Can I practice with these?

Can I practice with these, I bought two razors at a flea market and I want to practice setting a bevel and go up to shave ready. They are old and rusty so I don't care if I ruin them in the process BUT I don't want to ruin a rare antique razor! Info on them are (1) Geneva Cutlery Corp. Geneva N.Y. on the other side it says Special A (2) H. Boker & Co. Germany the other side says Red-Injun No. 102 R.P. Any info will be appreciated
Tim

Goodness... DO NOT practice on those!:nono:


Pictures help also

Go ahead and use them to learn/practice with.

Both are good brands that are sought after more as good shaving razors than collectors items. The Red Injun is some what more collectable than the Geneva. But with any collectable condition is key. Badly rusted razors likely have more pro restore cost than could be gotten for a restored shave ready razor.

Jonathan

You might post pics before ripping into them. Those are pretty beloved razors, an it's possible that they're in good enough shape that someone with experience could breathe real life into them for you.

Best to get some pics up as Chevhead says....You say "old and rusty", well, of course they're old but to what degree are they rusty ?
Without pics we can only guess. Getting rid of the rust first to see what you have underneath / to work with is a good first step.

Soaking in WD-40 is always a good first step for me, followed by a wet'n'dry session to get back to bare metal.
This should determine whether the rust has affected the bevel / edge.

I din't think you should practice with anything that has geometry issues or that is fairly heavily honed out. Other than that I'd say fill your boots. Pictures would really help people say for certain though. They are good brands, no telling if they are good razors though.

Without pictures they cannot be evaluated. The brands are good brands, however condition is everything. If they are rusted to heck and back, then no...but you don't have the experience to evaluate condition. Please post a picture.

They may be worth collecting only in pristine condition, old and rusty you can find them any day for next to nothing, which is probably what you did.
They started as a quality razors, but now could be from trash bin material to honing practice to worth saving.

Just something to consider.

Often times a razor may look like it's ready for the scrap heap but the rust is surface only and some quality time might have it looking like new.