Dorko 66 just came my way!

Hello everyone.
For some reason have had some fantastic generosity and luck recently.
I have been wanting to learn to straight razor shave and have been researching it for awhile, and was ready to look to buy my first razor.
My father In Law got wind of this and gave me one he had at home that he used to use years ago, a nice Boker king cutter square point. I previously put a post on here about it.
It was advised it was better put away and saved until I knew how to shave with a straight.
Now my father In law has pulled another one out of the hat and given me this Dorko 66 round point he had stashed away.

Whats the consensus on using this as a starter razor and I would like to know who would be a good person to talk to about getting it restored or cleaned up as much as possible to be in the best condition it could be?

Looking at where it is rusted I would be a little concerned about those scales. Some of them start to break down and cause the metal to corrode very fast. There is a guy in Edmonton that has a shingle up in the member services area. He is probably your best bet in the west. Honing & Restoration in Canada - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Yes, the discolouring/marking on the blade lines up exactly where it closes in the scales.
I thought it may have been put away wet or not cleaned and oiled before storage.

it is suspicious to say the least. I would think that you may want to either remove the scales or put the razor in the freezer to limit the off gassing until you can get it to someone to work on Sometimes its better safe than sorry, they also appear to be the cracked ice type scales which I believe is a big offender of cell rot.

It does look like cell rot, not to say it cannot be saved that will be up to who looks at it to determine.
If so that would be a great blade to start with.

That is/was a very fine razor depending on whether or not it has cell rot on the blade and if it can be saved. Given the worked spine and gold wash it might have been more expensive new than the Boker. Well worth trying to salvage it even if you have to rescale.

Bob

i would have no problem with rescaling it if that is what is needed.

Could someone explain or give me a link to what cell rot is please?

it sounds worse than rust.
reaction and deterioration from within the metal?

When the celluloid breaks down it releases gases that corrode the metal, it's irreversible and it is contagious so if you have a razor that you think may have cell rot you should keep it separated from any other razors with celluloid scales.

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Originally Posted by Baxxer

When the celluloid breaks down it releases gases that corrode the metal, it's irreversible and it is contagious so if you have a razor that you think may have cell rot you should keep it separated from any other razors with celluloid scales.

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Thankyou for the tip!

definitely looks like the tell tales of cell rot starting remove the scales clean it up & see
but either way once cleaned & honed both of your razors would be great shave with, don’t be scared of the square point most shavette’s are square also,
I started with a square point & your King Cutter has a slightly rounded square point not a sharp square if you know what I mean, so I would clean it up get it honed & use it while you workout the Dorko as it will need rescalling at lease I think and will take longer to get ready especially if you want to reclaim the inlay etc

but both are nice scores by the way for inherited blades

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Originally Posted by Substance

[but both are nice scores by the way for inherited blades

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Yes i count myself to be very lucky!
i showed him a picture and he said i have one of those at home i will see if i can find it.
he has been extremely generous giving me two.
He said he has a third somewhere but hasnt found it yet.
He just wants to see them have use rather than sit around and i am greatfull for that.

yep, that cell rot alright. Those scales need to go. It's going to depend on how deep those rust pits are. I don't think that blade will ever look like new again.

That does look like cell rot. If I think a set of scales has cell rot I remove the blade and put a crappy test one that is free of rust in the scales. I then stick it in a plastic zip loc bag and set it aside in a dry spot for a couple days. If the blade has formed rust spots on it after that I usually throw out the scales unless there are inlays in which case I remove those first. If you don't have a crappy blade to test it on you can clean off the rust and set it aside and if new rust has formed the scales will have to go. I would remove the inlay first though so you can transfer it. Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Baxxer

When the celluloid breaks down it releases gases that corrode the metal, it's irreversible and it is contagious so if you have a razor that you think may have cell rot you should keep it separated from any other razors with celluloid scales.

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This. Pay attention to the part about segregating the offending scales from other celluloid scales or you may end up with a crop of cell rotted razors.

I only have two and they are in seperate places.
i would like to do my best to save this blade and am looking to get it sorted as soon as possible.
ifyou run your finger over the rust you cant feel it, it has not pitted the blade that i can physically feel.

