Thread: James Barlow & Sons 4/8 in Bacote

Here is a picture of my first full restore:


This was actually the first razor I ever bought ( not my first shaver though), and was in great condition with the exception of some water stains on the blade that I mostly was able to polish out. I had dropped the thing, thankfully closed, and broke the scales by the pivot. I did the scales in Bacote with a maple wedge, and finished with two coats of Gorilla Glue CA with the final sand up to 2500 grit, then Turtlewax rubbing and polishing compound.

The only problem I ran into was with the wedge; I can't tell, but I think I cut it not quite symmetrical since the razor closes slightly off center, and no amount of pin-tapping fixes it. Any critiques of my work would be greatly appreciated.

Nice work. The blade alignment when closing may not be the wedge, could just be the shape of the tang, or an number of other things, its more common than you think. Take a look at this if your curious. http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...lade_Centering
Grant

Quite nice for your first! Good stuff and thanks for sharing

Grant, thanks for the wiki link. Just when I felt as if I had seen the entire wiki I am shown just how wrong I was! Within the first couple sentences I found why the blade does not center. The JB&S's tang is only ground on one side, meaning one side is parallel with the spine, while the other side is at an angle with the spine. Until the blade edge starts hitting the scale I think I will just try to forget about it instead of fixing it. I have about 20 or so razors I need to either hone or fully restore, and this is only one down!

That' a really nice looking set of scales. I think your first project is an awesome start.

Nice work!