Thread: Bonjour-Hi from Montreal - need restoration advice

I am interested in old razors and restoration...

Several years back I was showing my sons the razors that my grandfather had used. These include a Torrey Razor Co. No. 332 and several Rolls Razors. He apparently favoured the Rolls, as he had worn one out and kept it for parts, while using a second one up until his death in 1975.

My eldest son - who had just started to shave regularly - expressed an interest in trying the straight razor. It was too dull and a bit damaged from years of my dad using it to trim wood veneer etc.

So for Christmas that year - much to his mother’s horror - I bought him one of those straight razors with the disposable blades to try out. It has been three years and he is still using the straight razor and will not use the six or seven bladed Gilette razor with the air-bag thing or whatever that my wife subsequently got him.

He is 21 now and for this Christmas I wanted to recondition his great-grandfather's razor and get him the stuff he needs to keep it in good order.

I need to find a trustworthy Montreal area sharpening service and some advice on what to buy strop-wise to get him started in the right direction.

I thought I would be able to get some good help from members here.

Thanks,

Welcome to SRP from a fellow Canadian - albeit a diehard Maple Leafs fan, but we all have our crosses to bear.

There is a very strong wet shaving community in Montreal. You can contact them via the Canadian Wet-Shavers group on Facebook. They should be able to put you in touch with the right person.

Maybe get up some pictures, need to see what damage was done cutting laminate

Welcome to the forum

Greetings fellow Montrealer. Post some pics of the razor. If it was used to trim wood veneer I fear the edge may need some serious work.

I will let our brothers to the north help you out here but will say Welcome to SRP. We can get things squared away or hook you up with the right person to get you going.

Do you know what Shavette he is using? That is what a straightrazor with a disposala le blade is called. Most of them are not very forgiving so if he has mastered that then a real straight will not be too much of a chalenge.
One other thing, having his grandfathers razor would be a great thing to use on ocations. Getting him a real custom straight of his own to use daily would be best, so the family razor can last for generations. Just something to think about.

Welcome to SRP. I'm sure there are members near that can help you as long as the blades are not too damaged. Having an heirloom is a great thing to have but it is a good idea to have some others to use also. Maybe consider checking.out some used ones for sale. There are many members who's sell refurbished ones for a very affordable price

Thanks for the rapid replies … I will try to answer everyone’s points here.

The Shavette I bought him was made by Sanguine… I guess I liked the name.

As many of you have suggested, he probably should have a daily razor of his own… I will steer him towards this forum to get some ideas of what type he would like for a subsequent Christmas - gives us something more to buy for him other than Rugby gear. Excellent idea to buy refurbished ones - could try-out different styles... especially if the old razor is beyond hope.

I am including some photos of the blade. My dad didn't really put it to hard use … He also had razor knives and exactos for his veneer or balsa wood models. I think he just enjoyed using it… also gave him the excuse to tell me about the time that his Dad took the strop to him and his brother for some heinous crime - apparently they never required a second stropping !... or so the story went.