Thread: History?....How to repair?...

I recently acquired a straight razor from an antique flea market in Homburg Germany. This little old lady had it amongst a bunch of silver jewelry and such. Since it was only 30 euros I had to snatch it up! The blade does not have a manufacturer stamp on it but it came in a box that reads "Friederich Herzog". The lady seemed adamant to tell me that the scales are made of Ivory, or at least that's what I gathered from her "harrumphing" and the way she flailed her arm near her nose like it were a trunk. The etchings on it seem consistant with what I know about the ivory trade many many many years ago (17,1800's) Perhaps some subscribers could shed a little light. More importantly than the history the blade seems to have a wavy area that im not sure will come out with simple honing or stropping. Does anyone know how I should proceed in repairing the blade? I would love to put this amazing piece into my rotation. Any suggestions would be awesome!

Im no expert but hollow grinds werent around in the 1700s. Maybe 1850 on. Ivory I have no idea how to tell. It looks like a worn out barbers straight to me, but then what do I know.

I have yet to see Ivory scales with washers, all that I have seen were simply pinned. Lightly try scratching the inside of the scale with a toothpick, can you feel any saw marks. Is there any noticeable grain to the scales?

I believe that wavy area is the result of someone regrinding your razor at some point in history, and making it too thin. I only suggest that because that's exactly what happened at some point in history, when I reground a razor and made it too thin. It got too thin, and heated up, and turned into a potato chip. Just my experience.

Downside is this. I don't think you'll ever make that particular razor shave ready again. At least, that what happened with the one that I had, that I did that to.

I cannot tell if the scale is ivory or not by the pictures alone. The blade however has me worried. I just posted with another gentleman earlier about a recently purchased blade. I do not want to sound like I am putting you off, but if it were me I would not waste my time. It is feasable to remove all of that wavy metal you see on the edge. This will leave an already thin blade even thinner. Iam not saying it cannot be done. Im just saying I wouldnt do it because of the time it will take you and the uncertainty of that blade functioning properly after you are finished. If the scales are ivory, that is a good thing, because they would sure look good on a blade that had proper form fit and function for shaving. To repair this you will have to remove the wavy metal and maybe grind some of the so called stabalizer off so you can hone it. Waste of time IMHO. On the other hand I have mangled many a blade just to see if I could get it to shave again, self education is the best education sometimes. Good luck jsetac

Originally Posted by jsetac

I recently acquired a straight razor from an antique flea market in Homburg Germany. This little old lady had it amongst a bunch of silver jewelry and such. Since it was only 30 euros I had to snatch it up! The blade does not have a manufacturer stamp on it but it came in a box that reads "Friederich Herzog". The lady seemed adamant to tell me that the scales are made of Ivory, or at least that's what I gathered from her "harrumphing" and the way she flailed her arm near her nose like it were a trunk. The etchings on it seem consistant with what I know about the ivory trade many many many years ago (17,1800's) Perhaps some subscribers could shed a little light. More importantly than the history the blade seems to have a wavy area that im not sure will come out with simple honing or stropping. Does anyone know how I should proceed in repairing the blade? I would love to put this amazing piece into my rotation. Any suggestions would be awesome!

Those bents in the steel in the edge is very bad.

It has definitely been reground, both on the blade face and some work done to the tang. The maker mark was probably removed in this process. I bet the razor was much bigger and saw a LONG working life - I have seen similar razors ground down to sticks. By the tail and scales I'd make a rough guess of 1830s-40s. From what I can see those scales are probably ivory, and make sure Sharptonn sees those markings!

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Make sure Sharptonn sees those markings!

This one extra special, fractions and Roman numerals! Tom will fall hard for his razor!