Thread: 'The Queen Razor' restoration

Hello All!

Last month, I found this razor stuck in a makeshift wooden handle in a pile of old farm tools at an antique market. It looked like someone had attempted to use it as a utility knife of some sort, but on closer inspection, I realized that it was actually in relatively good shape, no hone wear, major chips, or other issues other than some tarnish and pitting. I quickly fell in love with 'The Queen' and she followed me home.

I hand sanded it through a 150-220-320-400-600-800-1200-1500 grit progression, that took somewhere between 10-15 hours, followed by another hour or so with Blue Magic metal polish. I was able to remove all pitting except a small patch on the front near the heel, which you can see in the reflection picture.

At the end of the restoration, I was a little disappointed with the frown; while it was slightly evident when I bought the razor, it became more pronounced during the sanding process. I'll be sending this one out to be honed; I hope the frown isn't too problematic.

I was expecting the pinning to be worse. I didn't have a chasing hammer, but tried with a 'normal' hammer figuring that if it turned out to be a disaster, I'd just unpin, order a proper chasing hammer, and do it right. However, I was quite happy with the results.

Thanks to Undream for the scales; they really feel like they fit the razor perfectly. I'm glad I was able to give a set of old scales new life!

Edit: I expect any information concerning the 'The Queen Razor' branding is lost to history, but if anyone *does* know anything about this mark, I'd live to hear it!