I was a boat builder for a few years and can sharpen my chisels well enough to cleanly take the hair off my arm so i understand the reality of edge contamination in relation to it being sharp nor keeping an edge at all if there was any pitting.

i am hoping this razor can be saved, even purely for sentimental value because it was passed on into my care.

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Originally Posted by ADG638

i am hoping this razor can be saved, even purely for sentimental value because it was passed on into my care.

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I'd bet the blade can be saved, though it may show signs of the previous pitting. The scales I fear are goners. Transferring the inlays and recreating the scales may be your best bet. It certainly is a honey of a razor.

Surprised that no one's linked this video yet, here's how member Gssixgun removes inlays from celluloid scales, not sure if the acetone will do anything to the red paint?/enamel? so that might be something to take into consideration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReEkuWzEmdM

Shame about the cell rot. Good advice above, I would definitely follow it. That razor was a real looker in it's day and still can be. The Dorkos are wonderful razors.

Just thought I'd update this if anyone was interested.
I've sent the Dorko away to be looked at
I got an email this morning that it has been on the Hones and there is good steel there!
More work to be done yet, polishing next.
Fingers crossed this razor can be returned to a usable good looking regular use item.
2 of these pictures you can see the cell rot damage to the blade edge and 1 after honing showing a new straight un jagged edge to start with.
Thanks to Glen, Gssixgun for attempting to restore this for me.

Bloody nice save! Congrats on "reclaiming" your razor!

seems like it can be made usable if the edge is like the 3rd picture all the way down... It'll still be a nice example of a Dorko even missing an 1/8th from it's original size.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if cell rot can be halted, at least temporarily, by doing something like freezing the scales?

it's a chemical reaction and once it starts it can't be stopped. No chemical way I know of to neutralize it but you need to talk to a chemist about that.

There was a post earlier in this thread at one point saying that putting it in the freezer can slow the cell rot but I am not experienced in this so I cannot guarantee that.

This is the end result

Scales and Brush are Blue Pearl Acrylic scales are @ .110 thickness

The Pins, Wedge, Liner, and Washers are all SS and Nickel Silver

Brush knot is a TGN 22mm Overstuffed Silvertip set at 51mm of loft

I used a new glue to do the inlay transfer, since the scales were mostly white I could not use the normal epoxy and I have never had great luck with Thin CA and Acrylics..
This is the new Gorilla Glue Gel CA and it really worked out well, I popped the inlay the used a piece of scotch tape to hold it steady, "painted" the inlay with the Gel using a cheapo paint brush from Wally World and then positioned it and held it in place over night with the Scotch Tape.. Polished the inlay and the CA using the 3M Cloth from 400 -8000..

And now the pics hehehe

Attachment 175398

Attachment 175396

Attachment 175397

Attachment 175395

Attachment 175394

Honing = Chosera 1-5-10 Zulu Grey Finisher

It is really hard to capture the actual flash of Blue Pearl in the pics, also on the gel glue it says "Shake Well" LOL that has to be a joke :p

Thanks for looking

The silver band at the brush base,what is that?

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

The silver band at the brush base,what is that?

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Nickel Silver, I just did a liner and a base except the base was the same material as the scales, I wanted to sorta tie the Brush and Scales together with the Blue Pearl and the Silver Wedge and Liner..

I actually drilled tiny holes through the metal and into the base and into the brush so that it would add a type of mechanical lock when the epoxy set up.. Old rifle barrel inlay trick :p

That pearl acrylic is something else. Great set with the brush. :tu

A big thank you to Glen (gssixgun) for saving this straight razor.
It was handed down to me after sitting around and didn't look to good. Glen has made it into
Something I will be even prouder to own and show my father in law it now looks awesome again and has a second life.
The matching brush is a great addition!

Thank you Glen I appreciate your hard work and attention to detail.

Kudos again Glen, I really enjoy seeing the work that you do to these razors. I am in awe of your talent.

That's a very eye-appealing finished razor and brush set. ............:popcorn:

You knocked that one out of the park!

Beautiful set. AWESOME job!

Bravo! Very nice save!