Thread: John Barber Razor dated 1824

I have a very old razor that has been in my family from I believe new. It is engraved with the name of my 4th grand uncle and came to me in a Victorian toilet box that has been passed down through the generations.

Ever since I have had it there has been the same amount of rust, and I have kept it in that state. However I think the rust could polish out to a degree. The handle is I believe ivory.

I would appreciate any advice as to how best to restore it. I am not interested in restoring it for sale but as a keen family historian it is something that is wonderful to have.

I am based in Hampshire, UK.

Best wishes

Graham Whitham

Welcome Graham. I'm in no position to tell you how to restore this razor, but I would encourage you to do so. It's also good to see that you do not want to turn a profit on this. Too many priceless family heirlooms get sold these days. When it's finished, please post another pic, it'll be a gem!

I would not restore it if I were you. This is something with history and can not be replaced if you mess it up. I would send it out to a professional or start restoring some less valuable razors.

All the resto info can be found here Category:Repair & Restoration - Straight Razor Place Wiki
But I totally agree with Simpleman. Have a pro do it.
John Barber c1810-1834

The stuff on the blade, that frosting looking stuff, is very fragile, so be very careful with that.

You could remove the rust very slowly by rubbing mineral oil into it with a soft cloth. One step more aggressive would be metal polish (MAAS is very popular here). If you use the metal polish, try not to get it onto the frosting. Even with oil, try not to apply any pressure to the frosting.

If that rust does come off, it will leave black staining and possibly pits in the metal under it. That you won't be able to remove, unless you get more aggressive, and that would take off the frosting.

By the way, that is a beautiful razor and a fantastic piece of family history, and history in general.

Also, I moved this into the "Razors" main section.

welcome to srp

i would just remove the rust and put some mineral oil to prevent it getting worse. that amount you can gently scrub off with another blade. an exacto knife would do it and a DE blade too - the rust is pretty weakly bound to the good steel. you'll be left with pits but there's no way around it - the steel is gone for good already.
start at the shank before getting to the tip of the razor.
you really want to preserve all of that frosting, so don't touch it with anything abrasive like metal polish, steel wool, sandpaper etc. at most use soft cloth and light mineral oil that won't turn into gunk with time.

if you want to have more fun you can sand the stubby tail and make it perfect - it just takes some sandpaper 80-200-400-600-800-1500 grit and a bit of time.

i'm also pretty sure the scales are indeed ivory.

very nice razors. if you ever get interested you can actually have it honed and shave with it (only important thing is to get it done by somebody experienced at honing razors, as most knife shops will just ruin it).

I'm so new at straight razors I don't even own one as yet, BUT I will say my 2 cents.

It has been in your family a LONG time and is historical, and imho should be preserved. Wish things like that were passed down in my family...

I personally would not bother trying to do it myself, and find some one who knows their stuff at restoring such antiquities and send it off to be done right the first time...not to mention getting it honed as well.

I'd restore it and get it honed and shave with it, it truly is some thing to have some thing like that, revamp it and have it actually work as it is meant to do. Shaving with history, good luck and hope it turns out great weather you get it looking like a million bucks and shave with it or just have it as a conversation piece!

Hi Everyone and thank you for all your kind replies. I never imagined I would have so many people interested. I shall clean it the best I can and then endeavour to have it honed. It would be nice to have it in usable condition. I don't know about regularly shaving with it. My wife remarked that I would be going to work looking like a slasher victim.

I do have another straight razor which although not as old (as far as I can ascertain) which I shall look at too. Ironically this one has no signs of rust but is not as nice.

Best wishes


Graham

I should have told you to look here for more advise. You came to the right place.
I am the one who contacted you on Ancestry.com, I in fact mentioned your razor under a discussion called "Cut Throat Razors"
Good luck on the restore if you chose to do that as suggested

That is one of the nicest straights I've ever seen, I love it.

Just have someone remove the rust for you that knows what they're doing and then polish it. That's it!