For lack of a Dremel

Attached are some before and after photos of a razor I bought at a local flea market for $11.00 usd. Since I do not have a Dremel, I cleaned the blade with Maas and the rag you see in three of the four photos. You can see the dirt and rust from the razor on the rag in the last two photos.

On the first photo you can maybe make out the etching on the blade. If not, it says MEEHAN. A quick internet search shows a Meehan's Hardware in Elgin Illinois that was in business from 1856 through 1930. I cannot verify if this hardware store and the etching on the blade are connected. It's a shame that the etching came off with the dirt and rust. Since this is going to be a 'shaving razor' and not a 'collecting razor', I am ok with it.

The blade seems to be a 5/8 inch half ground silver steel that was manufactured in Germany or, at least that is what the writing on the shaft says. The blade feels very much like my DOVO 5/8 inch blade in weight and size. It is cleaning up very well, and I hope that some of the pitting and staining will come off with additional treatments with Maas.

You may notice some distortion on the point. The pivot pin on the scales is approximately 1/16 inch too close the spacer pin. In other words, the razor does not close without the point of the blade being between the spacer and the scale. I believe that this has caused this distortion.

The scales themselves are worthless. They seem like some cheap plastic that bends way too easily. I will probably get a set of scales from Classic Shaving. (I guess that I will have to file down the pivot pin to get the scales off.)

Overall, I am happy with my $11.00 usd blade. I feel that with additional cleaning and new scales, it will be a very useful razor.


Bob

I think it's come a long way already. :tu

X

Since I was not happy with the pitting on the blade and the cheap scales, I decided that a complete restoration was in order.

First I created a "Vlad style" sanding stick and jig (see photo). (The sandpaper shown on the stick is 1000 grit, 5/8" wide. Between the sandpaper and the stick is one of those 'livestrong'-type bracelets.)

Next, I removed the cheap black plastic (?) scales that were on it.

I then progressed hand sanding through the following grits of sandpapers: 220, 320, 400, 600 and 1000. (I used two strips of each grit, except for the 220 grit, which I only used one strip. I am still waiting for my 2000 grit to come in from HandAmerican to complete a 'mirror finish'.)

I then pinned on black scales I got from Classic Shaving (~ $11). I did have a problem getting the blade centered in the scales, but thanks to the direction of garythepenman, I was able to take care of that issue (see photo).

A couple of applications of MAAS and I now have a nice looking razor (see photos).

Now to sharpen it.

To sharpen the razor, I picked up some PSA honing film in 15 microns (1,200 grit), 5 microns (4,500 grit) and 0.3 microns (~ 80,000 grit) that I will use instead of a wet stone hone. Since there is a big gap between the 5 micron and 0.3 micron films, I will have to use my Arkansas stone for the step in between.

Sometime, or another, I do expect some 2.5 micron (9,000 grit) and 0.5 micron (60,000 grit) PSA honing film from HandAmerican to arrive. This should allow me to put my Arkansas stone away.

I will post how honing with the honing film works out.


Bob

There's a fantastic difference between the first picture and the last one.

The blade looks great, from the last photo the finish looks about perfect.

Greg Frazer

:eek:

Fantastic work!
The razor looks brand new!

How's she shave?

C utz