What did I buy and are they worth restoring?

I'm totally new to the world of straights. Saw these at a local shop and bought them based solely on how good they looked. Now I'm wondering if these razors are good shavers and if so, what needs to be done to them? Boker looks like it just needs to be honed. Puma has rust so I'm wondering if it can be restored and if so can the etching be saved?

1. Blade is marked H. Boker Solingen on one side with a tree, other side is blank. Looks like there might be some faint etching on the blade but can't make it out. Scales (think that's what the handle is called) looks like horn, but I don't know if it's real or plastic
2. Blade is marked "90 Puma Solingen" and "Made in Germany from best Puma-steel" on the back. Face of the blade is etched "Puma High Class" in gold. Plastic (I assume) tortoise shell scales with Puma logo on front and a sticker on the back that reads "The unusally smooth shave of the Puma razor depends on the steel being forged twice(?) hammered and hammered again"

Boker and Puma are both top names. The rust/pitting on the edge of the Puma is a little worrisome, but you won't know how it will affect the edge till you try to hone her. The Boker looks good. Both could use a general cleaning.

The scales on the boker are synthetic. My guess is the scales on the puma are synthetic too, but someone who's better at scale ident will chime in, I'm sure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Boker and Puma are both top names. The rust/pitting on the edge of the Puma is a little worrisome, but you won't know how it will affect the edge till you try to hone her. The Boker looks good. Both could use a general cleaning.

The scales on the boker are synthetic. My guess is the scales on the puma are synthetic too, but someone who's better at scale ident will chime in, I'm sure.

---

+1

I'll bet the Boker's a King Cutter

goshawk

looks good. the puma most likely will make a great shaver the boker too my frist puma looked much worse than yours . more rust than razor but cleaned up to make awsome shaver

Great buys! They should both clean up nicely, and hopefully be good shavers, long as the damage from rust on the edge is not serious...

The Böker looks ready to go after a quick clean/hone. Not sure about the Puma, the corrosion on both sides seems to be in the same area and the edge could be touched as the others have said. Clean and maybe hone for fresh metal on the edge and see. Careful of that Goldwash (ie try not to touch it with even polish) if you want to preserve it though.

I think maybe from the pics that you might have Celluloid rot on the Puma...
Separate it from any other razors...

Some ways to tell for sure.

Smell - put the razor in a zip-lock baggie open and sniff after 24 hours Sweet vinager smell = very bad

Sight - Hold the razor scales up to a light or sunlight look closely at the scales where the corrosion is on the razor and look to see if you can see fibers actually breaking down = very bad
Scales are warped = bad
you clean the corrosion off and it returns within a few days = very bad

If there is celluloid rot you need to trash the scales...

These are not exact tests it seems that different types of the old celluloid reacts differently...


The Boker looks great !!!

gssixgun what do you see that makes you think Celluloid rot?i would like to know what to look for . look fine to me:shrug:

Hey Burnaby,

What's the name/location of the shop in Burnaby you found these at? I might go take a look around for fun.

Thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cutalot

gssixgun what do you see that makes you think Celluloid rot?i would like to know what to look for . look fine to me:shrug:

---

One I know the scales ...

Two the patterning of the corrosion, see the way it sorta follows the pattern in the scales??? look at the tang, see the line???

Three the general look of the scales

Keep in mind I do not know for sure with out the tests, but I am leery enough to warn him about the possibility on this one...

Thanks for all the help! Great to find a place with so many knowledgeable and helpful folks. So, if I have the lingo right, I've got a Boker King Cutter and Puma High Class #90? Excuse this last, possibly dumb question, but what is the best way to clean/store these razors?

RobertH - can't recall the name of the place, but it's the consignment store next to the Vancouver Walmart. I was told the razors had belonged to a barber and his daughter brought them in after he passed. Were a couple other razors there, but the blades were severely damaged, i.e. completely rusted, chipped.

gssixgun - thanks for the warning. Tried the ziplock test and no smell and scales seem straight so hoping the scales are salvageable as they really drew me to the razor. I've got no idea of how to hone, so I'll probably send these off to someone to restore for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by burnaby

gssixgun - thanks for the warning. Tried the ziplock test and no smell and scales seem straight so hoping the scales are salvageable as they really drew me to the razor. I've got no idea of how to hone, so I'll probably send these off to someone to restore for me.

---

I've never seen celluloid rot but I'd trust Glen's initial response. Keep those scales separated and when you send them out for honing/restoration you can probably ask to verify. Worst case would be that the scales are okay and you wasted a plastic baggie to store them separately in. :)

If you look at the last picture you posted, you can see that the blade seems corroded in the areas confined within the scales rather than the areas exposed to the air.

Here's a good picture showing what it typically looks like, taken from this page on Bill's website:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uWPdWIRuLh..._5220_1rot.jpg