Thread: What would you do with this restoration?

First and Foremost, looks can be deceiving,

Here's what my Great Grandfather's W&B looked like before Glen worked on it;





Looks pretty good! Hardly any rust, pits etc!

Here's what it looked like after all of the years of abuse were removed;





Looks very nice, but notice that the deep pits wouldn't have been removed without a re-grind

You'll also notice that Glen used a stain finish, I do belive that it's close to the original, the 'mirror' finish usually doesn't seem to be the 'Norm' from the factory.

Have fun, but remember that it takes time and patience!

Good luck and keep us posted on the progress

That's very nice blade. Don't go so hard with it. I think 800 or 1000 grit of SP will be ok to cleaned then some polish. Keep it original!

One of the first things I do with a restore is use some metal polish and a rag to see what I am working with. You would be surprised at what just alittle polishing can do. It will help remove build up from years of sitting and it can reveal if there is some pitting or other defects. I would have the horn scales soaking in some neatsfoot oil if they are salvageable while I decided what I wanted to do with the blade. Once you see what you are working with then you can decide what level of restoration you want to do. A mirrorish finish would take some sanding or buffing depending on your equipment. That dark spot near the barbers notch I am guessing is hiding some pitting. You have to be careful with hollow ground razors when removing pitting since there isn't a whole lot of material there that can be removed before you end up with a flimsy razor. The more material there is the more that can be removed safely. Good luck.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

First and Foremost, looks can be deceiving,

Here's what my Great Grandfather's W&B looked like before Glen worked on it;

Looks pretty good! Hardly any rust, pits etc!

Here's what it looked like after all of the years of abuse were removed;

Looks very nice, but notice that the deep pits wouldn't have been removed without a re-grind

You'll also notice that Glen used a stain finish, I do belive that it's close to the original, the 'mirror' finish usually doesn't seem to be the 'Norm' from the factory.

Have fun, but remember that it takes time and patience!

Good luck and keep us posted on the progress

I did learn this on another blade, tried using the 600 and realized that I needed to go lower because of all the pitting... Now re grinding is something I am not familiar with and if this razor requires a re-grind I will end up waiting on her and regrinding another less valuable razor...

I was thinking about going with black horn with white streaks on this razor and maybe getting some bullseye collars for her too... With wades is it more common for people to want the satin finish or have a mirror finish? One mans treasure can be another mans trash... So I always think about doing things that are common but then that's not my style, I like things that are different and unique... It's tough to think of the consumers perspective... Hence he thread