Thread: First Restorations

Hello!
Im new here but have been lurking for quite a while (2 years). Well I made my appearance on the introduction page and it was suggested I show off some of my blades. Ill start with my restorations on this thread. Only five so far and two have no pictures because my brother was interested in SR shaving and I gave a couple to him and cant find the pics.. So in order of my first job to my latest.. Here are #1 #2 and #5. I gave him #3 and #4.
I can imagine many of you can understand my excitement because as a SR enthusiast I have been very isolated, none of my friends are into it, and only the wood workers were interested in my woodwork, and my friends were like "wow dude thats so cool!"... But to actually have serious pros and serious enthusiasts look at my work... well Ive been quite nervous to come on here!
Anway, here we go, Im about as computer savvy as a box of crayons but lets see if I can upload these.

Interesting washers Mike. Was this a full or partial restoration? Love the inlay

Okay, so the first one is ofcourse a Clark & Hall. From the shape of the original scales (same curve) I figure it was made at the end of that companies time.. early 1820s I think? The blade came to me reground I believe, anyway I didnt need to do anything to the blade except buffing.
The scales are African Blackwood with the original horn handle cut and inlaid to maintain some of the history. The wedge is of the original scales too. The collars are watch gears that I had on hand from an X who was into steampunk.
This blade took me FOREVER!!! But thats also because it was my first, Ive been getting faster so I hope someday to be able to make one in a day, but thats far away lol

Thanks! just saw your reply. It was partial, only scales...

Originally Posted by MikeT

Okay, so the first one is ofcourse a Clark & Hall. From the shape of the original scales (same curve) I figure it was made at the end of that companies time.. early 1820s I think? The blade came to me reground I believe, anyway I didnt need to do anything to the blade except buffing.
The scales are African Blackwood with the original horn handle cut and inlaid to maintain some of the history. The wedge is of the original scales too. The collars are watch gears that I had on hand from an X who was into steampunk.
This blade took me FOREVER!!! But thats also because it was my first, Ive been getting faster so I hope someday to be able to make one in a day, but thats far away lol

Interesting. I've been following the steampunk crowd on the net. Been interested in it, but I need to get involved in another hobby/lifestyle, like I need another razor.

Yep, I wish I was 10-15 yrs younger I would get into steampunk style
Okay the second is a hair under 8/8 Eugen Haering of Solingen. Full restore, was rusty and scales destroyed. The scales are Red Coolibah Burl. The wedge is African Blackwood, and the collars are sterling silver. This also took forever because of the CA was so hard to learn and sand and repaint on over and over. Now ill use something else I found but CA is still great for many things.

There are so many little things to remember that its so easy to miss a step and that will cause so much trouble, time and even ruin a project im sure. Ive been trying to get into the habit of writing down every step and making a checklist because #5, which Im about to upload was the longest project yet and I made some mistakes along the way that caused me some serious time and stress! lol I swore like a sailor no doubt.
Well here is my latest and my most beloved restore to date, Ive been so happy with it. Definitely not traditional, and I know that alot of guys say stuff like "putting a dress on a grandma" and other sayings to describe the modern scales and designs on 100-150yr blades, but I find myself liking both styles. I do know that there are many blades kept traditional and that most of my thirty or forty razors are original... so theres room for modern custom.. imho
This one is again Red Coolibah Burl (i love it), laminated to Blackwood with CA, with copper gilding (is that the right term?), and two wedges that are Blackwood sandwiched inbetween copper sheet. The forward wedge is suspended with brass washers. And there are brass washers with brass hexhead machine screws all the way up. I also installed zinc washers at the blade pivot to prevent corrosion. I am a sailor, all my life worked on boats, and zinc is something Ive used to prevent corrosion, figure it should work???

Outstanding work for first couple of restores..... Learning is both fun and frustrating..... Learn what to do and what not to do.....
And when all done and the dust settles.... A big sigh of relief that it is completed and a Bigger smile of the thought of shaving with with something you did on your own.

Oh man! i just typed that all out and it erased.. Okay lets try this again and then its bed time im a zombie right now lol
#2 Is a Eugen Haering full restore from rusty with broken scales. Red Coolibah Burl scales with CA finish. Took Forever to learn how to use CA, sand, paint on, sand and over and over several coats.. It has an African Blackwood wedge with sterling silver collars. the blade is a hair under 8/8. using sand paper progression all the way to 4000 grit and then buffer.
and my latest and most prized piece so far (and took even longer to finish!)...
W. Greaves & Sons wedge 7/8. Red Coolibah (really like that wood) laminated to Blackwood with CA finish. Two wedges. Wedges are African Blackwood sandwiched between copper sheet. There is copper sheet gilding (correct term?) on the scales with brass washers and brass hexhead machine screws all the way up!
The forward wedge is suspended with brass washers. At first it was a way to deal with an unforeseen technical problem, but the look is one that I really think is awesome now and Ill do it again sometime.
The blade has zinc washers at the pivot to help fight corrosion. Ive been sailing my whole life and we use zinc to deal with corrosion there, I figure it couldnt hurt!
I have read posts and know that there are guys who really dont care for the modern looks. at first I didnt either but ir grew on me. The way I figure it is that most of my 30 to 40 razors are all original traditional.. and most that are restored are that way.. so it wont hurt to have fun. So I think Ill do some more modern designs... What is the expression, putting a mini-skirt on grandma... lol That one always made me laugh, its a terrible image! hehehe
well here it is, I hope you all enjoy, and ill be going to bed. goodnight