9/8 wade and butcher "Chopper"

Hello,
My name is Richard and my family and I now live in North Carolina. I work for the government and my new hobby is restoring straight razors. I have a loving family and care for them deeply! My daughter is 14 months old and she is the light of my life!

I have been shaving with a straight for the last year and a half and feel like I can do it as a daily ritual and not as a painful exercise in futility. I started with a "Shave Factory" razor with replaceable Derby blades. Today I use a F. Fenney Pre 1890's and I'm trying to become a master of my morning ritual.

I recently purchased a lot of straight razors from a new friend and it included the following:
Geo Wostenholm & Sons X 2
F. Fenney
Joseph Elliot
B.J. Eyre
Joseph Rodgers & Sons
Clauss

All of them are free of rust and most have beautiful patina, but I was surprised when I found a piece of shaving history. A 9/8 "For Barbers Use" Chopper with all the markings (1890 or prior), no rust, pitting and in beautiful condition. I want to restore it and feel like I have the know how, but any last min. advice would be well appreciated ( I don't need a step by step, but a few tips for this specific razor or some recommendations would be awesome). I'll keep you guys up to date with how the project is going when I can.

V/r

Rich

Welcome to SRP. The shape that one is in, I wouldn't do more than a paper towel with Maas, Flitz or something like it. It is an antique, making it look like a shiny new store bought razor is blasphemy AFAIC. OTOH, if it were in poor cosmetic condition I might do more, but that is just me, and I'm probably in the minority on this.

Learn to shave with them, unless you're only a collector. Nothing wrong with that, but it is much more fun to get shaving with them up close and personal.

Straight Razor Place Library:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Library

Welcome to SRP
Clean it up and see if it shaves. Doesn't look like it needs much. If I get one to collect I leave it alone. If I am going to use it , it gets shined up.

likely you can clean her up without taking her apart. I would start with a soaking in neatsfoot oil. It will perk those scales up. Then I would give them a scrub with 0000 steel wool and polish and then clean the blade with polish, maybe polish and steel wool and then just polish. She doesn't need much that's for sure. The scales might need a little bit of sanding to help combat the delaminating but that needs to be assessed after they have had a good drink.

Thanks to all the Senior Members. Great info and it makes my decision hard. I would like to propose an idea for this razor. I think this was "reground" at some point and I'm okay with that. I like patina, but I want to shave with it. I want to have it set to original specs and I would also like to keep some of the character and history of this piece of art. I am going to put a set of Buffalo scales on it (new) (Keep the originals) and take the patina off it, but not bring it to a mirror finish (basically I'm not going grind away all of the character, but make it a safe razor to shave with). The Patina will come back over time (could be after i'm dead and gone). Guess I'll just have to straddle the fine line of restoration.

I doubt it could have been reground due to the etching being intact. Here is the same model razor, and I've shaved with it many times just as you see it. That's just me though, it is your razor and you should do what you want with it. For sure get it pro honed unless you have the skills yourself.

Attachment 182132

I think you will be surprised at what you can accomplish with steel wool and polish. I think you would also be surprised as to how fast and easy it would be to clean and polish those scales. I do understand the urge to make a new set of scales.

This is just a question, but if it was not reground why are there such deep scratches in the razor. I've seen this with a lot of choppers and a little confused. There are a lot of spots on my straight that are mirror (Tang and Sholder) and a lot that have lateral and perpendicular lines (Face and spine). Seems that this is specific with this model of razor, but I'm the knew guy so feel free to school me. Why?

Beautiful blade, if you can salvage the scales it would be awesome

Nice razor. Welcome I to am in NC.

I wouldn't change a thing. Just a soft buff with something like metal polish (that also arrests patin/rust) and then hone it up.

My W&B has bites out of the scales but I have left them so far because I think the antique look suits it best.

Up to you.