Yankee Cutlery Co. unknown year. (pics)

So I got my first straight razor in the mail today. I'm pretty excited about it, but I have to wait to use it.:cry: I knew it would not be shipped "shave ready" and had a chunk out of the blade, but I've got a guy to take care of that for me.

She has Ivory Scales and a full-hollow grind.

I'm wondering, how do I get this apart to clean it? obviously the rivets can be drilled out, but is there an easy way?

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Wow you really went for the hard way for your first razor. How is your 'guy' planning to fix the chip? Maybe regrind it into a shorter round point?

Anyways, about the pins. An easy way is to put tape around the pin head if you plan on keeping the scales. Then take a dremel with a small hard sanding bit and just file off the top of the pin. After it's filed down you can gently hammer it through with a rubber hammer and a small pin

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Originally Posted by 96firephoenix

I'm wondering, how do I get this apart to clean it? obviously the rivets can be drilled out, but is there an easy way?

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pin removal

You better be damn careful unpinning and pinning that ivory! It wont take much as old and brittle as that is to crack apart, as a matter of fact it is not uncommon to find cracks in the pins of well cared for ivory. Good luck!

I would not unpin it, I would clean it as it is and have a professional on this site shorten the blade and hone it for you.
Search the forum for all mattters on how to clean it. JMO

That blade looks like most likely has a bone handle.

I agree with hi bud--looks like the bone scales I've got on one razor.

I've dremeled off the heads of pins, and the pins get awfully hot from the friction. Plus, if you don't have a really sure hand, it's sure easy to slip and chew up the scales. I recommend the flush wire nipper method.

Yep, you're a lonnng way from shave ready with that. Good luck; I hope it cleans up and shaves nicely for you.

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Originally Posted by MattCastle

How is your 'guy' planning to fix the chip? Maybe regrind it into a shorter round point?

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I think so, I' haven't heard back from him on the details. so far as I'm concerned, so long as that part can't cut me, its fine shaped how it is. I kinda want to keep the backstrap the same length so it matches the scales.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

You better be damn careful unpinning and pinning that ivory! It wont take much as old and brittle as that is to crack apart, as a matter of fact it is not uncommon to find cracks in the pins of well cared for ivory. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

I would not unpin it

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seeing as I'm new to this, I think I'll take the latter advice. especially considering the former :D

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

That blade looks like most likely has a bone handle.

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I was thinking Ivory rather than Bone simply because it looks more like the ivory piano keys we have than like the bones we used in A&P lab... could be either so far as I know. Any definitive way to tell?

Ivory doesn't have pores like those scales do, they would be much thinner, and most likely would not have collars on the pins. But, don't let that bother you, IMO, there's nothing like a good set of bone scales. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

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Originally Posted by chay2K

Ivory doesn't have pores like those scales do, they would be much thinner, and most likely would not have collars on the pins. But, don't let that bother you, IMO, there's nothing like a good set of bone scales. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

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ok, I'm not disappointed by them being bone, I just thought they were ivory. Does this mean they'll be less likely to break if I take them apart?

I'm not really looking to get a full restore done, but I just want to clean the gunk off the inside of the scales and remove the patina from the blade. Would "Barkeepers Friend" be ok to use on the blade?

You can put some polish (I use Flitz, and know nothing of Barkeeper's Friend) on a piece of ribbon and work that between the scales to get the yuck out. Some people use dental floss around the pins. The same polish will freshen up the blade. I don't know if it will remove the patina, but it will make the patina more shiny. It's fine for use on the outsides of the scales, too. I use paper towel for polishing, NEVER a Dremel.

Post a picture so we can see how it cleans up.

Best wishes.

well, I just got my other razor from ebay, and it is shave-ready, so this Yankee is going to be a fun little project for me. this is my first restoration, and since I'm a college student, it will be done on the cheap, but I think I've got big plans for it. I'm still going to have someone else grind the tip flat for me though.

I got the razor out of the scales, but alas one of the scales cracked at both ends.I'm not too worried about it though, because I found a piece of Birdseye maple a while back that I haven't managed to find a use for that just found its use as scales and eventually a matching brush handle.

I've started sanding down the blade to remove the patina and fortunately I haven't found much pitting. I've started with 60 grit, and plan to work my way up through the grits. I have as high as 2000 readily available, and then I can get ahold of some compound... I dunno if my mom's dremel has a buffing wheel or not - or if she knows where her dremel is.

Hi phoenix,

Sorry to hear about your scales. Can you epoxy the damage?

