Thread: Razor box restoration

Has anyone restored the boxes that came with their razors? Any hints, suggestions? Just curious. I've seen nice custom storage options over years.

My first encounter with someone fixing up the razor coffin, was about 20 years back in a Ravenna, Ohio antiques store. Lady behind the counter was using a black marker to 'repaint' the box for a 'Farmer's Razor' She used a gold marker to fill in the lettering. I bought the razor that day, since it looked fairly new to me, with it's shiny blade and imitation tortoise handles...

I'm not sure you can really restore the typical boxes they used. Of course the wood or plastic can be worked on but typical boxes were either cardboard or fiberboard with shellac to coat it or some had kind of an oilcloth. If the material is really deteriorated probably the only thing you can do is reapply some shellac and see what happens.

I just picked a razor and box on the weekend. the antique store owner had shellaced and then beeswaxed it. I dont know what it was like before but it now seems quite firm and strong considering how worn it appears. I guess this is more about preserving than restoring though, a few touch ups with paint or something similar wouldnt be a bad idea if you really want to restore its appearance.

Thanks guys...
Just curious what folks out there may or may not be doing. Seems sensible to preserve those old coffin boxes as some had some interesting artwork on the boxes...etc.