Thread: JA Henkels find... seeking suggestions

Hi,

A friend told me a local antique shop had a bunch of razors, so I decided to take a look. I found a nice looking Wade and Butcher that had etching saying something about "You...I'll shave your face". The blade look really nice, but the scales were broken (piece missing at pin) and they wanted $65.

I then found this JA Henkels (1/2 wedge?) and decided to pick it up. Any info on the blade would be appreciated. It says ZWillingswerk and the number 73 on it. The scales were in great condition, tight, and blade centered. The blade seems ok, given my untrained eye, so I'd like to hear what people's thoughts are on the blade condition, whether I'm missing something really bad, and how I should remedy any issues.

Here's both sides, unmagnified. Seems like moderate wear on spine, seems pretty straight, which as slight taper towards toe.


Under high magnification, I see a 2-3mm ding at the very heel:



Most of the edge seems OK (other than probably needing bevel set):


The edge is mostly 1mm (the ruler marks in the second shot are 1mm), except near the toe. It does cut arm hair on 1/2 the blade from the toe end. At the toe, there is another ding:


I'm not sure of the black spots. anyone know what that is? Is there a way to clean it?

Lastly, there is one 2mm long and maybe .25mm wide divot on the edge, kinda odd:



Do I need to try to hone that away or just let it go?

There is some water like spots on the blade. Small, some discoloration, only on one side. What would one to do address that?

Suggestions on how I should resolve the ding at the heel? The divot?

Anything I need to address with the blade in general?

Should I just try setting the bevel (with tape on spine) and shaving to see how it goes?

I don't have the tools or knowledge to "restore" blades, so I have some limitations on what I can do, but I wouldn't mind seeing if I can resurrect this blade for daily use, and learn more about maybe some of the basics of restoring blades.

Not sure what I'm getting into, but this is a $20 experiment, that I thought I'd give a try at. No great hardship if it doesn't work out.

Looking to hear what people think! Thanks!