Thread: Is this worth salvaging?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Those W&B Bow razors are not a wedge. They are a very stiff ground hollow & the few I've seen all had the diamond point nose.
If the pile side looks as good as the side we can see it should hone up fine. The slightly irregular spine wear shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

Would you consider this to be a 1/4 hollow and not a near wedge?

That ebay bow looks like a Dali painting! what a POS.

Originally Posted by EisenFaust

That ebay bow looks like a Dali painting! what a POS.

I think a Picasso would make a better representation - smacked out of shape.

YES! Sharpen that baby up and bring 'er back to life.

Originally Posted by EisenFaust

That ebay bow looks like a Dali painting! what a POS.

Is everyone referring to the shape of the edge, it looks like it's frowning/smirking? Or is there something else wrong with that blade. This is probably a good teaching moment for me.

Originally Posted by bonitomio

Would you consider this to be a 1/4 hollow and not a near wedge?

I'd say 1/4 hollow. A near wedge of this blade's age would show more honing wear, in my opinion.

[QUOTE=alk;979267]Hello,

I just ordered my first straight from Whipped Dog... while waiting I picked up an old straight at the antique store. Should I have bought this? Is it worth sharpening?

Attachment 99299

Originally Posted by alk

Aha, I just found this on an old completed ebay listing. This must be what it looked like before someone ground the hell out of it.

Attachment 99312

Your razor is in good shape, though as someone pointed out, it looks like someone honed away its original smile. A smiling blade is one that bows out in the middle, and this is a nice feature. It enables you to shave into hollows a little more easily than a straight profile. A frowning blade, like the one in the ebay picture, is one that has been honed carelessly, with a heavy hand in the middle of the honing stroke. This razor probably had a matching hone with peculiar wear of its own. The two together would tell a story of one man, one razor, one hone, one lifetime. Or maybe two men, two lifetimes... that's a LOT of hone wear.

You can see the evidence of the former smile on your blade--look at the hone wear along the spine. See how it's wider in the middle? That's because someone had to hone the middle of the blade a lot to get it to match up with the blade width at the heel and toe. That's a shame to those of us who prefer smilers, but the honewear looks careful so I bet you'll be able to get a good bevel set and maintain that blade as it is. I don't know if it'd be possible to restore the smile without adding a LOT of hone wear to the spine, though.

Anyway, it's a good piece of steel and should become a good shaver for you.

Best wishes

Originally Posted by alk

Is everyone referring to the shape of the edge, it looks like it's frowning/smirking? Or is there something else wrong with that blade. This is probably a good teaching moment for me.

The other razor (not yours) has excessive hone wear on the spine and shoulders making it nearly flush with the tang, and that lopsided frown..............more work than its worth in my opinion.
Your razor is light years ahead of the other.

I just finished a identical razor to yours, be light on the face as you want to keep the etching but she's a fabulous shaver and yours looks to be in better condition then mine was in.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Those W&B Bow razors are not a wedge. They are a very stiff ground hollow & the few I've seen all had the diamond point nose.
If the pile side looks as good as the side we can see it should hone up fine. The slightly irregular spine wear shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

I agree OZ!

I've offered to clean it up and hone it for free. I do hope he takes me up on my offer! It'll be nice to help a newcomer out and get to see the razor in person! It should be a nice shaver and a great comparison for his other razor that he purchased!