Thread: Anyone familiar with this razor? Worth a restore?

I picked up this Barlow & Son Rough & Ready razor which is in rough condition. The mark shows this was when they were on Allen Street which from what I have been able to find was between 1825-1850. I has an ox horn scale with missing piece.

I am new to this and wondering if it is worth a restore or sell for parts. I am not even sure what blade type it is. Any feedback would be most welcome and greatly appreciated!!

P.S. Great website!!

I think ALL vintage razors in reasonable condition should be saved and used.
In todays disposable word it's a reminder that things well made can last for decades and maybe even centuries if well cared for.
Its a bit rough but definitely salvageable. It may not win any beauty contest but could shave you well for years to come if you were so inclined.

Welcome to SRP. I hope you enjoy your time here and hope you stick around.
Just based on the style I would say 1840s to 1850s. Since we know 1850 as our late term at that location it would be before that. The firm became James Barlow & Son in or about 1839 so that narrows it down to a pretty short window comparitively.
You will find much more information here:

https://www.hawleysheffieldknives.co...val=b&kel=1923

It is very restorable and actually in quite good condition. I would encourage you to have that done by someone familiar with restoring vintage razors. Either that or set it aside until you learn how to do it yourself. It is not (necessarily) hard to do BUT it is also not hard to make a mess of. It would be a shame for a razor 180ish years old that made it this long in that condition to have it ruined inadvertently.

I've said it many times, "Even ugly babies need love too!"

You'll loose the etch, but it's very restorable.
And a good candidate. Being a wedge razor, there's plenty of metal that can be removed to get it looking close to new, if not.

As Paul suggested..either send it out, or sit on it till you obtain good knowledge of restoration.

There's good info in the library, and tons of it in the workshop thread " What are u working on"

There's tricks for restoring the horn scales,too. And all can be done by hand, no big shop full of power tools is needed. Just time, patience, a pile of assorted sand paper, and buckets of elbow grease, and u can do it, too.

I think he might even be able to save thar etching with some 3M marine and a lot of hand polishing. There would probably be some stains still showing faintly but it all depends on what you want. My only doubt is about that rust at the edge. That may not hone out so you could lose part of the bottom of the frame to that etch. No doubt it could be made to look new(or newish) with the right amount of sanding like Mike says.