Pictures and Asking for Tips...
Hi. I've posed a few pictures of some old razors that I recently got. One came from eBay and the other from a local antique shop (paid $10.00 for it :)).
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/559954770eJiDCe
The one marked "gold wash" arrived in nearly shave ready condidtion. As you can see, the blade is almost serpentine from uneven honing (I suspect from chip removal). I stropped it and shaved w/it. OK shave. The blade rings like a bell. There is a fair/moderate amount of metal to work with.
Should I attempt to straigten the blade? If so, I wish to attempt to fix it myself. Should I hone the entire edge until it's flat/even?
The other razor labeled "old" is just great. It's built like a tank. It arrived duller than a butter knife. It took a good edge and I shaved with it this morning. Even though it's a very heavy, thick blade, it rang like a bell this morning. The label reads "Hand Forged" and you can see the forge marks in the metal. The metal reminds me of the Damascus steel in one of my shotguns.
The front 1/2" (~1cm) is dull because it's rounded-out. Does anyone know how to sharpen that rounded section of the blade? This will probably become one of my favorite razors.
Also shown is my Kamisori 150. It too is build like a tank and gives an OK shave. I've grown to like it. The blade needs a little more work but, that has to wait until my honing stones arrive.
Any/all tips about how to fix these old gems is greatly appreciated. So far, the stones I have are fine India, Frictionite #24 and an old smooth ceramic block from my tool shop. I also have a coarse linen, fine linen and leather strop. Still waiting for my Norton 8k to show-up.
Thanks
Ray