King Double Temper restoration

I picked this up a few weeks ago and a fellow board member put the bug in my ear to get it done. We're both from Pa. as is this razor and he is a King razor fan which I found out after spending time with him at a recent Meet Up.
I had to keep this razor original. Granted it is much easier in some respects to just polish up a blade, put some current fad scales on it and call it done. Easy!
But trying for an original restore presents it's own challenges. The blade was pretty much straight forward. Remove the rust and pitting , recreate the original texture, polish up the spine and shaft as they were and that's that.
The scales not looking like most used today are just too neat in person. The colors just don't translate well in these photos.
But the real fun and challenging part of this was something as simple as a pin.
These , as you can see in the original photos were much like you'd find on an Ivory scaled razor. No washers. The 1/16 pin was made to look like a small button.
I tried several possibilities and settled on this solution. In the shots you can see what I did,, but with the razor in hand you can't tell the difference.I included a typical #0 washer and 1/16 pin for reference.
Hope you enjoy it. I'm sure I will as it settles into my collection and rotation.

Very nice, the scales look great.

Very Nice! You and other restorers just blow me away!! I can be very proud of a 'clean up' that I'd just done and then see this!!

I've often told guys who I've offered to help that I 'clean up' razors, I'm not a restorer!:shrug:

Thanks for sharing such great work! :bow

thank you gentlemen I appreciate it.
But cudarunner you bring up a topic I've been mulling over recently. Maybe it's the subject of a post in itself but it relates to restoring vs. as you say "cleaning up" a vintage blade.
Now I won't get into it here but I've been wondering just what is happening with these 'relics" ..
Should we polish them till the cows come home, slap some current fad of a scale on a 100 yr old blade and go Wooooo,, awesome scales. Shiny blade!
Do they really belong on them or is it just eye candy where we're attracted to shiny things.
I don't know.
Maybe it falls into the same thing that happens with cars. Some will say , "restore it to what is was" and others will say, " Put some fancy paint and wheels on it and build a hot rod out of it" I think there will be two camps on this.
All I know is there is a certain challenge to bring a razor back to what it was ( provided it it salvageable ) to what it was in it's glory or as close to what it looked like when it left the factory.
You want me to do bling with polish so my wife can put her makeup on using my blade, easy. Want G10 or Micarta scales,, give me a half hour. Where is the artistry in that. A band saw and some sandpaper and you have scales in no time.
But the time it takes to research and build these things to what they were takes a different tack.
It's harder in many ways if you want to do it properly and authentically.
Sorry, I'm rambling trying to make heads or tails out of my thoughts about such things.
Just trying to come to terms.
Most clients want mirror finishes. A current client sent me a J. Rodgers "Cutlers to their Majesties" blade with a beautiful etch on it reading "Reliable" and he wanted me to make up some wild scales, remove the etch, sculpt the spine, do a Spanish point on this blade.
I sat on it for ages until I said " I'm not your man" I'll restore this great blade to what it should be or I'm sending it back.
I'm sorry,, the client isn't always right.
I'm restoring it for him.

This subject was in a pretty heated thread recently. I don't think we should ever stop thinking about it. +1 on your Joseph Rogers decision.

Thank you guys!
I missed that discussion . Do you know where I can find it.

Search Trending.....http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...i-dislike.html

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Originally Posted by mycarver

Thank you guys!
I missed that discussion . Do you know where I can find it.

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I appreciate the link .

Now that I read the thread I feel rather silly for rambling on like I did when this has been covered .Sorry about that guys.

I think this is an important discussion. I agree it has similarities with the car hobby - I've build a couple of hot rods, but they were made from an unresortable hulk and a car that had no historical significance whasoever. Charlie posted a progression of changes to razors, from cleanup to full out custom a year or two back that spoke to this. I personally would not make a full out custom out of a razor that had any historical significance, or was older that 1892. And you are right, Carver, that's a lot more work, including research. That's just my two cents worth. I suppose the most extreme position would be that all full outs should be made from scratch, or Gold Dollars. I don't mean to stir the hornet's nest here. Ultimately, it is a decision each of us makes, and there may be no right answer.
Peace

Man you did a great job on the double temper! The scale color/pattern is sweeeet! I hope you'd don't accidentally send that back along with the Gold Aro. I may not be as nice as Brian was about returning it.

I had a feeling you'd show up . Who do you think I was talking about when I said someone put a bug In my ear? Haha. Glad you did as I am very happy with it. Now let's see if they're more difficult to hone as you mentioned. Cannot be worse than the &@&'% wedge I did last night. Good heavens! But I beat it into submission.

I want to learn how to peen like you do... flawless really.

Thank you. Very kind of you to say that.

Very nice restore!

Ray

I prefer the original restores, you can always swap a set of scales out, but you can't put steel back.

I agree!
I posted the razor that the client wanted me to modify just minutes ago. A J. Rodgers Matchless, Cutlers to their Majesties. Pretty nice blade I'd say.

WOWWW, I really love it !!

Very good restoration Mark! I enjoyed reading over your thoughts about restoring versus HotRodMods. You're correct, the flashy mods are relatively easy in most cases. The restorations to original condition are tougher and also require research and respect. Personally I'm more for pure restoration but can also see the need and benefits of the mods. And thanks WW for the link - it's something I'm very interested in so I'll read it later tonight.

