First restoration finally finished

This weekend I finally bit the bullet and finished my John Barber restoration project. I had been working on it on and off for 2 months now.
I do this with all my projects. I start them and them I work on them whenever I feel like. And occasionally I pick one and work until it is done.

This is what it looked like originally:

http://www.bdvd.be/images/spr/jb1/old_front.jpg
http://www.bdvd.be/images/spr/jb1/old_back.jpg

And this is what it looks like now:

http://www.bdvd.be/images/spr/jb1/new_front.jpg
http://www.bdvd.be/images/spr/jb1/new_back.jpg

Looks good for something that's close to 200 years old, eh?

The little smudge on the toe is a visual artefact. It is not there on the razor itself.
I took off the scales, and handsanded carefully for 12 hours. Then I polished for 2 hours of with my dremel, a felt wheel and 14 micron chromium oxide.
I pinned it this afternoon with my mother's small anvil and peening hammer. I also replaced the butt pin so that it would be identical to the blade pin.

All in all I am satisfied with the result. I did not make new scales for it because the original scales are in good shape, and they are a good deal prettier than the default black scales that are found on most older razors with cheap handles.

I also took care to fully preserve the maker's mark because that's what drew my attention originally. Luckily it was stamped very deep.
The blade is perfectly straight so honing it should not be too hard. Definitely a keeper.

Beautiful, especially for a first :tu

very nice job looks like chrome. Hows the shave?

what did your progression of sandpaper grits look like? how high did you go?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by edk442

what did your progression of sandpaper grits look like? how high did you go?

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80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 240, 320, 400, 600, 1000.
I wanted to go higher but I could not find higher grits locally.

i'm working on a boker right now, my progression looks like

100, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000

i'm only at 400 right now

i considered going with 80 grit but it seemed a little TOO coarse for my liking. i have 120 paper but decided to skip it. i don't think it will affect the end result

Quote:

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Originally Posted by edk442

i'm working on a boker right now, my progression looks like

100, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000

i'm only at 400 right now

i considered going with 80 grit but it seemed a little TOO coarse for my liking. i have 120 paper but decided to skip it. i don't think it will affect the end result

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It shouldn't. I only dropped to 80 because there was some pitting near the tang. I only used if for a couple dozen strokes, just to get a quick start. I think I started the tang with 180.

Beautiful job! That razor looks sweet now.

-Steve

Stunning result:nj :tu

Looks Fantastic Bruno, very nice work :tu

Nice job ! I've also got some old razors I would like to restore, although they are in a good shape, some of them have some 'black' spots on them.

This is your first restoration???

I am gobsmacked. Very humbling.

Si

Bruno,
I really like the razor. Could you post a better pic of the tang stamp? It looks like the maker might have been a member of the craft.
Don

for all of you looking for finishing paper above 2000 check out
www.micro-surface.com
look at there kits for finishing, note most wood working kits work on metals as well

well done
kind regards peter

Quote:

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Originally Posted by junkinduck

Bruno,
I really like the razor. Could you post a better pic of the tang stamp? It looks like the maker might have been a member of the craft.
Don

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I hope the picture is clear enough. It is stamped really deep so it survived the restoration intact.
http://www.bdvd.be/images/spr/jb1/jrmark.jpg

It was advertised as a Joseph Rodgers so I thought it just belonged to a mason sometime. Wayne D recognized it as a John Barber.

To be honest, I suspect the smith was a mason because I don't see anyone else using the square and compass as a trademark.
But then again since he made razors from 1810 to 1836, I guess we'll never know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by junkinduck

Bruno,
I really like the razor. Could you post a better pic of the tang stamp? It looks like the maker might have been a member of the craft.
Don

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He was a traveler.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BOGARTUS

He was a traveler.

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If I may ask: is this documented somewhere ? If there is public documentation about him I'd like to read it. I once did an internet search but that did not turn up anything useful.

Thanks for the pic Bruno. If this one ever comes for sale let me know. I have traveled much like the person who crafted this razor appears to have. I feel a kinship to the brother who crafted this razor as I do for all the brethren.

ASK 1 2 B 1

Don

Bruno,That is really a job well done.I have one that has the name as well as the square and compasses.If John Barber was a mason as some one stated,I think the Grand Lodge of England should have a record.These razors are getting harder to find,especially very nice ones like yours.I have never shaved with mine,please let us know how this one shaves.Best regards Gary

Bruno,
That restoration is SPECTACULAR !!!!!!

