Thread: Oldies but Goodies in Horn

Great restoration work! My respect. I'm sure these razors did not have mirror finish when manufactured many many years back.

Nice look to those Glen. A vintage meets mildly modern look to them. Well done sir.

Great looking traditional razors.
Like them a lot.

I am a big fan of the stub tails. Very nicely done! I have a 3 stubbys on my bench for about a year I just have not had the heart to restore them.

Really fantastic looking razors. I have a question about finishes, specifically patina and I'm not sure if this is the place to ask it, but since these razors are between mirror and original (like you found them) maybe I'll just get on with it. The look I am interested in is the look of the bayonet that my father carried home from WWII. The finish was uniform and had depth. The depth is what I am interested in and the only analogy I can think of is from a long time ago when I had a brief experience with silver. It seems the silver was cleaned in something that turned it sort of a featureless light grey color. Then the piece was dipped in I think liver of sulfur. This turned the piece black. Then polishing up from this black the silver acquired this depth. So I know patina has been discussed, but so far I have not seen an example of what I am clumsily trying to explain. Making any sense?

The grey/silver/shiny/depth,, That is PATINA, that comes from years of loving attention...

This can be forced/colored also with different techniques, but real Pantina comes from loving care over years.. The knife might have some type of forced Patina, or Bluing that is giving the black color
With the razors we see, look at the before pics on these, any dark black spots are NOT Patina they were Black Spider rust and/or Devil's Spit, how do I know the difference ????

When I clean off the top layer I can see the damage below, simple rule of thumb, if it is dark or black it ain't patina, it goes deeper.. If you look at the before pics above, the light grey areas on the top razor are Patina, the Dark Grey and Black areas are not The proof is in the 3rd pic look very close, the Macro lense is picking up the shadows from the very light pitting that is actually still there, on the Greaves.. The Stamp prevented heavy polishing like I did on the back side, the pitting is polished out, and hardly visible in the hand, but the Macro lense will pic it up still.. Those are the Black spots from the first pic

When you say loving attention the first image that came to mind was a wood railing in an over 200 year old hotel. I looked at that railing, the wear, all of the hands that were on it and thought it could never be duplicated by one person.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The grey/silver/shiny/depth,, That is PATINA, that comes from years of loving attention...

This can be forced/colored also with different techniques, but real Pantina comes from loving care over years..

With the razors we see, look at the before pics on these, any dark black spots are NOT Patina they were Black Spider rust and/or Devil's Spit, how do I know the difference ????

When I clean off the top layer I can see the damage below, simple rule of thumb, if it is dark or black it ain't patina, it goes deeper.. If you look at the before pics above, the light grey areas on the top razor are Patina, the Dark Grey and Black areas are not

GSSIXGUN did an amazing job on this restoration and I can say from personal experience, I'm the owner, that they shave amazingly well. Thanks