Thread: Partial restoration of a family antique

I'll have a glass of water near by to cool it off every so often. You should be fine as your hands will tell when to stop.

Originally Posted by rebelridermike

Thanks!

Yeah, I do the power tool work with bare hands. If it gets uncomfortably hot (for me, that's around 120F), time for a break. I just use the abrasive wheels to get the rust off. I do the sanding by hand.

First off, nicely done!
So far so good.

It's amazing you have your wife's great-great-grandfather Boone's razor, that's just awesome!
That you found and got one just like it, even more awesomer. Now you've got a nice pair of razors that mean something, that you can work on and shave with, how awesome is that?
Razors you inherit have a great personal value. Razors you have restored and worked on do too, but it's not the same, but it does give a nice personal value to the razors.

I inherited a couple of razors as well, I don't have much of the RAD, but when I found duplicates of the ones I inherited, I had to get them.
Imo, razors do look better in a nice set of pairs.

Cool story man, thanks for sharing

303 is just a number coincidence. 303 stainless is not suitable even for knives, so you'll never find it in a razor. You can expect old straights to be carbon steel, and by far most new ones as well.

Originally Posted by rebelridermike

I could be wrong, but the tang is stamped 303, and when I looked up 303 steel, the internet told me it was a type of stainless.

I found a near duplicate on eBay for $25. Its in worse condition. I think someone may have tried to restore it before. More rust, and the etching on the blade is pretty much gone. I'll be working on this one too, and see if I can get it sharpened properly.
Attachment 233464

Maybe its a batch number or something. I have two blades stamped 303, and I've just come across another Windsor stamped 302.