Restoring two old German straight razors?

Hi all,

I asked my dad if he had any straight razors... and out come two horn-handled carbon steel hollow ground razors from Germany.


Bad news: He had them stuffed in the basement, so while there aren't any dings or scratches they're rusted a fair amount (less than 20% of the metal is rusted)


Any ideas on cleaning/honing? I have soft, hard, and black hard Arkansas stones and honing oil, but no strop.


Oh, one last thing - there's some nice black enamel (might not be, I don't know what it is) on the blades, which I'd like to be able to save from being rubbed off in cleaning.


Thanks in advance everyone. :D

First, wash the razors with dishwashing liquid and an old toothbrush. :? If it is just a light rust, an ordinary metal polish ought to remove the rust as well as the tarnish:
MAAS,
Metal-GLO,
Flitz, and
Simichrome Polish are ones I use regularly. I usually try this first, anyway.

For deeper rust, soak as much of the blade as you can, without getting the scales wet, in WD-40 for a couple of days (available at Ace). This will dissolve and soften the rust, allowing for easier removal. With what remains, use a multi-grit fingernail polishing board that you can get at Walgreens, or a bigger selection at a beauty supply store.

Keep some disinfectant and bandaids nearby :shock: When all is done, smear one drop of oil on each side, carefully!

I'll be doing that right now.

Thanks. :D

Assuming the razors are dull, but not dinged on the edge, I'd start building a new edge using your oiled hard Arkansas stone. (If there are dings, use the soft Arkansas stone until the dings disappear.) The honing movements on an Arkansas stone are exactly the same as on a waterstone.

Once the edge will just begin to shave arm hair, although roughly, move to the black-hard Arkansas stone and finish the edge there. It may be the black Arkansas stone will be enough for a somewhat easy shave, but you still need to strop the blade on leather for real success at building this new edge.

In a pinch, a smooth old leather belt, the wider the better, front side, or back, held taunt between your foot and floor on one end, will make-do. Using one of Mom's Gucci belts is NOT a good idea, as accidents between razor and strop sometimes occur. :shock: :cry: $$$

The razors are still sharp. Really, really sharp. They both shave arm-hair without snagging, and they cut without any discernable resistance.

They came out ok, but there are a few black spots on the joint in the handle, which I don't know how to take off of the blade. Ideas?


As for the strop, I have plenty of leather lying around - I make belts, purses, etc. :)


The blades both say "Extra Hollow Ground" in really nice fancy text, then "Fully Warranted" underneath. On the tang, the trademark says "Imperial Razor", then another line says "Warranted", then "Registered No 20507", and to the right it says, from bottom to top "GERMANY".

Squared point, and they end thinner than a sheet of paper for the blade. Really, really sharp things.

What kind of oil should I use, and should I avoid getting it on the handles?

Imperial is a nice razor .... mineral oil will do between shaves. Mineral oil won't harm the scales. Dental floss soaked with oil might get between the blade and scales for further cleaning ..... the object is NOT to remove the scales

Oh, ok. Works for me! I'll go oil them now. :)