Excellent +3:tu :tu :tu

This is the first that I have seen of this thread - what a fine job on that resto Bruno! She's beautiful! :tu

Thanks Gary. I plan to hone her this weekend.
I never got around to honing her properly, but now that I have the new coticule from Howard I can't wait to try it.

I will post back with the results.

Ok here is the verdict.

It took a long time to set the bevel, and to hone it properly. It seems that John Barber had some pretty 'out there' ideas on blade design. Mind you, from a esthaetic pov this razor is stunning imo.

If you look at the edge, you'll see that it is straight from the heel to the middle of the blade, but then from the middle to the toe it curves upwards.
The spine otoh it curved from heel to toe, so I cannot hone it with the standard X , and the rolling hone method does not work that great either.

To make matters even worse, the spine is thicker at the toe than at the heel.
Initially I thought this was wear, but it didn't look like it.
I compared it with my NOS John Barber when I still had that, and that has the same feature. It's no production error because it looks far too good. I am pretty sure these blades were made to be like this.
The spine starts off a bit thick at the toe, and then gradually gets narrower until it progresses into the tang at exactly the right thickness.

All in all a very interesting honing experience. I also tried narrow hones, but that didn't work because near the middle of the hone, the blade would lose proper contact with the stone and either don't touch the stone at all, or touch it but drag across the edge.

The wide stones worked best on this one. Still, when 'rolling' the blade from the middle to the toe, it does something strange, and it almost feels like I am freehanding the razor across the stone.

Anyway, I finished it on a wide coticule, stropped it for 50 laps and then took it to a shave.

It shaved very nice, without any irritation at all, and had no problems with my whiskers. I Only had to make short strokes on my chin, because the hairs are hardest there and the blade was very light.
It was sharp enough to be called shaveready, but it is not the sharpness that can be achieved with a perfectly straight blade.

Routine updates on the coticule should bring to edge to its ideal shape, or -if I had one- I think this razor would be a perfect candidate for a hanging strop with 0.5 micron chromium oxide.

I have also sent an email to the Grand Lodge of England, explaining the situation (with a link to this thread) and asking if they have any information they can share.
I'll report back if when I get a reply.

It would be great to have more information, because this is both a beautiful razor and an excellent shaver, and it is a shame that nothing more is known about him.

i would have to agree with the previous posts. it would seem he was a traveling man and i would love to own a razor forged by a craftsman. it would do my soul good to be able to use a tool of this caliber. please update us on any info you get back from the lodge, it would be most enlightening. (sorry, i had to)

Bruno that's a lovely job you've done there. Quality finish for your first go.

Well done!

"John Barber" razors were made by Allen & Son. The company was founded circa 1818. By 1870 it was located in the Granville Works, Granville Street, Sheffield. Robert Allen, who managed the company in the late nineteenth century, died in 1898. In 1902 the company was bought up by Joseph Elliot & Sons. The trademark of Allen & Son was the Square & Compasses. I do not know if Mr. Allen was a freemason, but it certainly seems likely.

Lovely razor restoration, by the way - you can be proud of that one.

Duncan.

Really nice work ,i used up to 2000 grit and my retoration does not look as good as your's.you said u were unable to find higher grit sandpaper, Autozone has up to 2000 grit.:tu

I used a dremel with a felt wheel, chromium oxide and lots of time.
I already got a reply from the Masonic lodge in London, but they didn't have anything on a John Barber.

Since the man told me to feel free to contact him again, I sent the above information to him in the hope that he has something on file about Robert Allen.

Bruno, forgive my newbiness into the world of restoration but how did/do you hold the razor in place when using the dremel?

Just by hand? And did you purposely dull the egde for safety prior to working on it?

I'm thinking of maybe getting this to a mirror finish >>>

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/785/img0785bv3.jpg

Pic is not that good though but gives a decent idea of state.

I simply held it in place with the thumb and middle / ring fingers of my left hand while dremeling it with my right.

If you are sanding near the spine, make sure the wheel rotates to the spine.
If you are sanding near the edge, make sure the wheel rotates towards the edge.
Failing to do so will violently jerk the dremel and possibly the blade if the wheel grabs the edge or the side of the spine.

I did not dull the edge. I never do.
By the time I am done sanding, the edge usually passes the Thumb Nail Test from all the sanding with high grit paper.