Thread: First restored batch, weeeee!

Quite recently I got a batch of five straights, dirt cheap (€15!!!), since the seller considered them rubbish and sold them as such. . I got them to see if I could restore them somewhat:





#1 and #4 were, as you can tell, beyond repair, keeping the scales.
#2 Turned out to be a 5/8 C.V. Heljestrand MK 31! Worried about the rust near the edge though, hoping it doesn't go too deep.
#3 Robert Dodge(')s Universally Approved Sheffield Razor, 5/8 and looks like an uneven concave or a muck-up regrind. Still, the steel looks perfectly salvagable.
#5 C.W. Dahlgren Eskilstuna Garanti Prisbelönt 1878.81, 5/8 1/4 hollow with a French point, apart from some staining and minor pitting the cleanest in the lot.


Close-up of the Robert Dodge(')s

Exceeded the picture-per-post-count, so hereäs the results:

I decided not to unpin them, since there was no visible rust around the pivot areas and they were all sitting pretty snug in there (I suspect someone tried to fix them up by sticking them into 'new' scales).
After a progression of 120, 180, 240, 400, 600 and 1200 grit Mirka sand paper and Sonax Chrome & Aluminium paste, they look like this:


(the best picture I could do with a digital 5.0 megapixel camera)

Even though I'm now actually considering going up still a bit from 1200 grit, I am more than pleased about the result, and I sure hope they're all honeable, they look promising

First a bit more honing practice with my not-so-shiny Clauberg, though. Go me.

Good result, on the find and the work. Good luck with the honing.

great before and afters!! Too bad about the others. It looked like that frameback could have been saved..

Excellent job,

Happy Shaving!

M

Originally Posted by mjhammer

great before and afters!! Too bad about the others. It looked like that frameback could have been saved..

Excellent job,

Happy Shaving!

M

Haven't thrown the frameback away yet, but to me it seems the time invested in it would not be worth it. Plus the rust goes deep, if not through the entire blade. It is also under the frame, almost looks like rot. And it would take days to hone that up, probably changing it from a 4/8 into at least a 3/8, again IMO not worth the effort. I thing it would be too frustrating and ambitious for a irst restore project. Still holding on to it, but mainly for the scales or when I feel that ambitious.

Frameback would be GREAT practice though, even if the rust has junked it, getting something approaching a bevel would be a good learning experience

Great job, just hand sanding 1 blade is a lot of work and u did 3 !!! Congrats man, the Heljestrand is my fav

The lower grits is really what takes up most time, the 120 grit was about 5 hrs per blade or so. But you can do it while watching TV (just watch out for cuts ). Some pitting remains, mainly in the Sheffield, it went pretty deep. But enough's enough.

I've decided to get some micromesh today or tomorrow, see how shiny I can get them.