Thread: My "new" old razor

I have acquired another old razor during a visit to my grandparents house today. Its in pretty rough shape, both scales are broken and the blade has a fair amount of pitting/rust. To spite that I cherish any gift from my grandmother. There is no story or history attached and my grandmother couldn't give my any additional information. One side of the shank had a barely legible "Germany" etching. The other side is almost totally illegible but i think i can make out some etching in an arch ending with "CO". The scales have a lovely vine motif carved into them with a ladies face near the wedge. Im pretty sure the scales are ebony but may be some other very dark or dark stained wood. The white residue is soap or something but i left it in place as the designs are easier to make out with it in place. (strange side note: the scales smelled sort of fishy)



Can anyone give me any more information about this blade its manufacturer or age?

There was no family history attached to this razor so i decided that i would at least attempt make some new scales for it. I will probably be sending the blade out to get polished up and honed too. I found a stick of wenge laying around the shop and decided it would make great scales so i started cutting and sanding. This is what i came up with after a little work.



There is a fair amount of hand work yet to go but wanted to ask for some input on the rebuild while i was posting. I will be going through the restoration forums thoroughly but if there are particular threads/posts i should read please point them out for me.

Thanks,

Keith

Keith - It's hard to tell from the photo, but the one scale is probably either molded celluloid or pressed horn. The other side looks like a replacement made of some type of wood. If you take a single edged razor blade (or utility blade) and scrape off the accumulated grunge on the flat sides of the tang you may be able to make out the makers name.

Regards - Walt

Originally Posted by Walt

Keith - It's hard to tell from the photo, but the one scale is probably either molded celluloid or pressed horn. The other side looks like a replacement made of some type of wood. If you take a single edged razor blade (or utility blade) and scrape off the accumulated grunge on the flat sides of the tang you may be able to make out the makers name.

Regards - Walt

Clarification: The first two images are of the 100% original razor (both scales are pictured). Tomorrow I will perform more tests on the original scales to see if i can idetify them. I know what burning/hot wood smells like and i assume celluloid and horn smell far different (probably awful like hair or something). I have worked with exotic woods for several years as has my father (he is an amateur luthier and long time woodworker) and we both think its probably ebony but i do tend to yield to experience.
-EDIT- More research on the Boker brand tends to agree with you Walt, celluloid seems to be the most likely material. Being a woodworker at heart i tend to see everything through the eyes of a tree i guess -EDIT-
The third image (brown with dark stripes) is of my newly made scales with the blade simply placed in between them. They need a lot of hand shaping and finishing and they are made of wenge a fairly exotic wood.

Thanks for the tip about scraping the shank. Ill try that and update accordingly.

the blade shape and scales definitely remind me of a Boker razor. Do a search and I believe you'll find ridiculous amounts of information on that brand.

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

the blade shape and scales definitely remind me of a Boker razor. Do a search and I believe you'll find ridiculous amounts of information on that brand.

Yep, looks like a Boker 1056

Thanks for the quick responses and great info. It does look a heck of a lot like other Boker 1056's ive seen online. I even saw another post elsewhere referencing and vine/woman design on a early 1900s Boker. I am going to continue to research this blade and appreciate any further incite anyone can give me.

Thanks!

Yep, looks like a Boker 1056

You're right, it very looks like Boker 1056.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...tml#post980693

When you finish rerstoring it get her honed up, you'll love the 'Buttery Smooth' shave Bokers are noted for.

I have two of these right now, both Bokers. The handle is a celluloid and will clean up nicely. I have seen the exact same style of razor with a trade name on it and Germany as the origin. I am suspecting that Boker made it also. One note on the razor, it will be extremely sharp and you might want to dull the tip to prevent red lather. Congrats on the aquisition!

Spent like 3 hour today cleaning up the blade...... but it looks a lot better now! I prob used the wrong techniques but results are what really matter right? No pics cause when i got home i found that my flash on my phone made the pictures darker somehow. I was able to remove the worst of the pitting and rust on the blade but there is still some on the spine side of the bevel. I dont think i could get it all out without regrinding the whole thing and im not ready to delve that deeply into the process. I did however un-bury the markings on the shank. One side definitely says H. Boker CO. in an arch over a tree and the other says simply Germany.

I have two other blades coming back from Lynn that will be my daily shavers so this and another sorry condition desco are guna be my learning curve into razor restoration and honing. So Ill be posting more in the restoration forums about progress on both if anyone is interested.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me discover a bit more about this blade!