Thread: Is it worth it?

Hey guys, I need some help deciding on what to do with this razor. I want to have it restored but that is obviously expensive and I don't know if this razor is worth it... Actually I hardly know anything about the razor besides that it is an Electric Cutlery Co.; so any info is welcome. I also am not a huge fan of the scales on this thing and I was considering having them switched out for something a little cleaner if it was worth it.
Here are some pictures:

Thanks in advance!!

It looks to me like there's quite a bit of work to be done there. Main points that I noticed are the active rust (especially on the edge) and the hone wear. I'm sure it could be cleaned up and brought back into service but it probably won't be an easy fix.

Are you thinking of working on it yourself or sending it out?

Interesting scales!

EDIT: forgot to say there don't appear from the pics to be any deal-breakers, i.e. things that make a razor worthless (cracked, chipped blade, etc) so don't give upon it right away.

I honed one of these for a friend, and loved it for all of the two shaves I did before he took it back. That said, I would NOT pay anyone to restore this one. You can find a similar razor for probably less than the cost of a restore.

If you just sand it down, and polish it, then pay someone to hone it, you'll probably be happy with the razor. But I wouldn't recommend paying someone to restore it. I wouldn't buy this razor, or suggest for anyone else to buy it. It's really too far gone to be collectible IMHO. But it'll be a fine shaver.

An interesting feature of the razor is that it seemed NOT to let lather drip down into the pivot area. Something about the heel and thumb notch configuration will keep the lather out of your pivot area. Which was another thing I thought was cool about the one I honed for my friend.

No>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you for the reply! I am very happy to hear that its not a lost cause, I think its such a cool shaped blade!... and I was going to send it out, I don't have the equipment to fix it up myself, which is why I'm wondering if its worth it :/
And they are interesting for sure! hahah I'm wondering if the scales are worth keeping on there for the sake of keeping it original...

huh, maybe ill go that route and sand her down. I really do like the razor so I'm not sure I don't want to fix it up a little-regardless of value, the thing looks pretty cool to me and the jimping is awesome in my opinion...
Hmmm

Originally Posted by jazonhart

huh, maybe ill go that route and sand her down. I really do like the razor so I'm not sure I don't want to fix it up a little-regardless of value, the thing looks pretty cool to me and the jimping is awesome in my opinion...
Hmmm

I say go for it. It really doesn't take any special equipment to deal with rust: sandpaper, steel wool, micromesh are all good. Throw in some metal polish, and you're pretty well set. It just takes time and elbow grease, but can definitely be done without any special tools.

+1 to the suggestion of cleaning it up then sending it out to be honed. That will be a quite low-cost option and you *may* end up with a great blade. You may not, but there's really only one way to find out...

Yup, just clean it up yourself with elbow grease and lots of time and send it out to be honed. I mean, you already have the blade in hand so you have nothing to lose. I'd do it if I had it. And by the way, I love the scales. Nice.

And here's the place to start for anything to do with repair/restore - check out the first section in particular:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

Those scales are definitely different
I say just clean them up.


Terry