Thread: I just wanted to show off my new TI... sorry

I found this on ebay - see earlier thread. I think it was an excellent find at a fantastic price! This is how it arrived out of the box. Sorry for the indulgent shots but I felt like practicing my photography

A few questions, can anyone tell me if the scales are celluloid or plastic? If it's any help they kind of smell of old books, but not in a bad way.

Also, there's a small amount of black tarnish (looks like it might have developed from a finger print). I'm not terribly worried about this but wouldn't mind getting rid of it. The black tarnish is starting to turn into a very slight patch of rust in one place, how do I best get rid of this?

Finally, does anyone know when this might have been manufactured? The blade is stamped with the numbers 09 and 188. The blade is engraved with the words, "Sheffield Best Silver Steel Guaranteed". The tang is engraved with the words "*e Daille Argt. Thiers-Issard"

Apart from that it seems to have the beginning of a nice edge on it. It looks a bit rough to the naked eye but it's certainly starting to pop hairs off my arm. Unfortunately there's a small nick towards the toe of the blade which should be visible from some shots. I haven't got a 1k but I've put aside an hour later so will see if I can hone it out with a a few circles on the 4k norton before going to a pyramid... Can't wait to shave with this one!

Regards

congratulations great shaver. have fun

Show off. (lol) But seriously, that's a nice looking shaver. great pictures of it too. I'd tell you to have fun but you seem to already have a handle on that. Let us know how she shaves.

Nice! Let us know how she shaves!

In terms of the scales, I have razors with both plastic and celly scales. The plastic scales smell of nothing at all, and the celluloid ones smell a bit like camera film. Its a sort of musty (maybe a bit like old books!) and slightly chemically smell. Not at all unpleasant though and not hugely strong!

If they start to get a strong vinegary smell then you have celluloid rot, which is a whole new thing and needs to be treated! I know that smell well from some old 8mm projector films that I have, and its very noticeable and distinct. Plus you can see the marks where its forming.

The best way to get rid of the rust is with a mild polish like MAAS. Just put some on and polish it off again with a Q-Tip. Just watch out for any gold wash you have, because the MAAS will remove it!

Well I've just honed it up and will shave with it shortly. The nick isn't completely gone but it doesn't seem to be catching either so I've left it for the moment.

Can tooth paste be used as a mild abrasive to remove the rust or will it be too aggressive? I've used it in the past to polish silver.

Nice razor. I think the scales are horn from the look of them in the photo I could be wrong.... smooth shaving.

Your photos do not show a close-up of the stamping on the tang, but I would dare wager that the actual wording (with some letters missing due to mis-stamped characters) is a slight abbreviation of "médaille d'argent" which translates to "Silver Medal".

When honed properly up it should be a very fine little razor.

Nice find! You will like it for sure.

Take Care,
Richard

Definitely not horn - they're quite transparent which isn't clear from the photos. I think they're probably celluloid.

Just tried it out - it certainly is a nice shaver!

That's a real looker.