Thread: Looking for Suggestions on cleanup

Hi, new to the straight razor world and I am looking for suggestions on cleaning up a razor. I picked it up for $5 at a antique shop is it worth doing anything with? I sanded it down a little with 220 and 400 grit paper. There was also a chip in the blade that I was to get kind of by stropping it on the sand paper. To the best of my knowledge it is a J R Torrey 992.

Thanks, Alex

I have seen worse restored. Not bad for 5 bucks. I like the blade, I think its a French point?? I don't have one of those yet. The pattern of corrosion on the blade may suggest cell rot with the scales. Someone with more knowledge should chime in on that.

Wellcome to SRP Alex,just a suggestion,before you attempt a restore,set a bevel on that blade and take a close look at it under Magnification.
Looks like alot of potential issues abound.JMO

Yup, cell rot. Scales have to go. There is pitting on the bevel. It may be saveable depending on how deep the pitting goes.

The sooner you get the scales off the better, it will continue to eat the blade completely through. You will have to sand or buff the blade with abrasive Greasless compounds to remove all the pitting.

Before you spend all that time, hone the razor and see if it will take an edge, pitting may have already weakened the steel. It doesn’t look like it but you can’t tell until you hone it.

Notice the defining line on the blade of pitting. When you close the blade you will see the line is where the scales cover the blade. Clear indicator of Cell Rot

Clear and translucent scales seem most prone to rot. Don't know why.

Thank you for all the info. Next time I will look more closely when buying a used razor at a store luckily it was only $5 not a big deal. I took the scales off but I think I might just end up trashing it the edge chips really easy with slightest touch so I keep having to take more and more off. I also picked up a Bowdins Wedge that seems to be in a lot better condition but it needs new scales also they were warped and didn't fit anymore. Thanks for the help!