H. Boker Restore

The scales were trashed. And when I took them off they crumbled in my hands. A bit of rust but nothing really bad. A nick in the back edge of the heal. So I used some Black African wood I got from a member here and some silver pinning. Bone for the wedge. A lot of elbow grease as I don't have a buffer and this is the outcome. I still need to set the bevel as its not agreeing with me as far as the bevel but I'll get it. Hopefully.

Attachment 255218

I made a few mistakes with the scales but over all I'm happy. With the age of the razor, a few blemishes are keeping it looking like an old razor. That my excuse anyway. :p

After taking scales off. As you can see I didn't have a lot of work to do.
Attachment 255220

Nice work, keep up the good work

Nice work.

It is not unusual to have to put in more work to set a bevel on a razor that has been sanded and or buffed.

It does have some aggressive spine wear, so will need at least, 2 layer of tape and possibly 3 to set the bevel, then drop back down to 2.

Take your time and ensure the bevel is fully set before moving on, or it will fight you all the way.

I was going with two so maybe ill try three next time. Thanks for the hint.

Beautiful job, Gasman! One thing that made all the difference with me on pinning after a few frustrating attempts was to start flush-cutting my pinstock a hair closer to the washer. After that, getting your domed "mushroom" with the jeweler's hammer becomes much easier. It made pinning MUCH easier on both ends, and a tighter, more secure pivot too! Looks great-love the black wood (ebony?)!

Yeah, i left too much pin and my mushrooming took way too long and they are not as clean as they could be. I might do it over someday.

If when pinning, you feel you have left the pin too long, file a bit off the top of the dome and keep pinning, hitting the edge.

You can also shape the pin, with a small needle file. Grind or sand one edge off smooth, on a grinder or belt sander, to make a safe edge that will not cut into the scale, or make a mask from an aluminum soda can, or piece of plastic from a milk jug, taped to the scale with a hole punched in the mask.

Shape the pin head, a magnifying visor and a strong task light will help you see your work much more clearly. Harbor Freight has a nice one for about $5, with 3 lenses.

Slowly, file off any unevenness in the pin or the crown, get the size and shape, of the dome the same for all of them.

If you pinning material is too hard, annealing, will soften it and make pinning much easier. Here again the magnifying visor, will help you see where your hammer hits are landing and their effects.

Finally, a 3-4-inch piece of bamboo chopstick, chucked in a drill press with a small divot on the end and a dab of Diamond Paste or Rubbing Compound, will grind the pins smooth and perfectly round. A dab of polish will make them gleam.

Very good info to have. Thanks for sharing the details. I know this will help me to get a good looking pinning done. And the way to polish, thats a great touch. Thanks.

Even though it may take some extra work to set the bevel the shave will be worth it as Bokers are extremely fine shavers. I still have a couple and love them. Enjoy!

Blade was a bit Wonky. It felt like it was warped to one side at the toe so honing was a tough one. And me not honing much of anything yet, it was really tough. Will give it a go in the morning. Went with Norton 1k, 4k, 8k then 3 levels of Naguras then a finish with the slurry from my finishing stone. Feels damn sharp but the shave test is what counts. In the morning.