I. Barber stub tail restoration

I found this blade at a flea market in the spring of 2016 and almost 2 years later now I finally got around to working on it. It's an Isaac Barber stub tail that was in pretty rough shape with significant corrosion and pitting. It originally had an etching that was very light and half rusted away, I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be. I tried seeing if it was worth saving but... a moment of silence for the etching please.
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I made some new scales out of honey horn patterned after an old scale I had off of an Instanter stub tail that I restored a while back. The blades are almost identical shape so this worked well.
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Here's the blade as I was almost done hand sanding. Look closely at the back side blade face and tang and you will see an anomaly in the steel running the length of the blade. I don't know much about the forging process but I imagine something happened there and this was the result.
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Something else about this blade that was a bit of a challenge, and then wasn't after all, was the shape of the tang. This is one of those that's only tapered on one side (the tang stamp side) and the other side is even with the blade. Like this from a top view..
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I messed around doing multiple test fits and mock-up's and couldn't get the blade to center due to the taper on only one side of the tang. I tried adding an extra washer on one side and it didn't really help plus I'm not a fan of that anyway so I scrapped that idea. I finally decided that I just didn't care that much if it centers while closing and I would just go ahead and pin it. Lo and behold once it was properly pinned it centers! You know, I sometimes think I have these things figured out and then something like this. Well, it all worked out but I can't really say how except luck maybe.
I'll get the finished pictures up next...

OK, honey horn with stainless steel dome collars (from Austin), brass pins, lead wedge and a satin finish on the blade faces. Newly honed and ready to go, can't wait!
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I knew you were up to sumthin, you've been too quiet as of late. Stand um up... Knock um down, Tuzi.

Excellent work my friend. :bow

Nice work buddy. It also makes me feel better about how long some of my projects hang on the to do board.

Superb work my friend! Enjoy!

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Nice work buddy. It also makes me feel better about how long some of my projects hang on the to do board.

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Yeah, I remained undecided on the issue of what to do about the etch for a long time, just put it in a drawer. I realized that it wasn't doing anyone any good the way it was so I made up my mind to just get it done. After just a few minutes into working on it I found there was no saving that etch, could have made up my mind a lot quicker had I just started on it way back when I got it :D

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Originally Posted by Martin103

Superb work my friend! Enjoy!

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Thanks, Martin! :beer1: I finally get to shave with a "spurious and inferior imitation"... well, according to John Barber anyway :rofl2: I must say that it does not seem inferior in any way so far, shave test will reveal all I suppose. As for spurious, I dunno :shrug:

Great Job, Tuzi! It could not have looked better when it was brand-new. :bow

Superbly done Tuzi!

Pete <:-}

Super just super. Enjoy. :tu:tu

Bob

Thats a beauty for sure. The edge is so evenly curved. And how it ever centered... I have no idea. I have a hard time with an evenly tapered tang so I dont know how you got it.
Nice job on a fine looking razor!

Those scales look amazing . Very nice .

Really well done, good for another couple hundred years. Those scales are stunning.

Wow great work! Love the scales. :chapeau

It is a beauty. Every restoration that you post is pretty damned great. Congrats on another winner.

Nice work. Too bad about the forging flaw/cold shut. Hard to see under 200 years of patina. Fairly common in the old Sheffields. Most that I see tend to run up along the spine. Small ones sometimes show up in the tang. Your choice of finish helps mask the flaw.
Maybe one of his earlier blades before he had his trade mark.

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Originally Posted by karlej

Nice work. Too bad about the forging flaw/cold shut. Hard to see under 200 years of patina. Fairly common in the old Sheffields. Most that I see tend to run up along the spine. Small ones sometimes show up in the tang. Your choice of finish helps mask the flaw.
Maybe one of his earlier blades before he had his trade mark.

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Thanks, Karl, I appreciate it! The forging flaw doesn't bother me, I figure it's been ok for a couple hundred years that way so to me it's just part of this particular blade, is what it is. I would like to understand better how it happens because I know little of the forging process. I've seem them in the tang before too, and this one extends into the tang as well. Did Isaac Barber use a trade mark at one point? I'll have to search around for some examples.

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Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

Did Isaac Barber use a trade mark at one point? I'll have to search around for some examples.

