1820's John Barber restoration.
This razor came to me in pretty good shape, but getting it restored has been a bizarrely difficult.
The worst of the rust, of course was on the tang.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...5/IMG_8375.jpg
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...5/IMG_8385.jpg
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...5/IMG_8376.jpg
The scales were cracked on the pile side, and there was some insect damage, but that was all pretty easy to fix.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...5/IMG_8383.jpg
I completely disassembled it, repaired the scales with CA glue, horn dust and shoe polish. Then hand-sanded the blade back as close as I could get to factory finish without losing the stamp on the tang -- I'd rather have pits and the original markings than a smooth tang and no markings.
The original blade had an interesting surface treatment. The blade face itself had been done as a simple glaze while the spine and tang were a full crocus polish. Not too hard to return to, really.
But what made it difficult to fix up was the pins. They're not 1/16th. They're not 3/32. The originals had a diameter of 2.08mm.
I put it back together with 1/16th and stainless collars, which worked only okay and didn't look great. But it held well enough for me to hone the razor.
That turned out to be another mountain to climb. It took two layers of tape, but the spine is so massive I had to tape each side of the blade individually, and it's so wedgy that even still the honing process kept bringing up the tape. I think I went through about 30 feet of the stuff before I had a functional bevel! The edge still isn't all I want it to be, but I really didn't like the pins, so I never showed it off here before.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...3/IMG_8390.jpg
After begging Neil Miller for advice he stepped me through the incredibly simple math and then found the website for a company that sells pin stock that closely matches (2.06mm, of which I now have more than I can conceivably ever use).
Neil, if I make it to the UK this year, I owe you so many pints...
Today I got the razor reassembled. It looks so much better without collars, and it all fit together so much nicer.
4 Attachment(s)
Smooth and Satin (not Lingerie)
Just beautiful work... and a fascinating post! I have an "I.Barber" stubtail (7/8")-- the name stamped in the same place, same blade design, with "Silver Steel" on the front of the tang, and no maker's mark. What's really interesting is that after reading some posts by gssixgun about his satin finish method, I decided to refinish my blade with the spine and tang polished to a mirror finish, but the blade in satin. And now I've run across this one of yours! Great minds, eh?
Anyway, my new shipment of wet/dry sandpaper arrived in today's mail, so I'll be starting on it this weekend. You weren't my inspiration, but I value "proof of concept" even more!!
Photos will be taken... and, eventually, posted.
The first two are of the blade as-is/was
Attachment 145189
Attachment 145190
The second two are after "fooling around" with 1500-grit sandpaper (was the lowest grit I had, at the time)
The scratches came with the blade, and will be dealt-with.
Attachment 145191
Attachment 145192
