W. Hawcroft & Sons "Renown" Restore Ivory Scales

This is a razor that has been a long time coming in the restoration department for me. A W. Hawcroft & Sons, Sheffield, "Renown" razor. It must have been part of a set because the spine says "Thursday" pretty intricately but faintly. It cleaned up beautifully. It still has the original scales on which are ivory. The front scale had the crack that you see on it though so I took it apart and reinforced them with aluminum liners for whatever that's worth. Original spacer too. Great thumb notch and top and bottom jimps. Really cool razor! We'll see how it shaves once I hone it up. BTW I tried to clean that crack out as much as possible to try to cut down on its visibility, but this is as good as I could get it. Comments/constructive criticisms welcomed!

Nice work, Alex.
The dirt in the crack is something that will just have to be lived with. I've looked into this sort of thing in the past and even the experts are stumped when it comes to finding a method to hide the crack.

That's a nice looking razor,,,the crack gives it CHARACTER!!!!!

Nice work! Great looking razor. Keep up the good work, love to se more of it

I like the crack. Beauty of a blade. How did you go about fabricating the alluminum?

Simple and elegant, I also agree that the crack just adds to the overall appearance of the razor. Nice work!

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Originally Posted by Akady

I like the crack. Beauty of a blade. How did you go about fabricating the alluminum?

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The aluminum was actually a thin chimney shim or something. I epoxy down the scales and then grind the aluminum to be flush with the scales. Then finish sand etc.

That restoration is perfect. If you ever get fed-up with it, I would love the opertunity to snatch it away from you.
Very,very well done:bow
Marcus

That razor has a lot of character!:tu

The thought of pinning real ivory makes my palms sweat.

Love that blade's shape! Nice work Alex. :bow


James.

I have exactly the same situation with a razor, and I wondered if the board could give me some advice.

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First of all, the razor belongs to my cousin, and he simply wants to shave with it. We both take the 'dentist' approach to restoration: only if absolutely necessary. So, it seems that the first option to explore is 'do nothing'. The crack is on the toe end, and is accompanied by some distortion of the scale:

Attachment 307101

The first question is, how stable is this crack likely to be if nothing is done?

The other option is minimal restoration. The most minimal (worthwhile) restoration I can think of would be to unpin the toe end, laminate something very thin just to the cracked area of the scale and re-pin. On this thread https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...ne-scales.html. Here, Ignatz says that silk fabric can be used:

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Originally Posted by ignatz

... If you don't think that the simple application of super glue is sufficient, then you can use a little bit of finely-woven white silk cloth to reinforce the repair (on the inside of the scales, naturally). Apply just enough super glue to thoroughly coat the cloth. This will not only stick the cloth to the surface of the bone, but will also make that bit of silk act in much the same way as fiberglass would. ;)

- ignatz

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How good is this approach? Are there any other materials of a similar thickness that could be used?

Last question, this razor is pinned in a very delicate manner without washers. How difficult is this to replicate?

Many thanks!

Reply posted without realising that this was in the Gallery, reposted to 'Workshop': https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...ml#post1873667)

I prefer to unpin them completely, clean out as much crud from the crack with various things and a toothbrush, then soak for several days in a 35% solution of peroxide.

Once white enough for my taste, I remove, rinse, and let totally dry. You can then add a drop of thin CA to the crack and squeeze shut as much possible.

Then I'll rough up the inside of the scales with 220 wet/ dry paper, and epoxy two layers of 3/4 oz fiberglass to the inside, place them glass side down on a piece of waxed paper, with weights on top. This will force out any air bubble's and excess epoxy, and leave you with a perfectly flat surface. Only thing left is trimming the excess from the edges of the scales, once cured.

Collarless pinning isn't that difficult, just a bit nerve racking.

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Annealing the ends of the pins, makes it a lot easier.

A bit of CA and soda, was used to replace the missing piece on the tip of the scale..

Liners are an option. G-10 and metal are both available very thin and are strong. You could try to clean and glue the crack, and than glue the wedge to the cracked side. As far as near invisible, Mike’s methods above is certainly the least intrusive.

The fiberglas liners Mike mentioned really are almost invisible. If you didn't know they were there, you wouldn't think anything had been done to the scales.

Really.. They are near invisible.

Here's a pic holding a set, after the lamination. There's a total of four layers of glass between the scales.

Attachment 307111

Its the same as G10, but this way its built onto the scales, instead of added, with undo amounts of epoxy

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Originally Posted by RezDog

Loners are an option. G-10 and metal are both available very thin and are strong. You could try to clean and glue the crack, amd than glue the wedge to the cracked side. As far as near invisible, Mike’s methods above is certainly the least intrusive.

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What are 'loners'? I have considered gluing the wedge to the cracked end, drilling the wedge and also putting some blind holes in the scale would create more of a mechanical lock.

Thanks very much for the feedback. All very useful.

I'm not into bleaching, the colour that antique ivory acquires over time is one of the things that makes it so desirable, and if you bleach a piece with any value, you will significantly reduce the value right there and then. It may also affect the longevity of the ivory. Ivory restorers don't even recommend wetting ivory significantly, just wiping with distilled water.

All in all, very useful advice. Laminating the whole of both scales is moving away from the idea of 'minimal restoration'; maybe just laminating that end is possible.

Any experience of laminating with silk? And do you think the crack will move if nothing is done?

As the ivory dries out...yes, the crack will carry. Again, you could clean it out as best possible, and a drop of thin CA will hold it.

Never used silk, but it would work just like this fiberglass, guaranteed.!

When I said 3/4 oz. fiberglass, that what a 3'x3' section weights. The individual fibers are difficult to see, and feels like silk as well.

BTW, I haven't tried this of yet.
But I understand that CA and talc/ baby powder can be mixed for small repairs and touch ups, and won't instant set like CA and soda, plus looks better.

Might help hide the crack some, should it not close up when pinched together. :shrug:

I only bleach to remove as much rust stains as possible, and that greening from the silver pins. Then I give them a coat of mineral oil for a couple days, to rehydrate them.
The natural color and grain seems to always return, afterwards

This crack was there before the metal liners were in place? It looks like an old crack, new cracks typically aren't dark. Cracks best addressed when razor dismantled.
The only thing I haven't seen done yet, is some form of vibratory tool, with some sort of solution to vibrate that gunk out.
The adherence to such limiting standards of restoration may result in a persistent crack. No problem if you don't mind the crack.
There are more than a few tricks used to fix AND whiten.
Some are better than others and the "professionals" are not unanimous in their approach.
I like the idea of silk because I like natural materials, but it is most likely inferior to fiberglass for this application... Though I'm definitely going to try it, so thank you for that suggestion.
Many great colors, and a Joannes Fabrics is right down the street.
:beer1:

It was a typo. It should have read liners.

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Originally Posted by outback

I only bleach to remove as much rust stains as possible, and that greening from the silver pins. Then I give them a coat of mineral oil for a couple days, to rehydrate them.
The natural color and grain seems to always return, afterwards

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Yes, rust stains area a problem. Razors are functional items not just decorative, so slightly different factors apply.