Thread: An old Superba polished and re-handled

Well, this is my second post on this site but I've read and learned a bunch and want to say thank you all for the information. Figured I'd slap this up here and take my beatings from the more knowledgeable folks.

First off, let me apologize both for the quality of these pictures, and the absence of an actual freakin' picture of the open razor itself so you could see the blade I spent hours polishing! Not only that, but as I didn't pull my light box out and just was working off the kitchen lamp, the wood on the handle looks much more "dead" than it does in real life, so try to imagine it with luster. I've been sick with a fever for several days now, and on the day I had to take these before it went to its owner, neither my mind nor my motivation were in top form. That said, I hope you like some of what you see. I am definitely an amateur and this was my first razor-rehandling and polish job on a razor, but I tried my best and learned a few things.

The blade is a F. Koeller and Co "Superba" from the early 20th century, came in really fairly nice condition, requiring only a little work to get it mirror finished and sharpened up again. This is for my best friend's sister, a beautician who's recently moved to a different city. She'd requested a "special" razor (not for her daily professional use but for shaving her boyfriend at home) and chose a really nice piece of Amboyna burl for the handle. The rest was up to me. I went with 1/16" bronze liners because I just didn't trust the strength of wood that swirly on its own. I found the razor on the 'Bay and got rid of the celluloid handles which were beginning to break down but hadn't rusted the hell out of the blade yet. Spacer is made out of G10 and is not tapered (as you can see even in the crappy pictures) as was uncertain as to how well the burl-glued-to-bronze scales would handle the flexing that single-component scales do with such ease. Regardless, as I went with screws/washer/pivot assembly the tension is adjustable anyway. The blade tang had to be drilled out for the 1/8" pivot, but a carbide bit easily went right through it, and it rotates cleanly with no play. Right now it's not difficult to open but the handle stays in any position you put it in until you decide to move it. The other end is a 3/16" stainless Corby bolt. I didn't go with pinned construction as, again, I didn't trust the burl not to split under that kind of tension. Plus, tradition aside, I'll put my money on this construction lasting a whole lot longer in use without falling apart than the undersized pins it originally came with... and before you say it, NO this had not been "in use" since the early twentieth century. It came so perfectly square in shape that I doubt it had ever been much, if at all.

What was left of the amboyna was used as the face plate under the handle for the box I put together for it (yes, the handle came from Home Depot). There are medium/fine/ultrafine Spyderco stones, a small box to hold different grades of stropping compounds and the tiny torque screwdriver to adjust the pivot screws, and a smaller felt-lined box to hold the razor. The lid has progressively larger spacers on it to hold all of these things down/closed when you carry it. The other box holds the four-sided strop, made out of poplar, and already coated/labeled with the various diamond pastes (6, 3, 1 and .5 micron). The strop length was chosen so that a sheet of saran wrap is exactly wide enough to cover it in between uses, so your hands don't contaminate the surfaces (not to mention getting covered by paste residue) when removing it from the box or replacing it. Yes, I did mention to the owner that a new piece of plastic should be used for every wrapping following use. Obviously, the little feet keep the sides off of the table you're setting it on, and it does sit square and stable on all four sides during stropping.

I'm not under the impression that this is among the best or even second-best work any of you have seen on these boards, but when all is said and done I'm happy with it---it's very solid, smooth, sharp and most importantly the recipient was happy with it. I welcome all comments, especially negative ones as they're usually the most beneficial to improvement.



to be continued...

...and the rest:



Again, sorry for the lack of a blade shot---if I hadn't had to get it on its way I'd take more.

This was a really amazing present for your friend's sis. Congratulations. If you use burl wood in the future, you could try to find wood that has been "stabilized" - impregnated with resin under pressure or vacuum. This solves the issues that you where concerned about.

Thank you! And yes, I know and am a fan of stabilized woods, she just had her heart set on this piece. I tried saturating another small piece of it (one of the scraps from cutting the scales out) with clear epoxy, but the end result was kind of uneven looking when sanded down. I think you have to have the vacuum to do it right.