Otto Deutsch Restore

This is an Otto Deutsch "Hans" that just got to me...Naturaly slightly worse off than I was hopping for when I saw it on the Bay....
I decided to post "before" pics on this one and then post the ongoing progress... WARNING!!!!! last time I did a thread like this the whole system crashed :cry:
The razor is a true 11/16 spike point full hollow My favorite style of razor for personal use...I don't know why but this size just seems to work best for me. I will use anything from 4/8-6/8 after that they have a tendency to end up on the B/S/T forum :)

This one has some rust on the back side and spots of rust on the front Looks like I am not dealing with any pitting, but still to early to tell.... Looking at the pivot and the fact that the pins are all original I am not going to pop pins on this one I'll use some string and rouge to clean the pivot later, and put just a touch of Kroil in there today, so by the time I need to clean it any rust will have been lifted and softend... If yer not familiar with Kroil I would suggest you look into it...
Since I don't think there is any pitting under the rust, I will start at 400 grit paper and see what happens.... This things are always an adventure!!!!!!

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I bet she cleans up real nice Glen - can't wait to see more pics!

looks like fun Glen! keep us posted!

use a crappy razor to "shave" off the rust before using the dremel so that it it doesn't turn black and hard and not want to come off. You will be surprised what you can get under that sort of rust if you don't polish it off cause sanding it or polishing it off can enlarge the pits already there and make it worse.

This technique that Topher is talking about is one of the quickest and easiest ways to remove rust... I always assumed that everyone knew of it (sometimes I am dumb that way).... BTW a great little tool to do this is one of those little Corn razors that you seem to get in every razor lot, along with a Durham Duplex :D the slightly cruved tip on this little blade fits into the hollow curves and small nooks and makes scraping the rust off a breeze..... Try this if you havent already.... you'll be surprised how fast it makes the rust removal go...

This is after about 1 hour of work around 400 grit
Most of the rust is gone and the razor is starting on it's way back to being useful

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I started at 8:00 am on this restore and at 12:00 noon it is finished and ready for the stones and strops.....
I put a little more into the blade finish on this one, usually I don't use power tools but the project was going very well, so I went with a mirror finish with a dremmel... Normally on working razors, I don't like a mirror finish, mostly because of my personality, one small scratch will drive me nutz... so it usually stops at 2000 grit paper, then just some hand polishing with pastes.... On this one the brass inlays had to be polished out along with the scales, I love that emerald green celuloid now that it is all cleaned up...
Keep in mind I suck at taking pics, the razor in real life is one of the best looking I have seen....

Gentlemen a fully restored Otto Deutsch "Hans" 11/16 spike point.. by Otto Deutsch & Sohne Solingen-Germany

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Great job Glen! Plenty to be proud about there!

Thanks Alex, I am going to try shaving with it Wed morning we'll see how that goes!!!
Another question that has arisen is whether or not this razor brand is of Dubl Duck breeding????? Two very knowledgeable members here disagree on this, so they will remain nameless... If anyone has proof either way, as to the breeding linage of the brand I would love to know!!!!

That one turned out really nice, hope it shaves as well as it looks!

What do you use to polish the scales, the famed renaissance(?) wax?

That's quite an impressive transformation. I thought the scales were black looking at the initial pics. Also, if I could get a razor to change as much as yours did in between the initial and the 400 grit pics I'd probably be so pleased I'd just consider it done!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bjorn

That one turned out really nice, hope it shaves as well as it looks!

What do you use to polish the scales, the famed renaissance(?) wax?

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1000-2000 grit lightly then Flitz and Blue Magic
I thought they were black as well, the wife noticed the green :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

1000-2000 grit lightly then Flitz and Blue Magic
I thought they were black as well, the wife noticed the green :)

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Thanks, someday I'll like to get a razor with an inlay like that, but fore now I do seem to be stuck in Sheffield ca 1850 with the odd detour to Eskilstuna, guess I'll have to save up some money and visit ebay.

PS: something I've heard, the wife knows best:)

very nice Glen. I am very impressed!

Boy that didn't take long!!!!!! Great job Glen!!!!!!

Amazing job! I'm gaining a lot more respect for you seasoned restorers, since I've been trying my hand at it lately...

...my gnarled, aching, useless hand. ;)

Me again.

Seeing all these amazing restorations does help me quite a bit. Initially, I've been so paranoid about sanding material off the blades I'm trying to restore. The blades I have though are in pristine shape compared to what you started with Glen, so it's made me a little more comfortable with going sanding a little deeper to get rid of some of my surface pitting :) I'll still be cautious, but not quite as worried. My thanks to all you!

Don't know how I missed the rest of this thread...sorry Glen! She looks great! She'd look even better on my wall! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I started at 8:00 am on this restore and at 12:00 noon it is finished and ready for the stones and strops.....
I put a little more into the blade finish on this one, usually I don't use power tools but the project was going very well, so I went with a mirror finish with a dremmel... Normally on working razors, I don't like a mirror finish, mostly because of my personality, one small scratch will drive me nutz... so it usually stops at 2000 grit paper, then just some hand polishing with pastes.... On this one the brass inlays had to be polished out along with the scales, I love that emerald green celuloid now that it is all cleaned up...
Keep in mind I suck at taking pics, the razor in real life is one of the best looking I have seen....

Gentlemen a fully restored Otto Deutsch "Hans" 11/16 spike point.. by Otto Deutsch & Sohne Solingen-Germany

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Great job Glen ,when I see something like your restoration it gives me the urge to start hunting in all the antique markets I can find.
It also shows me that stuff Iv'e passed on might have turned out like your excellent efforts (if I develop enoug patience).Paul

Well I finally got to shave with the "Hans" yesterday... WOW!!!
I have not had an easier edge to hone since the first time I honed the "Mystical Mack"... The blade was dead straight on the hones, and the bevel is so even, it's scary... The shave was of course smooth and clean which would be expected with that nice of an edge... This one just moved into a very tightly contested 2nd place in my rotation...
Very very impressed with this one!!!!! :y

great looking blade. new to this so I have to ask what is MAAS and Mothers. where do you get them. I've been using jewelers rogue and a buffing wheel on a small dermal. thanks

Beautiful razor! Thanks for the Kroil tip. I didn't know if it would damage scales or not.

Wow you guys really reached pretty far back on this one, :)

PLEASE keep in mind that we have all learned quite a bit over the last 6 years or so,,, make sure you check the "How To" sticky thread at the top of the Workshop forum to find a ton of newer info..

MASS is still a goto product as is the Blue Magic... Flitz and Mothers not so much in my shop (not busting on them just don't use them myself)

I learned back when I was handsanding that adding WD-40 or any light oil to the sanding at 400 grit and higher really improved the outcome to the finish,, I would do the first bit of sanding dry and then do a second bit after squirting the sandpaper with the oil creates a slurry like effect that adds a "Glow" to the finish...

Kroil is still a goto product, I mostly use it to loosen stuck/tight pivot pins where it excels at the job, and has saved many a set of scales.


Hope that helps

Nice save Glen ... the last time I worked on an Otto Deutsch razor, I remember that there isn't
much "meat" to work with. Easy to sand right thru it. You do amazing restores.