Thread: Fourth restore...redo - rookie mistake

This is the fourth restore I've done (though #2 and #3 were more of a preservation). It's a WeyHand from Solingen by Franz Weyand from around 1928. I hand polished to 2500 grit and finished with a little Simichrome. There's a bit of a profile issue with the nose, but I wasn't confident in removing it and it didn't look like it would affect the edge. The scales were a yellowish plastic with some warping and I really didn't like the look of them with the blade. I haven't made scales yet and didn't want to spend a ton of money on this, so I picked up a set of plastics from Maggard razors - really great people. The scales are pretty comfortable in use and feel solid. I hadn't used a smile razor before, so I honed it up and shaved last weekend. This one may become my favorite. It did a pretty good job and was a comfortable shave. Sorry, I'm bad about taking before pics so all I have is the thumbnail from the bay. Any comments would be appreciated as I'm still trying improve with this hobby. I've already found things on this site I didn't know I should have known. Thanks in advance.

The thumbnail


The finished (for now) project.

The toe and the heel can easily be fixed. It will require re-honing and a bit of buffing.

The heel also needs re-shaping and will make honing much easier, by moving the heel edge away from the stabilizer. It looks like it has been honed on the tang and stabilizer, (rounding of the bottom of the tang). The heel is also getting a point on it.

Take a look at the (Make Me Smile) post in the Advanced Honing forum for a how to.

Nice work.

Nice looking razor.. I like that spine work.. SMW

I was actually reading up on the posts about reshaping the heel this afternoon. After reading those posts I see what you mean. I'll have to gather my courage and give it a go. Thanks for the input.

Thanks, I can't lie, I'm a bit proud of it. Though it's no where near some the artwork I've seen on this site - Wow!... The spine work is what really made me go after this razor, I'm a bit of a sucker for it. I had actually thought about bluing the recessed areas, but decided it needed to go bling. I'm not sure I'll go 2500 grit again for a "daily" type shaver as it gets scratched up really easy.

Nice job. Like Marty said, the heal and toe can be fixed. Easier to do with a diamond plate. Just for now, stay away from using a drimmel. They can be handy in this type of work, but the slightest mistake can cause razors to fly across the room. Not good for your health or the razor!

You got a good start. Just read and keep up a good additude for when things dont go well.

Thanks, I'll try the heel and toe fix after a little more experience. Yeah, I know about the dangers of dremmels. They can turn a project south really quick. I pretty much only use one for initial wire wheel to get the big stuff off and some final polishing. I don't go above 5000 rpm (lowest setting available for mine).