You can easily clean this up yourself if you wish and then simply send it out to be honed.
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You can easily clean this up yourself if you wish and then simply send it out to be honed.
Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll get some metal polish and maybe even try repinning myself.
Lynn,
I have a Geneva made about 1920 with a 6/8 blade. You just returned it from honing last week. Shaves nice. Only my 2nd month into the straight razor so setting a bevel is still beyond me.
Thanks for the fine work:)
Karl
PS: I asked Santa for some Nortons and a DMT 325
I'll second that about Pinklather's honing. He's overly modest about it.
Look for Floppyshoes' Pinning Guide for Engineers in the Wiki or in the Restoration forum. It's a very well written set of instructions. Pinning is pretty easy, actually. Practice first on two thin pieces of wood--if you can join them pretty firmly without banging them up, you're clear to go on your razor. The force needed to deform the end of the pin is less than it takes to cause discomfort if you hammer the base of your thumbnail. For a peening hammer, you can get a cheap small one in the jewelry section of a craft store, or you could probably use a 1" ball bearing.
Good luck--that should be a fine blade for you.
Oh wow, a ball bearing is enough? Good to know, I would have hit it way too hard. Also good advice about joining wood first, I've probably got a few popsicle sticks laying around that need to be stuck together. I'll hire Pinklather to work his magic; the blade is nearly sharp so I imagine this will just need a touch-up.
I recently honed a 9/16 Genco for the local barber college--took a sharper-than-shavette edge off of the Oozuku w/o too much work. THe instructor liked it so much, he gave me a free bottle of Osage Rub! :) Test shave was phenomenal--I really hated to give that razor back!
I have a destroyed Genco...I don't think it'll ever be shave ready again. It came in a lot, and I was pretty happy to see it, but the damage was just too much. Then it probably didn't help that I had no clue what I was doing, and pretty much ground it to nothing...I'm still a little torn up about it. On the upside, that little Genco proved you guys right on several occassions. Don't use a grinding wheel, don't use a rotary tool as a noob, don't buy a rusted out pile of awesome expecting the awesome to stay on and the rust to fall off, etc. I sure wish it would have pulled through though.
Honed up a Gold Seal this evening that's the most hollow razor I've ever touched. dial calipers 1/8" above the edge measured .005" (Satinedges have been .0075). 'Can't wait to try the shave.
Seems you're saying there might still be hope. Well, I've done everything else to it. May as well put it in some scales and give it a shot.
I just picked up a genco vanadium with a 2 stamped on the tang in pretty good tortoise shell scales. There's only a little rust on the tip of the toe and doesn't appear to be any pitting. Anyone have information on this one? Appears to be 6/8 but I could be off on that. Still very sharp and is very hollow. I plan on a little polishing and getting it honed. Dates or info would be awesome!
Thanks
I believed pre 1935! but look here?
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...va-razors.html
I have a few Genco razors and I see alot of them with little to no hone wear which makes me believe that they were well made and hold an edge well. Also most of the ones I've seen are always in good condition compared to alot of other brands. Makes you wonder if they weren't used much.
I just scored a Genco for $13. I got it yesterday and I can't believe how little time I had to spend cleaning up the blade. 20 minutes and I am done.
I only went after it because of this thread. The seller might have been miffed that it went so cheap as he never bothered to contact me at all. He just shipped it in silence.
The markings are a tiny bit different. It says Henry XX on the tang. Two Xs instead of one.
I may rescale it. I'll decide after hone and shave with it. I know I am committing hubris, but I'm not really a fan of old horn.
Someone restored one in the forums looks really nice. Was a Henry XX also. It is in the gallery has some nice pictures. The Gencos seem to always be in good condition or fairly easy to put back into good condition.
Crotalus - you won't be sorry (unless it kicks off Genco RAD - and even then, you could do a lot worse). The Henry XX are heavier grinds and are really good shavers.
Here are mine (Genco RAD is real!!)
Attachment 93663
Attachment 93664
Shave on
+1
My Geneva Henry's X is quite a good blade... the kind that makes you sad to only have one face.
Here is a 6/8 Genco Prince. I have not seen this one before. A sweet shaver.Attachment 94012Attachment 94013
I honed up the Genco last weekend and used it this morning. It was amazingly easy to get edge on it. The shave was very smooth and comfortable.
