5 Attachment(s)
Prince Alberts Royal Patent Razor, Fredreick Reynolds 7/8 wedge in original horn
This is a pretty old Frederick Reynolds 7/8 wedge with a barber notch. When I got it the blade was heavily tarnished and the scales were brown but intact. The blade had a very light etch that was barely visible. I wish I could salvage it, but it is barely visible and had to go with the blade restoration. It read ‘Silver Covered With Steel’ across the top of the blade. In the middle of the blade was ‘Manufactured by Frederick Reynolds Sheffield’. Then across the bottom of the blade was printed ‘Prince Alberts Royal Patent Razor’. Based on that, I would put the blade in the late 1800’s probably around 1870-80 based on the life of Prince Albert of England.
The scales are translucent horn, not plastic. They were in bad shape but structurally sound with no chips or cracks. So I decided to try something new and do a blade restoration with the razor in the scales. It was an interesting experience. I did not want to take the blade out for fear of breaking the original scales. I would also never be able to make a washer to match the original.
So I sanded the blade from 110 to 2000 grit. It took a lot of elbow grease and more hours than I care to remember. 99% of the blemishes were removed. There are still a few light striations remaining in the blade and a tiny spot with a remaining pit. After the sanding I taped up the scales to protect them from the abrasive wheels. Then I buffed, very carefully. Buffing a blade is dangerous, doing one that is still mounted in scales is doubly so. One wrong move and you can stick the scales into the wheel. That would rip the razor from your hands possibly taking a finger or two with it. But in the end, it worked out pretty good.
After the sanding I took a toothbrush to the scales to scrub the circa 1880 worth of grim out of them. The insides of the scales were caked with grime, you could not see through them. So after an hour of scrubbing they were almost clean. I took some micromesh the outside of the scales to resurface them. The final touches were added when I buffed the blade. I gave it pass on some white rogue to buff the shine back in it and polish the brass pins.
The blade had no hone ware to begin with so it is in nearly new condition. I have to give it a hone tomorrow then it is shaving time. This is a keeper.