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I. = J. in old English. I believe the maker is John Barber. His set-square and compass trade mark was granted in 1823. He also used a trade mark which was a crown over the word 'Wolf'. The Wolf trade mark was originally owned by George Shepherd. Listed as John Barber & Son in 1833. He died in 1834. John Barber also claimed there were others counterfeiting his razors.
To add to the confusion there was also an Isaac Barber granted his freedom in 1811. So it could be his razor. It sure has the lines of a John Barber razor to my eyes. Maybe Voidmonster will chime in with his knowledge of the old makers.
A cold shut is an imperfect weld caused in a forging by the inadequate heat of one surface under working or by an oxide film.

Thanks for the explanation about "cold shot". Looks exactly like you describe.

I don't think it's John Barber.... I think the maker is likely exactly who John Barber was worried about making "spurious and inferior imitations" and why John Barber started using his famous square and compass mark.
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Shaves great by the way! Had a go with it this morning :tu

Tuzi, as usual your restoration was amazing!!

Thanks for the info as well, it's great to learn about these old razors and their history.
So glad you git it back into working order and it shaved so well for you. :tu

Beautiful save G.
Well done buddy. Great translucency to the scales and finish on the blade itself.
Enjoy!

Great work. You really got that blade cleaned up. What progression did you use getting the pitting out and finishing it?

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Originally Posted by JP5

Great work. You really got that blade cleaned up. What progression did you use getting the pitting out and finishing it?

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Thanks, I really appreciate it. Good question about the process. I worked sanding by hand from low grit to high to get the pitting and corrosion out. I went as low as 150 for a while there, but I would recommend caution to anyone starting out with restorations. I didn't just dive in at 150, I tried less aggressive grits and ended up at 150 for a while and was only able to do that because this is a thick blade. Low grits like that would be a no-no on thinner grinds. There's faster ways to do this, I'm sure, but this is how I do it with the tools and skills I have at this time.

So, something like 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000 using a piece of dowel as a backer through most of it... this took some time, you can see some pictures in the beginning of the thread where it was at this point.

Then to apply the satin finish, working spine to edge, down the grits 2000, 1500, 1000, 800 all dry with just my finger for a backer. Just like coats of paint. Then 800 with oil, then 2000 with 1 micron diamond lapping paste to soften. The finish took probably close to a couple hours when all said and done both blade faces.

Finally, a quick polish on the shiny areas. It was a fun project and I always find it so freakin' rewarding to shave with one I've worked on. Good stuff, that is :tu

Tuzi, great job on that Satin finish. Now the secret is out. Thanks for sharing your technique with all. Beautiful razor. Know that it will be a great shaver with that nice thin bevel which is also so well done. But all yours seem to turn out like this! Go figure.

Thanks for the detailed response.:chapeau I'm always interested in learning about different approaches to restorations
Threads like this really make me want a nice stubtail!
I have one, but with the condition it is in, I will probably leave it as is.

Thanks for the very kind words, compliments and encouragement from all. It's a real gift to be able to share with you guys on here, you have great passion and enthusiasm as well as knowledge and experience. I always look forward to seeing what you are talking about and sharing, and I've learned a lot from everyone on here so here's a big THANK YOU!
:chapeau

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Originally Posted by karlej

I. = J. in old English. I believe the maker is John Barber. His set-square and compass trade mark was granted in 1823. He also used a trade mark which was a crown over the word 'Wolf'. The Wolf trade mark was originally owned by George Shepherd. Listed as John Barber & Son in 1833. He died in 1834. John Barber also claimed there were others counterfeiting his razors.
To add to the confusion there was also an Isaac Barber granted his freedom in 1811. So it could be his razor. It sure has the lines of a John Barber razor to my eyes. Maybe Voidmonster will chime in with his knowledge of the old makers.
A cold shut is an imperfect weld caused in a forging by the inadequate heat of one surface under working or by an oxide film.

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It’s definitely Isaac. John Barber never would’ve let a razor with a cold shut appear with his name on it. The story goes, he personally inspected every razor he sold.

Isaac was a cheeky guy banking on the confusion with I/J.

Here they both are listed in my copy of White’s 1833 directory:

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Phenomenal restoration work per usual. Some things just can't be rushed, and this yet another example of that! Looking forward to the next installment in your restoration schooling series :)

Wonderful work Tuzi! That is a killer restore.