Thread: My first vintage. Not sure what to expect

Those scales look to have many years of life left in them to me and I love the looks of translucent horn too.

That looks very near to my dreadnaught of a razor which is also a Reynolds. Horn scales too.

You're going to love it. Very nice find. Specially for that price.

My experience with repairing a very chipped out edge that Silver Steel Reynolds I pictured is that the steel is not nearly as hard as the newer razors.

I put three pieces of tape on the spine and cut the edge back a sixteenth of an inch or so on a pretty gritty stone just to get it over with.

Go easy and take your time and you shouldn't have any problems.

Originally Posted by AlanII

Those scales look to have many years of life left in them to me and I love the looks of translucent horn too.

I'll tell you this much, I love those little replaceable 5/64 allen bolts. Ever since I discovered them I just think they're a perfect addition to any razor. And I didn't necessarily mean the gentleman should necessarily swap them out, but if history is any guide, and the razor is used with any frequency, those nice horn scales will eventually loosen up. At which time, I think they would just love a 5/64 bolt. I love them because when they begin loosening up, all you have to do is get out a "key" and tighten back up. And, you can make them as loose or as tight as you see fit. Just my two cents.

If I understand it correctly, then these are the original scales. No, I don't intend to replace them unless they break completely (even then I may try to repair them). Would be nice to polish off some rust around the pivot, but I have gotten rid of some of it at least. I am a bit afraid that removing the scales might break them.

That is in excellent shape and will prove to be a great razor once you get it honed by someone who knows how.

I didn't feel like sending it off to the honemeisters once I got it, so I will give it a careful try myself, with a new 1000k Naniwa (when it arrives) and then polishing with my Chinese water stone. I have to admit that I don't really know what I'm doing; I am able to refresh a properly honed edge with my stone and my slurried strop, but this time I have to work out some slight nicks in a curved edge. If I feel I'm out of my depth I'll send it to the SRD guys.

I'm sorry trondsi, I just let my personal preferences go a little crazy. I didn't mean you should replace those scales, but like I said above, I [absolutely] love those little allen bolts. Of course, I have also become adept at being able to remove the old scales with little problem, and in fact, as my razors have become "looser" over the years, I've basically replaced them all with those user-friendly little suckers. Well, not actually all, per se, but as they go, they get replaced - sometime with new scales, other times with the old ones if they're in good enough shape.

Originally Posted by trondsi

Thanks folks! Maybe I should buy a grittier stone? On the other hand, the edge doesn't look bad in the pictures.

They never look bad in the pics... It's when they show up in your bathroom they grow alligator teeth over night.. S you open the package with one hand, have the hone in your other hand in the ready position to beat that sucker into submission! Good luck my friend! God speed!.... Dont't forget the holy water... I did....once.....

Thanks folks!

I received my 1000k Naniwa stone today, and I have started working on the blade. Some nicks had to be worked out (not huge, but I could feel them under my finger nail), then I started working on sharpening......only to find that the nicks were still there! (now I had to use the edge of my finger nail to feel them). I actually deliberately dulled the blade to get to the nicks, and now they seem to have finally disappeared.

Bit tired now, so I'm taking a break. The spine and edge are now quite shiny and polished. I was wondering if I should protect the spine, but I actually don't mind the look of the spine and edge being shinier than the rest. The blade is nice and even but still very dull. I hope I'm not doing anything wrong, but I am trying to "roll" the blade slightly on the stone, so that the whole "smile" gets covered".

I am wondering about one thing: how sharp should the blade feel from the 1000k before I go on to the polishing stone? Like a sharp knife?