Thread: Engström: Resurrection

Quite a while ago I got a John Engström frameback with ivory scales.

It was rusty, chipped and it looked like someone tried to clean the ivory with a fist-full of beach sand hammered into plywood. I was excited to work on it. So excited that I disassembled it within a minute of opening the eBay package.

This promptly snapped the scales at the toe.

Dejected, I put it away in my tool box and tried not to think about it.

Every now and then I'd try sanding some of the tarnish off the frame, but it was weirdly resistant to sanding.

I gave up.

Fast forward about a year and now I've got a new workbench installed in the garage with proper shop lighting, all my tools are organized and I have an arsenal of sandpaper and polishing equipment.

I never got any before pictures of this razor, but here's what I was able to do to it with a bit of elbow grease.



There were two bad dings in the blade that I ground out, which is why the shape is a tiny bit odd. The main thing I discovered is that sanding a frameback is hard work. There are so many fidgety little spaces that are incredibly easy to miss. In the picture above you can just see where the ivory snapped at the toe pin. A bit of CA glue and all was well there.



I'm only partially happy with the polish on the blade. I really need to stop screwing around and make myself a sanding jig so I can get steady, light and even pressure when sanding.



Other than the pins, it's all original parts.



A macro lens is a valuable tool for finding EVERY TINY THING YOU MISSED.



I'm sad that the ivory lost its patina, but there was nothing for it. Whoever had cleaned it left deep scratches that looked terrible. Like a cat had used it as a scratching post. Now it looks very shiny and clean, but also 'new'.



I don't consider the restore to be a full success, but it was an excellent way of breaking in the new workspace!

It might not be exactly what you were after but it is a very nice looking SR and highly usable too. I'd be satisfied with it, if it were me. Good job.

Bob

Looks great,You want patina? ,boil up the contents of about six teabags in a cup of water,wipe down the scales with alcohol,than wipe them down with white vineger,than use a rag and rub them down with the warm tea,when the correct color is achieved, wipe them down with mineral oil.

Nice job on a nice razor. I have been saving lots of razors for when I develop the skills they require. It is good that you gave up when you did and continued when you were prepared. It looks great! ......Tom

Have a similar Engström in the works here too - no ivory to start with so I made a new set of horn scales. Think I might blacken the blade.

Having owned, and restored a few of these in the past I know what PIA it can be....

I think you did very well, she looks great, and kudos for keeping her original

These old Swedish framebacks takes a fantastic edge

I don't know if you have honed her yet, and you might already know, but the steel in the frame is rather soft and will wear down ten times faster than the typical hard swedish steel in the blade, so if you don't usually use tape when honing, do an exeption for this one, it will keep her beauty

Don't forget the scales were once new so it's fitting that once again they age with the restored blade.
Looks a success to me.

Bravo VM. 'Have one unrestored Engstrom frameback and one Helje. The blade profile on the Helje is identical to your Engstrom. A bit delicate, honing that heel, but worth the effort. About the remaining flaws: screw perfect. You did beautiful work, and you'll get better w/ each one. Its a lovely razor and I know its a lovely shaver. Very nicely done!