Thread: Display/cabinet to store razors

That sure is a good looking one

Nice piece, Mark!

BEAUTIFUL!! ...I'm both envious & speechless... -Congrats! Mark.

(If you decide to "leave as is" I will recommend you to use a lemon-oil furniture-polish)

/stefan

Originally Posted by majurey

I won this 'engineer's box' (no idea what that is!) on ebay because it looked like it might be ideal for my razors and paraphernalia. It arrived yesterday and I gotta say it's perfect! Two small drawers, felt-lined, to hold my humble collection of razors, and loads of room for the hones, coticule, flattening stone, travel brush, travel strop etc. etc. Even room to store the various pre/shaving products.

It has the all important lock on it, and has a certain amount of character/history. (I'm in two minds about whether I should sand it down and coat with new polish/varnish/lacquer, or just leave as is with that kind of distressed look?)

Sure, not cheap, but a lot cheaper than many of the new cabinets available in the UK.

Nice! I have something similar....there is a company making these types and even larger here in the US - Gerstner. They have a website (www.gerstner.com I believe) and as you can see....the prices are not cheap...but as you said, they have a certain amount of history to them...even the new ones! As for cleaning, check with a local antique dealer regarding the current or potential value. Workman's tool and cases are a niche collectible market and some items can fetch pretty high prices. For wooden items, the rule is usually leave it as is or do a light cleaning with some lemon oil and a good polish with a bee's wax based wax/polish. That will preserve the patina. As for sanding, I tell people that it isn't sanding dust on the floor, it's money.

Restoration is a different matter - a professional restorer would remove all the hardware, gently clean any rust, but leave patina, oil it. He would then gently clen the wood with mild cleaners to remove grime and actual dirt, but would never remove the varnish/shellac. He would then give it several thin coats of bee's wax polish, buff it up, put the hardware back on, and it would be good for another 100 years.

If it is just a cool tool box and it is mahogany, you have a great find! You can remove the hardware andclean that up with some lubricating solvent. The wooden surafaces can be sanded down to the bare wood. If you want a red glow, like 18th century mahogany (like a George I, II, or III piece of furniture when the mahogany came from Cuba) you can get a mahogany stain and mix 2 parts stain to one part turpentine. With a soft cotton cloth (a cotton baby diaper is perfect) wipe on a light coat and let it dry (an hour or so, depending on humidity). Then lightly sand the wood with very fine (#0000 steel wool), wipe it clean with a tack rag (cheese cloth impregnated with resin to get eery little bit of sanding reside, in case the readers didn't know). Repeat until you get the depth of color you want. To see what the piece will look like with finish, on a small area, wipe a wet finger...it will darken to the color close to the finished color. When you are done, let the piece dry completely over night. Next, you can finish the piece. If you are storing it in your bathroom or near water, I would recommend polyurethane over shellac. You can get a golden color poly that mimics shellac or just regular clear poly. Tack rag the piece all over, apply the poly with a foam brush or a very good bristle brush, starting from the center and brushing to the edge. As you reach the edge, lift the brush slightly - this will prevent drips. Going form the center will as well. When dipping the brush into the poly, d not scrape along the edge as you would with paint, but tap on the inside edge to remove excess....this will prevent bubbles. Bubbles = more sanding. Let the furst coat dry for several hours (as listed on the poly container). Sand with super fine sandpaper and tack rag it. Repeat 2 or more times. Between the second to last coat and final coat, switch to wet sanding or #0000 steel wool. Let it dry overnight, reinstall your newly cleaned hardware and ...Voila! a family heirloom!

(Yes, I also refinish furniture....)

Greg

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

Nice case, Not fully what I'm looking for but very close. I'll see if I can find a pic of how I want them sitting in the case.I'm Not looking to store them with the blade open. But that sure looks great for a display case.

DwarvenChef, are you look for something to hang on the wall or sit on a counter/table? If you are looking for a table-top item, have you considered pen collector cases? Almost always nice wood, glass tops, some mare multi-drawer, felt lined to protect the pens and set up so each pen has its own concave slot. I would check the max length...I thought about it and was going to go that route until I found my case. I was not looking for display, as much as I was for storage. I checked some of my fountain pens against the size of the razors and most were close. The Tis seemed a bit longer due to the monkey tail.

Guys, some great tips! Thanks. I'm going to go with the lemon oil approach first as two others have suggested, since it seems the least invasive. I'm definitely going to remove the hardware and clean it up to a polish -- had already decided to do that.

I don't think it will be worth much as a collector's item. It doesn't seem that old to me. But I'll err on the side of caution for now.

It is definitely mahogany (you can't mistake that smell anywhere!).

Cheers
M.

Originally Posted by majurey

Guys, some great tips! Thanks. I'm going to go with the lemon oil approach first as two others have suggested, since it seems the least invasive. I'm definitely going to remove the hardware and clean it up to a polish -- had already decided to do that.

I don't think it will be worth much as a collector's item. It doesn't seem that old to me. But I'll err on the side of caution for now.

It is definitely mahogany (you can't mistake that smell anywhere!).

Cheers
M.

Lemon oil works wonders...there is also a bunch of products on the market with orange oil, which has more of a cleaning effect. I used to have one product that was beeswax and orange oil mix...a little squirt on the wood and some #0000 steel wool and it was amazing how the surface glowed, but yet I didn't lose any patina. I would only do that if the case is really grimy/sticky/stained. If it is just old and in need of some buffing, lemon oil is your friend!

Enjoy!

Greg

More interested in a wall hanger with a left side hinge. The 7 day set box's are darn close but I wonder if they will hold the razors when verticle.

I really think a gun rack style would be perfect

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

More interested in a wall hanger with a left side hinge. The 7 day set box's are darn close but I wonder if they will hold the razors when verticle.

Probably not, unless they have the left-side hinge...most I have seen have a rear hinge, which would leave you with a pile of razors when you open it. Although you could put a thin piece of a nice wood across the bottom (front when sitting on a table) of the slots for the razors...then when you open the lid on the wall, they won't tumble out.

Or how about this....get a curio shelf 1-2" deep, with a framed glass door, and bore a series of holes in each shelf, just wide enouhg to accept the razor closed, but not let it fall through. They would be displayed like spoon collections and they would nto fall out as you open the door!

Greg