Thread: First Nic..

Well, I posted this the wrong way it seems earlier so I guess I'll put this in the right forum and ask the right questions.


So, as I was saying before. ManiaMan did an awesome restore for me, but in the process I hit some major RAD.... I went bought quite a few blades on ebay... realizing as they came in that there is no way I could afford to have someone else restore them, While I might not be able to hone due to not having the tools, I'll be damned if I can't make a razor shiny again.

so this is my first attempt at a restore, I'm not sure what to do about scales yet.. I think ManiaMan might get some more business.



So I found the razor on ebay... Got it for $35 + S&H, I really wanted a Boker.. Kinda wished I waited and got that fancy one that went for 66 on ebay whoever got that.... hows it shave? This one looked good, but the scales were all wrong... two diffrent sizes.. the wedge did not fit... just not worth it so I broke them off.


Well for my first restore I just got some 600 Grit and 1500 Grit paper. I then grabbed some rubbing compound, and some felt + a workbench clamp and an old teeshirt + metal polish.




You can still see some of the staining still... but I'm worried if I go deeper that it will start to take the etching away. Is it possible to color in the etching in or re age just the etched part?

So how did I do... Can i do it better?

Thanks guys, I'll post my next few up... there are 4 more to go....

Personally, I think you picked a decent compromise between cleaning up the blade and preserving the etching. There's no right or wrong answer about how far you go.

You 'could' go further and get rid of more of the pitting. However, it looks like you're at the point where every stroke with the sandpaper is going to sacrifice more of the etching.

As far as coloring the etching, that's very doable if you have nice clean etching on a nice clean razor. Because of the pitting on that one, it would be very difficult. And then again, if you take off more pitting, it will be easier to do a neat job of painting the remaining etching, but there might not be enough etching left to paint.

In short, I think you're at a good stopping point. If you just want to put some scales on it and get it honed but you're on a budget, PM me your address. I'll send you some circa mid-late 1800's black celluloid scales that will look at home on that one. All you'll need to do is pin them up, but I'll get the pins started on one side for you so you just have to trim, tap and go.

Live with the pits, you have done a great job as it is, get it honed and enjoy a great blade as well as the history behind it!

That is a really nice clean up job. One of the hardest lessons to learn is "when to say when...." I looks great now!
Bob

Nice! I will trade you for mine! It is "professionally honed" up to the front steps of the exposition building! HA!

If you have not read The Devil In The White City please do so. It is fascinating. It alternates chapters between how they put the 1893 World's Fair together and a serial killer who preyed on some of the people attending. This fair was the first time the Ferris wheel was exhibited and it seriously freaked a lot of people out. I think about this book everytime I use my Boker just like yours, BigBlue.

The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson