Thread: Parkin Cast Steel restoration

You knocked it outta the park, Tuzi.
Looks like your gonna make me pull out my Hague, and get on it.
Well done my friend, you've raised the bar on me..Again!!

Originally Posted by outback

You knocked it outta the park, Tuzi.
Looks like your gonna make me pull out my Hague, and get on it.
Well done my friend, you've raised the bar on me..Again!!

Thanks, buddy! I was hoping I would do you proud.

But... Me raise the bar on YOU? Pffft! I don't know about that. Maybe after a hundred more of these I'll be playing in the same ballpark as you. And several others too, I could name quite a few ballparks I'd like to be in!

I love that about this place - sharing ideas, methods, and info. Encouraging each other to keep improving and bringing out the best in one another when we can. Keep on keepin' on, bro!

Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

Thanks, very much appreciated!

The wedge did not have three holes, just one. I think it might be tin, like you were mentioning in a different thread. Seemed harder than lead when I was cleaning it.

The scales had an extra hole that was plugged with a metal post on both sides, touching the wedge but not going through it. These were hidden under the original collars, been there all along it seems and I'm not sure why they would make them like that.

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Ah, you've found one of the other mysterious old scale tricks. The under-washer pin. I can't recall for certain if I've seen it myself, or just pictures (I think I have one, but haven't fully disassembled it yet), but I know I've come across it.

The 'solid' tin wedge makes me think it's 1805-ish.

I found the razor I was thinking of that has that feature.





Look closely at the worn away washer -- there's a brass pin under it.

The wedge and the scales both are tortoiseshell, and the wedge is very roughly shaped.

The razor is late 1700's, very early 1800's French.

I don't think "holding the wedge in place" fully explains this. The pins used are a different gauge than the others used to assemble the razors (and in the case of this French razor, a different material!)

It would take more time to align and install those pins than to just pin up the scales without them, and the old craftsmen didn't do *anything* that took extra time without some sort of good reason.

What that reason was will have to remain a mystery because no one that's done it professionally has been alive for at least 180 years, and sadly, it's one of those tiny bits of process (like the different shapes grinding wheels or the specialized tools made for working particular razor shapes) which has been thoroughly lost to time.

Thanks for sharing that, Zak. I definitely see it there right under the edge of the collar.

Looking back at the pictures of mine, inside and out, Doesn't it seem like the pins were in place before final shaping? They are smoothed to the outer surface and then on the inner surface of the scales the diagonal marks appear to go through the pins.

I'm wondering about the diagonal marks, it would seem that after the scales were made they gave the wedge end some texture to keep the wedge from shifting or rotating, maybe? Anyway, these marks seem to go through the pins meaning they were already in place before assembly.

Why would they be there before assembly? The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was one pin holding two horn blanks together for shaping, so they turn out the same shape. Once shaping was complete, the pin was cut in the middle, freeing the two scales, and they just left it in there, did the final shaping and covered the remains with the collar. Maybe?

Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

Thanks for sharing that, Zak. I definitely see it there right under the edge of the collar.

Looking back at the pictures of mine, inside and out, Doesn't it seem like the pins were in place before final shaping? They are smoothed to the outer surface and then on the inner surface of the scales the diagonal marks appear to go through the pins.

I'm wondering about the diagonal marks, it would seem that after the scales were made they gave the wedge end some texture to keep the wedge from shifting or rotating, maybe? Anyway, these marks seem to go through the pins meaning they were already in place before assembly.

Why would they be there before assembly? The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was one pin holding two horn blanks together for shaping, so they turn out the same shape. Once shaping was complete, the pin was cut in the middle, freeing the two scales, and they just left it in there, did the final shaping and covered the remains with the collar. Maybe?

Yeah, almost all old Sheffield razors I've taken apart have that textured surface at the wedge end, and it's always way bigger than the area the wedge covers.

As for the pins, yeah, it definitely looks like they were in there when the scales were scratched up for texturing. However, they wouldn't have anything do with the shaping. Technically, all old Sheffield scales are 'pressed horn'. It was way, way faster to churn them out that way than fit them up and shape every set by hand.

I honestly cannot come up with a reason for the pins, and the reasons I can come up with for the cavities and the extra holes are -- at best -- tenuous.

Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

I've had this razor for a few years waiting for the right time to restore it. An oldie! It was badly pitted, especially on the back side. The scales were in good shape so I was able to keep them. Even though they look black in the pictures, when held to the light they're dark honey. The collars had turned to flakey rust and pretty much crumbled when disassembling. I used replica collars and brass pins to put it back together. I also added very thin washers inside the pivot to limit further wear against the inside surface of the scales. This restoration was done by hand aside from a few minutes at the end I used a dremel and wool wheel with lapping paste to polish the 3000 grit sandpaper haze out of the spine, tang and tail.

The geometry of the blade is pretty cool. When looking down on the spine from above you can see the whole thing is shaped like a long, slight wedge from tail to tip. From the side you can see the blade is narrow at the heel and wider at the end. Because the width of the spine increases as the blade width increases, the bevel remains even throughout the entire edge.

I measured the spine width to blade width ratio at the heel and at the end (in inches).
Heel: 0.154/0.579 = 0.266
End: 0.213/0.795 = 0.268
Almost exact! I thought that was pretty cool.

The only info I have on this razor is that it might be made by Staniforth, Parkin & Co. from Sheffield, probably c. 1790-1810. The tang stamp is a down pointing arrow, a sideways L, PARKIN, and CAST STEEL. Glad to have this one in my collection. Thanks for looking!

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Great job. I love the shape of that blade

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No way.... i would have bet my choseras that such recovery would not be possible!!

I would had given up in that razor... but no more.. i need to get one of those old english razors to start practicing!!!!