Thread: any info on this damascus west point razor is it worth a restore.

Got this razor great deal but can't find any info on it. On one side it has west point and on the other it has damascus steel made in Germany. Looks like it can be restores has anyone ever seen or had experience with these. Is it worth the effort to restore.

I would suggest setting the bevel on a 1k stone, first. If you find good, clean steel....then yes, it's worth restoring.

Jeauxs,

As a West Point graduate, I'm utterly jealous of that find. If you need someone to put it on a stone to see whether it will hold an edge, you are welcome to send it my way and I'll see if I can put a good bevel on it, then do a final honing once you've cleaned it up as you desire...

Just one thing that the other two guys didn't mention - many vintage razors say Damascus on them but are actually not the pattern welded steel that we would consider Damascus today. The steel could possibly be different from most vintage razors, but I would assume that, in most if not all cases, it's just a marketing thing.

Some of those are patterned welded, and show the marks.. if you look on top of the tang and the bottom of the tang you can sometimes find the faint lines there...
I have Pics somewhere, will try and post them for you, I think they are on the home computer..

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Some of those are patterned welded, and show the marks.. if you look on top of the tang and the bottom of the tang you can sometimes find the faint lines there...
I have Pics somewhere, will try and post them for you, I think they are on the home computer..

Then send it to me and I'll leave it in the etch tank overnight... we'll know for certain then.

With that much patina on the blade, laminations should be visible. Normal finger stuff is acidic in the human being and over time will etch the etch-able steels. The resistant steels will take less abuse and remain shinier (relatively). It's still a good looking razor whatever the steel.

Well I just couldn't resist starting on this project so here's some shots of it a little cleaned up. Trying to do this all by hand and. without pulling it apart. thinkthis will be a keeper for now.

Nice looking job ! What did you use ? Nice looking blade , it should serve you well .

Looking a little better but now I'm tired so till tomorrow. I have been using 180 grit 1000 grit & 2500 grit sandpaper with some turtle wax rubbing compound. I know not the beat and easieat but thats all i had on hand. Still looking for any info anyone may have on this blade have search everywhere and nothing.

one thing I have noticed that has made my blades look better before polishing is using the turtle wax polishing compound between grits from 500. 600. 1000. 1200. 2000. hope this helps....and spend the few bucks to get more sand paper. going in smaller steps helps me a lot more than big steps...plus less sanding in the end

good job on what you have done. keep it up.