Thread: Picking brains till they bleed

I'm sure a smarter man would have just left this razor alone, but I've never suffered from being overly smart.

My old Lord and Harvey, circa 1820-1830?



Sooo... I decided to hone it. I really wanted to shave with it. I'm not thrilled with age alone, I prefer old items that are still useful. Bear in mind that this is one major-league wedge:



I think I've done pretty well. The bevel rides up the blade a bit in the middle, but really; the spine on this thing isn't all that reliable. I'll bet I used the marker on this 10 times while I was honing to keep track of edge contact, and I used every honing stroke known, plus a few I made up along the way, to get to where I am.





I know it likes like there's a lot of hone wear along the spine, but really it's just more like "corrosion wear", "patina" wear if you will. Yeah, I know I could have taped it, but I hate taping, and I figure nobody would have taped it 100 years ago, or 150 years ago, or 170 years ago. They would simply have honed it.

The deal is, it shaves, but the shaving is a little problematic--- sort of like going back to "Shaving 101". Simple strokes, like my cheeks, shave ok, but when I head for more complicated areas, the quality of my work deteriorates. I'll be going back to the 1k for a while to try to improve the edge but I'm wondering---

Can I expect this to get as sharp as a modern hollow?
Should I expect shaving results like a modern hollow?

Any ideas -- honing or shaving ---- on where I should go next?

Should I leave the corrosion/patina like it is?

To me that's not a wedge, it's just another "near wedge." I say that because the hone wear is only on the spine and the edge, not fully along the face of the razor.

I imagine that if the steel is in good condition you should be able to get it as sharp as any other razor. It might feel different when you shave, but that's from the grind and not about sharpness. If it's not shaving, then it IS about sharpness.

If I was in your spot I'd go back to the 1K and get that bevel up to the best it can be. Getting the bevel to be as sharp as possible makes the finished edge that much better. (By the by, that's something I need improvement on as well, maximizing the edge at each level.)

Great looking razor. I like the fact that you left it and just honed her up. That'll be a fun one in the rotation I'm sure.

Originally Posted by stimpy52

Should I leave the corrosion/patina like it is?

IMHO The patina looks kind of cool, but if the corrosion is left untreated it will be a place for more corrosion to begin and/or spread. If it were mine I would preserve the razor, even if it meant "ruining" the look.

Originally Posted by BingoBango

To me that's not a wedge, it's just another "near wedge." I say that because the hone wear is only on the spine and the edge, not fully along the face of the razor.

I imagine that if the steel is in good condition you should be able to get it as sharp as any other razor. It might feel different when you shave, but that's from the grind and not about sharpness. If it's not shaving, then it IS about sharpness.

If I was in your spot I'd go back to the 1K and get that bevel up to the best it can be. Getting the bevel to be as sharp as possible makes the finished edge that much better. (By the by, that's something I need improvement on as well, maximizing the edge at each level.)

Great looking razor. I like the fact that you left it and just honed her up. That'll be a fun one in the rotation I'm sure.

I get that, I don't think I've ever even held a "true" wedge, much less tried to shave with one. The feel is way different on my face though, and there is no feedback at all through my hands. Not bad, just different.

That is a really nice looking old tool to remove facial hair.
From the picture it looks like the metal near the cutting edge is ok, so you should have a good shaver of this oldtimer.
It has been a shaver for 170 years and shaver it looks still. I wouldn't try to remove all the patina. Maybe just a quick and tender wipe with a cloth and some mild metal polish.

Originally Posted by wopmanfixit

IMHO The patina looks kind of cool, but if the corrosion is left untreated it will be a place for more corrosion to begin and/or spread. If it were mine I would preserve the razor, even if it meant "ruining" the look.

I'm not in love with the visible signs of aging, it hasn't done me any good-- but what did you mean by "preserve"?

if your bevel is set right it should shave fine.
If the shave is not smooth then the finishing stage might be the culprit.

Go back to the bevel, its not there yet. Be sure it can "pop" arm hair before moving up the grits, it has the ability to shave as well as any other razor providing the steel is good. I would clean her up a bit before I got started on it.

It could be as nun says, that the bevel is not fully there. You may also have some corrosion in the edge that causes the edge to break down while shaving.

With a heavy blade like that, you certainly will get little to no feedback, so that's normal.

I have honed up a couple of really old razors, though I don't really know how old they are or how they would relate to yours as far as steel or age, but the ones I've done have come out to be great shavers. I like to finish the really old ones on my Thurry - it seems to work really well for them.

Originally Posted by stimpy52

I'm not in love with the visible signs of aging, it hasn't done me any good-- but what did you mean by "preserve"?

First I should have asked if there are any pitted areas on the razor? I can't tell from the pics. If there is, even lightly pitted, you should remove the corroded metal and/or rust with a good polishing compound. For heavier pitting I've used 0000 steel wool. If there isn't any pitting or visible rust, then the patina should be OK. Just give it a light coat of camellia oil every so often.