Thread: Help on my new razor please

I just got into straight razors and picked this one up today. Can anybody tell me anything about my razor.. about what year it was made... what its worth... is it a good brand? As you can see in the pictures there is something on the blade. I think its rust or something. What do I use or how do I buff that out? Thanks so much for any info you can offer.

Originally Posted by Rugesters

I just got into straight razors and picked this one up today. Can anybody tell me anything about my razor.. about what year it was made... what its worth... is it a good brand? As you can see in the pictures there is something on the blade. I think its rust or something. What do I use or how do I buff that out? Thanks so much for any info you can offer.

It looks to be a good blade from the golden age of razors.

We do not do appraisals here. Thus no hints on the value.

The rust and corrosion needs to be cleaned off and
the the blade will need a light coat of oil. If you are
handy you can rub it out with 3M wet dry paper down
to 2000 grit and hand polish with MASS. Just
remember that they are SHARP even when dull.

Once the rust and crud is dealt with it will need to be
correctly sharpened to "shave ready". If you
have never done this have it done for you. A set of
hones from 1000 down to 8000, 12000 or finer to do
the job correctly adds up.

The classified has the names of folk that restore, buff out
and hone razors. I do not know what they charge but
you can watch their work pass by and find one you like.
If it was mine I would put a couple afternoons of hand
sanding and polishing into it... It looks like it might
be worth the effort.

As long as the rust has not pitted the thin edge of the
razor too badly it should be a fine shaver.

niftyshaving's more or less covered it. There's some info on the company here. If you decide to do it yourself, start with just a polish and move down the higher grits, ie don't nuke it with lower grit papers until you're sure it's necessary. Often a good polish is enough. Whatever you decide, get it honed by someone who knows what they're doing or buy another that's already sharpened, then you'll know what you're aiming at should you give it a go.

I knew I had done one of those at some time

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...-xlnt-koa.html

I do remember it being a very good shaver, in fact I remember being rather impressed with it...

It was made some where between 1905-1936

Welcome to SRP. Looks like you got a good first razor. While I am not familiar with the brand (there are so many different brands) it should give a good shave since it is a vintage German make. We don't give razor values here because it fluctuates greatly and differs from person to person. I would just clean it up with some Maas or other metal polish and have it honed by one of the more experienced members here that list their honing services in the Classifieds 'Member's Services section. If you haven;t looked through the WIKI yet, it has some great information for beginners.

Good luck and welcome to the world of straight razors!

Thank you guys very much. You guys are awesome and very helpful

It will clean up fine! I have restored other Wadsworth razors in similar condition, and they turned out to be good shavers. One bonus of yours is that the original sharp spike point appears to have been slightly rounded, which will reduce your nicks. Needs an expert honing-some unevenness in the bevel.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I knew I had done one of those at some time

.....snip...

I do remember it being a very good shaver, in fact I remember being rather impressed with it...

It was made some where between 1905-1936

Yep the golden age.
Used but not abused blades from that general time frame
just seem to shave consistently well. And there are a lot
of them to enjoy.