Which brings up a fledgling thought I've been having... Many of us can "restore" a blade to some extent to make it both functional and pretty. Very few can do the research and execute a true restoration that brings the razor back to its original state. I suspect that's partly current tastes of the marketplace, partly the bad condition of some blades we get our hands on, and partly a lack of knowledge about what original blades looked like. I suspect that if more of us developed the ability to execute a real restoration, more would readily jump at the chance to replicate the original condition of a blade.

Not sure where I'm going with this - as I said it's a fledgling idea - but there seems to be some opportunity for advancing the science and quality of all of our restorations drawing upon the vast wealth of experience of some of the members here. Essentially we can significantly raise the bar on what we do, but I'm not sure how to pull that together. Just a thought...

AirColorado,
I understand where you're coming from. I too was pondering the same thoughts on one of my posts until I was directed at a thread dealing with this issue.
Ultimately there will be two camps. And I can see the reasoning for both. Granted at times I'll throw on a set of non factory scales,, or polish a bit more than necessary. Sometimes it's what a customer wants.
On some of my blades I like a change of pace. And lets face it. As long as the steel is still good,, I can replace scales all day long. It's not like I'm putting a tattoo on them that they'll have for the rest of their lives.

Uhhhhhh, I'm still visiting this post on a regular basis. I'm in some kind of weird love with this razor.....hope my wife doesn't read this. :dropjaw:

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Originally Posted by wyobarbershop

Uhhhhhh, I'm still visiting this post on a regular basis. I'm in some kind of weird love with this razor.....hope my wife doesn't read this. :dropjaw:

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Turn away my friend. Do not listen to the call of the Siren's song . Flesh is weak and it does your eyes no good to stare into the beckoning allure she possesses for someone so weak. Lusting after another's goods is sinful!


But thanks. I knew this would get you. Fear not though because I believe Cupid will be shooting an Aro through your heart and you'll fall in love all over again.

Well, a lot of us will understand but that probably does not help, weird love is weird love. Happens to me all over this site...I looked at a brush done by HARRYWALLY about 68 times......and I am a regular repeater of anything mycarver has put his hands to.

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Originally Posted by wyobarbershop

Uhhhhhh, I'm still visiting this post on a regular basis. I'm in some kind of weird love with this razor.....hope my wife doesn't read this. :dropjaw:

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Originally Posted by WW243

Well, a lot of us will understand but that probably does not help, weird love is weird love. Happens to me all over this site...I looked at a brush done by HARRYWALLY about 68 times......and I am a regular repeater of anything mycarver has put his hands to.

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Thank you very much ! But a brief explanation may be in order here. Wyobarbershop and I met recently and we both are fans of King razors. I'm also building an Aro that I have a feeling he will just drool over . Some green scales ( his favorite) I and some Gold here and there . I'm just yanking his chain.

My mouth is welling up...I have visions of gold!

Soon buddy. You can't rush some things. I'm also doing my shaving stand and a few other "nuggets"
Clever huh? Nuggets?

Oh I'm sure you have lots of interesting projects going on right now! I have a few more nuggets that need some attention. An old Case, a Ka bar, a Spear stamped CS Hain Reading, Pa, a King Gold Man and of course another Spike. That's enough gold to retire on right?

Even Midas heard that and he's sitting up and grinning.

Mark, I found a Double Temper today from a dealer in Adamstown. It was just like yours but a round point. Same amount of hone wear and the whole 9. Yours was 10X more clean of course! Unfortunately I couldn't get together with him on a price. I may cave in by the weekend and go rescue it!

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Originally Posted by wyobarbershop

Mark, I found a Double Temper today from a dealer in Adamstown. It was just like yours but a round point. Same amount of hone wear and the whole 9. Yours was 10X more clean of course! Unfortunately I couldn't get together with him on a price. I may cave in by the weekend and go rescue it!

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Huff and puff , stamp your feet all you like while trying to rationalizing it every which way that makes you feel better just tell me when to expect it.

Remember who you're talking to. A fellow junkie.
Then again you were probably smart to walk away. $20 more than what you wanted to spend is silly!
Now,.., you said this was in Adamstown right? Give me his name and location. Think I'll just have to go and give that dealer a piece of my wallet....er.... I meant mind!

If the scales weren't so sweet and if it didn't have that cool double temper file engraved in the blade....and it if wasn't made in PA and if I wasn't a barber/razor collector/wack job! Oh h*ll...

See!
tell me something I didn't already know.

And my friend, you came to the wrong place to hear someone tell you that you made the right choice to leave it behind.

I am still having flashbacks about mycarver's razor collection that we saw at the Hamburg PA meet-up. This man is a true artist/carver.

I have always appreciated artistic talent and this man is about as talented as anyone I know. There is a thread with pics on this site. check it out for a pleasant view.

I'm coming a little late to this post. I have one of these razors. The Double Temper is indeed harder than a file. It's darn hard steel, but I love it now that it has an edge.

My feelings are to restore an attractive razor such as this (blade etchings, unique scales, etc). Yet there are many plain razors, or razors with broken scales. These I feel are eligible for an upgrade.

I just picked up an Ed Wusthof LAMPO (only bidder by the way) with one scale cracked at the pivot pin. I'm going to try and repair the originals, but if I cannot salvage the original scales, then it's fair game. I'll replace it with aged Deer Antler or Black Walnut, using the original scales as a template.