This is gonna be another one of those two part messages from me.

Because pictures. Lots of pictures.



I posted about this razor earlier. The symbol on the blade is the Sanskrit 'wootz'. In this case, I think it probably does mean the steel was imported, but it certainly isn't what we think of when we currently use the term (interchangeably with Damascus). My guess is that the razor is early Victorian, unless Rodgers was using the 'their Majesties' stamp during William's business.

The scales were in pretty bad shape.









Of course, when I disassembled it, things broke.



As you can see, that break at the wedge end is badly glued and warped.

I think I can safely say you'll be surprised at how those scales cleaned up! My restoration strategy here was minimal. The patina on the blade was aesthetically appealing to me, and I knew that the 'wear in' on the scales, when they were fixed, cleaned and polished was going to be lovely.

Getting the scales lovely was hard work but well worth it, as you'll see in the next post.