My grandfather's razor

I have my grandfather's razor, a Real Red Point. He died when I was very young (around 1) and I am now 51 so I know the razor has not been used since then -- 50 years.

A great big thank you to everyone who posts on this site. Because of you I was able to shave with this razor today. It is not real clean yet and needs a complete restoration (lots of patina) and the scales need replaced, but it does shave.

I spent the evening yesterday sanding it (to clean the small bits of rust) and decided to try it on a barbers hone, just to see how it felt. This morning I tried shaving with it. I have been learning (1 month) with a Smith Brothers that is 1/2 inch wide (don't understand sizes just yet) and the Red Point is 3/4 inch. Needless to say they do feel different on the face. I didn't understand 'smooth shave' until I tried this one, but now I do. The Smith was not 'rough' but not as smooth as this one. Maybe its the extra size or weight. The sound was significantly different as well and I believe the Red Point was a mite closer then the other. I only shaved WTG with the Red Point and finished up with the Smith Bros. I was just a bit more comfortable with the one I was used to.

What an experience! I now have to go find several different levels of sand paper and see how bright and shiny I can get it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1sgtscot

I have my grandfather's razor, a Real Red Point. He died when I was very young (around 1) and I am now 51 so I know the razor has not been used since then -- 50 years.

A great big thank you to everyone who posts on this site. Because of you I was able to shave with this razor today. It is not real clean yet and needs a complete restoration (lots of patina) and the scales need replaced, but it does shave.

I spent the evening yesterday sanding it (to clean the small bits of rust) and decided to try it on a barbers hone, just to see how it felt. This morning I tried shaving with it. I have been learning (1 month) with a Smith Brothers that is 1/2 inch wide (don't understand sizes just yet) and the Red Point is 3/4 inch. Needless to say they do feel different on the face. I didn't understand 'smooth shave' until I tried this one, but now I do. The Smith was not 'rough' but not as smooth as this one. Maybe its the extra size or weight. The sound was significantly different as well and I believe the Red Point was a mite closer then the other. I only shaved WTG with the Red Point and finished up with the Smith Bros. I was just a bit more comfortable with the one I was used to.

What an experience! I now have to go find several different levels of sand paper and see how bright and shiny I can get it.

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If you're confident in your abilities to clean that up, more power to you. Since it's an heirloom, though, I feel compelled to suggest contacting some of SRP's professionals to restore it. I love a mirror finish as much as anyone, but my heirloom (grandfather's razor) was just lightly cleaned, tightened, and honed by gssixgun; now I keep a coat of oil on it and use it maybe once a year.

Great idea Commiecat, I'll have to look into this.

Congrats. Heirloom razors are truly precious and can bring great joy to shaving. :)