Thread: 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