Be really, really careful with the Dremel. There have been lots of stories here (and pictures too) of damage done by Dremels. You can catch the edge with a buffing wheel, and at 20000 rpm there's no going back. It'll snag a piece of metal from the blade, or even send the whole blade airborne. If you're lucky, only the blade will be harmed. Once you're out of the 2000 grit sandpaper, you don't really need high speed buffing anyway, in my opinion. Just polish on a rag, and the same patience that got you through the sandpaper.

Do you know anyone who reloads ammunition? They'd probably have a vibratory polisher you can leave the blade in for a couple of days. There's nothing safer than dropping the blade in a bowl of walnut shells and walking away from it. I just got a polisher yesterday, and have a blade humming around in it right now. And I know where my Dremel tool is at.

Something safer than a Dremel, if you still want that immediate control (and, I admit, faster results) is a dog toenail grinder. It doesn't run as fast as a Dremel, and there's a clutch so it can't get all wound up in toe hair and tear it out. That means it probably can't work up enough torque to break a blade, or fling it very far either. That's what I use when I break down and simply must spin something against a blade.

Here's a cautionary tale from the Workshop forum. I see you've got a post there, too, about not being able to sand into the shoulder. That's another place where the vibratory tumbler is a miracle machine. Here's the very long thread about that.

Anyway, good luck with your work. Glad to hear you've got one in the house to shave with, too.

Best wishes

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Sorry to hear about your scales. Can you epoxy the damage?

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Possibly. I haven't thrown them out yet, but I've got the wood picked out to make the replacements.

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Here's a cautionary tale from the Workshop forum. I see you've got a post there, too, about not being able to sand into the shoulder. That's another place where the vibratory tumbler is a miracle machine. Here's the very long thread about that.

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eek! I might just go ahead and stick with hand-polishing for now. I don't want a flying razor.

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not exactly mirror-finish, but I'm happy with the way it looks for now.

Nice work!

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I'll be finishing the scales off with a copper rod and stainless washers, obviously not the bolts.

Those are really nice looking scales!

I'd suggest something other than copper; once you get some water on it and the steel, it'll try to be a battery and you'll get corrosion. Copper's kind of bad that way. Plus it's usually pretty soft. It would make for good contrast but I think it'd be trouble in the long run.

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Those are really nice looking scales!

I'd suggest something other than copper; once you get some water on it and the steel, it'll try to be a battery and you'll get corrosion. Copper's kind of bad that way. Plus it's usually pretty soft. It would make for good contrast but I think it'd be trouble in the long run.

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Even if I varnished the steel?

Varnishing the steel would protect you at the outer surface, but not if any moisture managed to wick in past the wedge. Plus, you'll have your blade resting on the hinge pin. If the blade hole is big enough for a brass sleeve that might reduce your trouble there. You can also treat the tang and hole with tuf-glide for some longer-term waterproofing.

I don't know how fast this corrosion would happen, just that it would eventually. If it gets bad you can always re-pin it then.

I've seen extra-hard copper wire for special wiring applications, "hard drawn" they called it. It has much greater tensile strength and is probably what you want for your rivets, if you go that way. Might be hard to find in 1/16" diameter. Do you have a source for it?

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Varnishing the steel would protect you at the outer surface, but not if any moisture managed to wick in past the wedge. Plus, you'll have your blade resting on the hinge pin. If the blade hole is big enough for a brass sleeve that might reduce your trouble there. You can also treat the tang and hole with tuf-glide for some longer-term waterproofing.

I don't know how fast this corrosion would happen, just that it would eventually. If it gets bad you can always re-pin it then.

I've seen extra-hard copper wire for special wiring applications, "hard drawn" they called it. It has much greater tensile strength and is probably what you want for your rivets, if you go that way. Might be hard to find in 1/16" diameter. Do you have a source for it?

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They sell 3/32" rod at most hobby stores. they had 1/8 and 1/16 in brass, but the 1/8 was too big, and the 1/16 rattled...

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I'm not too happy with the job I did pinning it... I made the pivot too short, so the tip hits the wedge. :/
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Nice looking scales, though. Can you unpin the wedge and shorten it enough? Otherwise, you could build another set of scales and use these for your next blade.

Have you handled, say, 12AWG copper wire? How hard was your copper rod compared to that?

p.s. I like the shape of that tip a lot.

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Nice looking scales, though. Can you unpin the wedge and shorten it enough? Otherwise, you could build another set of scales and use these for your next blade.

Have you handled, say, 12AWG copper wire? How hard was your copper rod compared to that?

p.s. I like the shape of that tip a lot.

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I already did shorten the wedge as much as I can. its going to need a whole new set of scales. part of it is that I expected to lose more of the tip in the re-grind, and part of it is that I just didn't do so great on my first attempt.

the rod is about the same stiffness as 12AWG.