Thread: Restore Joseph Elliot 9/8 Magnum Bonum

Picked this beauty up several weeks ago on the bay. It was a good find as it was not listed as such and under the tarnish low and behold. Have never seen one like this before. Have seen it in a Wade and Butcher and a Joseph Rodgers but never in a Joseph Elliot. Replaced the old horn scales which were broken with a matching size and style but dressed this bad boy in natural white camel bone scales. Saved and reused the original lead wedge but added two brass spacers. Reused the original bullseye brass collars as well. Was able to remove most of the tarnish but left some on the front to reserve the "Magnum Bonum" etching. The back of the blade and remainder of the tang cleaned up nicely, no pits or stains. Will send this out to one of the SRP honemeisters to put a proper shaving edge on this classic. Can't wait to shave with it. Show and Tell!

Sweet! Very nice!

Wow! That thing is a beast!

do you mind sharing how and what you sanded with?? that is an amazing job! I am getting ready to sand my first couple blades and would love any advice you may have!! your deffinatly a great artist to do that!!!

Thanks for the kind words in regard to my work. Let me start by saying that everything I have learned IRT straight razor restoration, I have learned in the SRP Forum. There is a wealth of information available for restorers, beginners to expert. I am a disciple of "undream". Give credit where credit is due. Recommend you review his videos. He has about a dozen on YouTube and is also linked to this forum. They are great and he covers the entire process including necessary tools. He goes into details for sanding and polishing blades and scales. He gives away all his secrets, including the use a carpet tape. For the blade, I progressively sand using a buffer (carefully with protective clothing, mask and goggles) starting out normally with 80 grit, then move to 120, 180, 240, 400, and 600. Then polish with white dry polishing compound and finish with the green. I will then hand polish with Maas to get an even brighter shine. Sometimes I will leave some tarnish and pitting to protect the tang name and logo. Without that, you will lose the identity of the razor's maker. For the scales I normally work in camel, cow bone or water buffalo horn. I use a belt sander to take rough scales down to less than 1/8 inch. I hand sand progressively using various grits sandpaper and finish with a 2000 fine grit. I may polish them up again on the buffer as needed. I have done about 50 restores and seem to get better with each one I complete. My work was pretty crude when I started out, but has gotten better with experience. Imagine that! There are some great restoration artists to include the honemeisters within SRP. I try to emulate their work. Hope this helps and good luck with your restoration project.

You did a fine job, I must say

Joseph Elliots are some of my favorite razors.

Thanks for sharing in your videos. They got me started and can't seem to stop. Great hobby and am impassioned about it, as others are. Appreciate the feedback on the Magnum Borum.

Really nice work! Thank you for sharing your videos!

Fantastic catch and thanks for sharing.
Any chance of a close-up photo of the tang?

More photos of Magnum Bonum, as requested.