A Packwood reborn

[JellyJar]

Picked this up in a somewhat sad state. This was my sixth restore and second set of scales.

The blade was brought back with 0000 steel wool, Simichrome, and MAAS polish leaving most of the dark patina I thought was appropriate for a blade likely made around 1830.

After finding out what a flamboyant self promoter Mr. Packwood was through all of the great info on SRP, I chose tortoise shell kirinite for the scales. The scales were patterned after pictures of originals I found on the forum and also posted by a member helping out. The collars are Austin Kennedy's reproduction flower collars which matched the one collar I had with the razor and also matched the original images. I decided to stretch my skills a bit with a three piece wedge of brass and lead. The scales were left with a 2000 grit mat finish and the brass and lead were given a patina with ferric chloride. The mat finish and patina seemed to fit better with the blade. I am not entirely pleased with the scales and wedge. The scale thickness varies a bit from side to side and top to bottom. The wedge is closer to a spacer and has a few gaps to the scales. I also think the wedge should have been a bit longer to give some extra space between the pin and the end while moving the balance point closer to the pivot. It's a little tip heavy and works well, however, some fine tuning of the balance would have made it even better. My pinning could also use a bit of improvement.

The bevel was set with two layers of tape. A 4K/8K, some pasted strops, and a canvas/leather strop finished it off. While my honing skills are still improving, the shave was wonderful . The blade handled well and the near wedge grind (my first) was kind of dreamy.

While this restore isn't as good as many I've seen, I'm pleased with the overall product. There were several challenging moments along the way, but I learned some things that should serve me well in the future. I suspect I will re-make scales/wedge when my skills improve (or luck into some originals), but for now I'm glad I was able to bring this back to shaving condition and experience a blade with this this history.

Some before images

And some after images

And, I just noticed parts of the blade are reflecting the grain of the wood I used as a backdrop making it look a little rougher than it really is. Apparently my creative photography skills also need improving. Ah well...warts and all I'm good with the outcome. Thanks to all who helped me out with this project. On to the next...

[BobH]

Not too shabby at all.

Bob

[JOB15]

Nice job.
Its a constant learning process that goes on and on and on......