Thread: Questions on a few restoration candidates...

I recently received three razors from a friend, who found them among his grandfather's things. Grandpa was a barber and left a tool-roll full of razors behind.

Disclaimer: I haven't done a full restoration to date, but I have practiced polishing up a few cheap old blades I picked up somewhere. Between that and the wealth of information on this forum, I feel confident that I can do a good job on my friend's razors. Out of the seven or eight that were in the roll, there were only three that seemed worth saving. They are:

W&B 4/8, dark horn scales;
W&B 6/8, some kind of yellow bone or plastic scales;
Canton Cutlery 5/8, cocobolo (I think) scales.

Pictured in that order below


Can anyone help date these? The grandpa died in the late 60's, retired long before that, and all the razors are quite well-worn, so the closest we've come is 1940s - 50s?

Also, can anyone identify the scale material on the W&B 6/8? It's yellowish translucent, kind of like old fingernail. Doesn't really matter, since it's pretty cracked and I plan to replace the scales, but I'm curious.

The W&B 6/8 is the one I like best, but it also has the most rust and pitting.







The others have hardly any pitting, just need a good polish. I'm planning to disassemble them all, and then to start by working on the 6/8 with a Dremel flapwheels @ 80 and 120 grit, moving on to abrasive buffs of 180 and 280, then a cloth polishing wheel and paste. Any other recommendations, better ideas on that?

Thanks for looking! -o

The W&B looks like it will clean up nicely.
The scales look like (Blonde or Honey?) horn to me.
I would recommend trying hand sanding the blade though.
Using flap wheels and buffers can be dangerous for yourself and the blade unless your quite experience. Especially on an heirloom razor.
The scales can be given a light sand, soaked in neetsfoot oil and polished, and they should come up nice.
Good luck, and enjoy
Grant