The first thing I noticed was that although the blade is about the same dimensions as my King Cutter, the Genco is very light.
Someone mentioned that Genco's were made by Case. I believe it now because my Case Temperite is the lightest razor I own. Much lighter than my Boker of the same size. It makes a nice contrast to the other blades I own.
I am so glad I picked up a couple of these. Thanks for confirming my little purchases.
Point of fact: Genco's were made by Case, but only the late Genco's. The early Genco's were made by Geneva Cutlery in NY. Case eventually bought the Genco name and made razors at the NY plant for a short time before transferring operations to their Bradford PA plant. No one seems to know when the transition took place. So some Genco's were made by Case but not all.
FWIW
Peace,
Jim
I just got my first. She is tiny, smiling, and in a beautiful molded set of rust colored scales. The blade cleaned up like magic and the edge came up so fine I cut my ear with her square pointed toe. I don't usually like such small blades but this one is a keeper. Toledo blade on the tang.
Mine is a Henry XX. You can see the double grind. It is about the size of my Boker King Cutter in profile, but only about half the weight.
It shaves very nice. Here it is, fingerprints and all.
Attachment 94640
I have a couple of Genco's They are good American razors,
Often times they are Blued as well like the Red Imp
Attachment 95365Attachment 95366Finally got my Genco cleaned up and honed (thanks to chay2k for the honing!) it shaved very well today and looking forward to possibly finding other gencos in the future.
Gencos...:thinking:.........Seems to me they we attacked by a Klingon cruiser and ZRD experimental fighter on the dark side ( actually on the lower crater plain) of planet alfa 34 several years ago and could not sustain the bombardment of proton particles emitted by both ships. Those were necessary for their sustaninance and well being. This being said, I doubt very seriously whether they ever emerged after that to be any kind of threat that would endanger the market, due to the rapid decline of alpha 34 and 35 in the last Centron, and of course, alpha 36.:borg:
Here is mine before and after! Genco Model B5.Attachment 193152Attachment 193153Attachment 193154
Gencos are GREAT (after a pile of honing!;))
I have a Genco Easy Aces that shaves beautifully. It holds an edge and is a very good shaver. It's in my weekly rotation.
I have a Genco MasterBarber in 4/8 with Full Hollow Grind.
I just bought a restored 5/8 hollow ground. It really shaves nice and the feel is very old school. Makes you glad to be a straight shaver. It's a keeper.
I have 2 Genco Henry X's one 5/8 and one 6/8, both round tip that I am working on honing up to give a try!
Genco/Genevas are some of my favorites, I've almost got a 7 day set of different models.
Cool thread.
I have a Genco Grant 9/16 Round point. Bought it at a Flea Market for $1. It was rusty and had a slight bit of damage to the edge, but I cleaned it up, got rid of the small chip in the edge, and put some Tasmanian Blackwood scales on it. It's a lovely razor that gives an excellent shave and holds an edge well.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...0/100_1805.JPG
My first and only straight so far is a Genco so I really can't compare it to anything but it sounds like I did good
I bought a refurbished Genco that was listed as 5/8 and honed. When I got it is was 4/8 and dull as a butter knife. I bought your Norton 4k/8k stones and figured since the razor was old and inexpensive I would practice honing on it. I did what you said in the videos going to the modular strop after the 12k stone. I still cannot believe how sharp this is. I used it 3 times without stropping. It really holds the edge and is the best shave of the Ralf Aust and Boker I have and they are professionally honed. It's also nice to give more life to a great razor. I actually enjoy the 4/8 when I thought it would be to narrow. I just bought another old one on e-bay to restore.
Lynn;
This thread got me hooked on Genco's. I have a 4/8 which really shaves great and holds the edge better then the Aust or Boker I have. I just bought 3 more on line. One is listed as never used 5/8 and has all the original scales, pins etc.. Not a mark on it. One was restored and looks great also 5/8 and the third is a project razor also 5/8. These are amazing and sell for much less then the brand names. They also have a nice feel and weight. I'll post some pictures of the razors next week.
I have a Genco Easy Aces and an Expert, both excellent shavers, love them both, some of my best shavers. While in the process of trying to thin the herd neither one of my Genco's have ever been a candidate for selling....wonder why?!