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I won this razor in a bid, and was wondering if it was worth cleaning and honing for regular use or if it looks too damaged and should just stay on the self :P
Vintage Extra Hollow Ground Shaver Straight Razor - eBay (item 370420611092 end time Aug-22-10 13:34:05 PDT)
Your opinions are more than greatly appreciated guys :D
Definitely worth it. I see no big rust marks, or any big blade damage. Sand the blade lightly, polish and hone away.
Looks to be in good shape. Rather than sanding it I would use some metal polish such as Maas or Semichrome and a paper towel on it. Send it to a honemeister unless you are okay with honing your own.
+1 on sand lightly. I would start with 3Ms 2000 grit wet/dryQuote:
Originally Posted by jeness
and remove the small amounts of red rust that I see near the
toe at the spine (above the E of Extra). Same for the regions
near the stabilizers at the heal. Use a popsicle stick to help the
paper get down into the groves.
Mostly you want to lightly sand for sanitary reasons. The
rust can harbor old and new bacteria so you want to sand
them down.
Lightly oil, wipe clean then hone and strop to shave ready. Then
shave test...
If the blade proves to be a good shaver as I expect it will
you can make decisions on how much more work you want
to do or have done.
If it is a good shaver I would then hand polish with MAAS or
Simichrome Polish. Once a week or once a month when
one might improve the edge on a CrOx balsa strop or the
equivalent I would rub the surfaces with polish and a fold of
paper towel or Q-tip making sure to not wreck the sharp edge...
After a couple months the blade will sparkle.
If it later turns out to be an outstanding shaver you might
have one of the masters give it a once over....