I've posed some pics of my small collection and the rusted blade. Is it beyond repair or worth salvaging? Or would it end up doing more damage to fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I searched for any threads with rusty razors and unfortunately didn't come up with any great results. I hope I'm not making a duplicate thread, but if anyone could help me, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, and happy shaving!

1st Welcome to SRP! It can be saved the edge will need a lot of work more than likely, but Ive seen worse. I would hit it up with a progression of wet/dry sandpapers ending at a 2000 grit and then polish it with a good polish. The cutting bevel will have to be reshaped and then honed. Hit the Wiki tab and scroll down to the tutorials for information on hand sanding. Hope this helps!:g
Hopefully the rust hasnt eaten thru the bevel.

Thanks for the info! I'll check it out and read up on how to go out fixing it...

Jag:
Welcome aboard the straight train, first off !!!!!!

Being an Otto nut myself I have restored a few of these wonderful razors, once they are shave ready, there are very few razors that shave as well as these do.... Some people believe that these are the Deutsch that is mentioned in the Dubl Duck info, and that they are a related razor, other's do not... Either way it doesn't matter, these are a great razor...... I have seen only two types out there, the "Hans" which you have and another called a "Fritz" that is not quite as nice.... This is a restore I did on one last winter, they can be brought back from the dead....

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...h-restore.html

The one thing on yours to be concerned about is the speckled pattern to the rust, the see through celluloid scales are the most likely to get what is called "cell rot".... First off don't store that razor with your others until you are sure it is safe, the rot off gasses and can destroy other razors as well.. Second rub the insides of the scales as roughly as you can manage with a cotton towel or washcloth and give the scales a sniff, cell rot has a distinct rotten vinegar like odor, "sometimes"... Also look at the scales closely , you can "sometimes" see scale rot, the fibers in the celluloid will puff up or swell creating a bump or swollen area...
Until you are sure one way or the other do not put the razor with your other ones... If the scales have rot, the pattern of rust will return to the steel rather quickly after you clean it, and if they do they need to be tossed, there is no cure....:gl:
If you have other questions we are here to help...

Welcome aboard Jaguar you are going to love SRP.

The advise the guys are giving you is right on as usual. My Otto was in about the same condition as yours when I got it and I was very concerned that it was beyond saving but fortunately it restored very nicely. The problem now is that it is so beautiful that I can't bring myself to use it . IMO put this one away for awhile until you have more experience with restores or send it out to one of the guys here that do restores to do the work for you. You have a keeper there--enjoy.

Thanks to all for the help! I have gone out and purchased 100, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 3M wet/dry sandpaper. I'm usually pretty good with tinkering and fixing up different things, so I'm going to go ahead and venture into my first restoration project in a few days. I've read the wiki on hand sanding and I also have a Dremel tool. after reading the wiki, the main start point is to use the lowest grit to remove all the rust and pitting? Once that is accomplished, then I move upward through the progression of grits?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Jag:
Welcome aboard the straight train, first off !!!!!!

Being an Otto nut myself I have restored a few of these wonderful razors, once they are shave ready, there are very few razors that shave as well as these do.... Some people believe that these are the Deutsch that is mentioned in the Dubl Duck info, and that they are a related razor, other's do not... Either way it doesn't matter, these are a great razor...... I have seen only two types out there, the "Hans" which you have and another called a "Fritz" that is not quite as nice.... This is a restore I did on one last winter, they can be brought back from the dead....

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...h-restore.html

The one thing on yours to be concerned about is the speckled pattern to the rust, the see through celluloid scales are the most likely to get what is called "cell rot".... First off don't store that razor with your others until you are sure it is safe, the rot off gasses and can destroy other razors as well.. Second rub the insides of the scales as roughly as you can manage with a cotton towel or washcloth and give the scales a sniff, cell rot has a distinct rotten vinegar like odor, "sometimes"... Also look at the scales closely , you can "sometimes" see scale rot, the fibers in the celluloid will puff up or swell creating a bump or swollen area...
Until you are sure one way or the other do not put the razor with your other ones... If the scales have rot, the pattern of rust will return to the steel rather quickly after you clean it, and if they do they need to be tossed, there is no cure....:gl:
If you have other questions we are here to help...

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I wiped it down like you said and sniffed it, and I also visually inspected it for signs of this dreaded cell rot, but I didn't notice anything out of place. I did however note that the scales were slightly warped, but regardless, I won't store the razor near my other two. Your Otto Deutch came out beautiful BTW. I'm looking forward to learning more and visiting this forum on a regular basis. Take care!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jaguar

I wiped it down like you said and sniffed it, and I also visually inspected it for signs of this dreaded cell rot, but I didn't notice anything out of place. I did however note that the scales were slightly warped, but regardless, I won't store the razor near my other two. Your Otto Deutch came out beautiful BTW. I'm looking forward to learning more and visiting this forum on a regular basis. Take care!

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Welcome to SRP Jaguar.

Sounds like my recent Beau Brummel restore. No rot odor, scales looked great and oddly enough slightly warped too.
About 3 or 4 days post resto, tarnish formed in exactly the previous rusted areas & that was in spite of a coat of oil.
Be suspicious of any celluloid scaled razors with mirror imaged rust on both sides of a blade.
BTW nice razors.

Well I've just about finished up my Bengall, I figured I would share pics and get some feedback to see if my first attempt was successful. I hand sanded, using a progression of sandpaper from 100 to 2000. I alternated from across the blade to edge to spine as I increased in grits. I also used a small amount of WD-40 with eash increase after 320 grit. Tomorrow I am going to hit up a hardware store for a felt tip for my Dremel and some chromium oxide polish for a nice finish. This was my first attempt and I'm not completely sure if I spent enough time sanding. What's a good indicator of when it's time to move to the next step? Once I finish the polishing, I'll be sending it away to be honed and get the small chip in the toe fixed. Ok, here's the damages I've dealt....

The rust is beautiful. DO NOT CLEAN IT!

The rust can eventually eat through a razor. CLEAN IT!!!


I can understand finding the patina that has developed on a carbon steel razor attractive; I have a henckels razor that I haven't polished just because I like the "old" look it provides. But leaving rust on it? No thanks. Not me, not ever. Rust = bad.


Call me silly, but I want things that WORK. If I can have something beautiful that serves the function it was designed for, then great, I'm stoked. But, if I have something that looks great but doesn't work worth a dang, then forget it. I'd rather have an ugly hammer than can drive nails than a pretty hammer that can't.

Get rid of rust or it gets rid of your razor.
Good work on the Bengall so far. Basically, move up in grits when the previous scratches are gone. Not always easy to see but use different angles & good light. The CrO will show every scratch you missed too :D

Yeah I am going to go through with the rust removal,I would like to see if I can bring the Otto Deutsch blade back to usable status. I'll post some pics when I make some progress (and find some time). I'll also be ordering come Chromium Oxide in the next few days for the Bengall, and hopefully later on, the Deutsch.