Thread: How a common man restores his razor.....

Hello gentlemen,

I have come across a revelation on restoring old razors. No more sending your razor out to "professional" restoration organizations. Unless you have a very antique razor used by Napoleon you can use the following techniques to restore an old razor you may have and use it again.

I was recently restoring a razor I got from my grandfather. It had a little rust and a lot of carbonization and patina on it from age.

1. I whipped out some 250 grit sand paper and removed most of the rust. I didn't want to wear out my razor so I ditched the sand paper and started looking around the house for a finer material I could use to remove the carbonization and patina.

2. I found my answer in my girlfriend's makeup box. In this makeup box were a few "emery boards." It had a very fine grit and worked wonders on removing the carbonization and patina. (CONSULT YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER BEFORE YOU START USING HER STUFF!...Thankfully I have an understanding girlfriend.)

3. Re-bevel and re-hone your razor and enjoy.

P.S. Use some alcohol, I used 91%, and elbow grease and you will be able to successfully restore your old razors.

Hopefully this helps,

DrRazorKC

And all this time I thought razor restoration was an art

I would love to see some pics of 'the common man restore' ... Inquiring minds want to know!

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

I would love to see some pics of 'the common man restore' ... Inquiring minds want to know!

Me also,makes me angry that we have all been duped my these resto experts

That brings up a great point; why the heck do we need all that expensive anesthesia, when a bottle of Jack Daniels will get the job done,,,



,,,seriously,,, I did discover several good restoration aids at Sally's Beauty Supply,,,the one I like the most is similiar to your emery board, it is called the ASP Miracle Buff Block.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

ASP Miracle Buff Block.

Our SECRET is out now.....

OOOPPPSSS,,,,,

If you look you can see some patina on the razor still. The entire razor was covered with a dark colored carbonization and rust in select spots.

I also replaced the old plastic handle with a stainless steel one.

For those who wanted picture proof, here it is....

cool to see another member from the KC area! Thanks for the tip!

I too use these 'tools' that the OP pictured as a part of my restoration process. That being said, there are many ways to skin a cat...depending on your perspective of what a 'restore is or should be'.

Some folks prefer to leave a razor as they found it: scars, pits, patina, etc.. Just hone her up and go. Some prefer what I might consider a 'minimalist approach'...clean the razor up and not worry too much about imperfections caused by time and the elements. Others prefer a more work intensive 'professional' restore including new scales and a major re-do of the blade surface to remove most if not all imperfections.

Still others prefer what I call an Original Vintage restore: restored blade to as close to factory finish as possible, including original scales and washers. This happens to be my preference, and the time involved in this approach is not really a factor to me.. Quite frankly, I love to show my razors to friends and family (folks unfamiliar with razors in any way whatsoever!) and hear the completely uninitiated say:
"Wow! That looks like it's brand new, like it just came off the factory floor!"

To me this is a big part of my joy and delight with this hobby...

But then...each to his own and whatever floats your boat is what I always say. That's another great thing to like about this avocation!

"You can't please everyone so you got to please yourself." Rick Nelson 1985 "The Garden Party"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFugRFKqjFg