Thread: Got the first restoration under my belt!

Originally Posted by rvrboy17

Okay I'll have to go back and research it more. I know what I did wrong so I'll look into correcting it properly.

You don't have to have a wedge. I see them tensioning the scales and keeping them straight and causing them to bow around the thickest part of the blade near the heel and follow the taper of the tang as they converge on the pivot. On a thinner blade without much taper in the tang I don't see there being much point in it. I've taken a lead wedge out of one old razor that was almost flat. I had to wonder why they bothered. When It does go right, It does look nice though.

It's the visual aspect that makes a wedge look so much better than a spacer - even thought some blades make not require one.

I like it! A wedge is something to try maybe and to advance your learning experience but for your first one it is much better than I could do. Well done.

Originally Posted by Hart

You don't have to have a wedge. I see them tensioning the scales and keeping them straight and causing them to bow around the thickest part of the blade near the heel and follow the taper of the tang as they converge on the pivot. On a thinner blade without much taper in the tang I don't see there being much point in it. I've taken a lead wedge out of one old razor that was almost flat. I had to wonder why they bothered. When It does go right, It does look nice though.

Correct, you do not need a wedge,BUT,we are talking Restoration here,That means restoring a Razor back to its orig form as possible.
Has anyone seen an orig vintage blade with a spacer? Maybe they exsist,I have not seen one Tho.

There seems to be a lot of opinions on the wedge. Im definitely going to play with it in the future to see if I can get the hang of it!

Originally Posted by rvrboy17

There seems to be a lot of opinions on the wedge. Im definitely going to play with it in the future to see if I can get the hang of it!

Very simple, take some time and look at the way a vintage razor works, why the wedge is actually a wedge, honest there will be no question about it once you take the time to look and learn the "WHY" part...

Something I learned really fast, those old farts making razors and figuring out the why part for the last 300 years were pretty smart guys, they did things hands on and worked them out so that many of these tools are still here and working just like they are supposed to after all these years... I took the time to look and learn the why of it....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Very simple, take some time and look at the way a vintage razor works, why the wedge is actually a wedge, honest there will be no question about it once you take the time to look and learn the "WHY" part...

Something I learned really fast, those old farts making razors and figuring out the why part for the last 300 years were pretty smart guys, they did things hands on and worked them out so that many of these tools are still here and working just like they are supposed to after all these years... I took the time to look and learn the why of it....

I have no qualms with admitting there are many, many men smarter than me. I have a lot to learn in this niche and Im excited to learn. When doing my initial research, I found a lot of "how-to's" on wedges, but never ran across "why wedge". Ill make sure to read up on that before my next go about!

Added HQ photos!

The razor looks good. I am getting inspired to start restoring some razors.

Originally Posted by wikedeye

The razor looks good. I am getting inspired to start restoring some razors.

It was a challenging, but a very rewarding project. If you have an older one, or one you find on ebay, that you dont mind experimenting with, Id say go for it!