Cleaned up my first Heljestrand

Printable View

11-24-2015, 12:18 AM
DocMartin0321

12 Attachment(s)

Cleaned up my first Heljestrand

Hello all!

It's been a while since I've frequented this forum. As a medical resident, training and long hours have slowed my hobby playing with razors to a crawl. I had been patiently looking for a decent Heljestrand with ivory scales, and finally scored one recently for a good price. I figured that you all may like to see the befores and afters.

BEFORES:
Attachment 219651 Attachment 219652 Attachment 219655 Attachment 219654 Attachment 219653 Attachment 219656

As you can see, the blade had a bit of devil's spit, and the scales had some identifier carved into them. I disassembled the razor gingerly, and took my time polishing the bulk of the pitting out of the blade with polishing wheels and compound on my Dremel. I ultimately finished with a microfiber and Metal Glo. She's not perfect, nor do I want her to be. I love a little character.

The scales were wetsanded clean with micromesh pads, then polished with a cloth wheel and white diamond compound.

This was my first foray into pinning ivory (and collarless pinning for that matter). I annealed the ends of the pin per Sharptonn's old thread, and proceeded very slowly and gently (sphincter puckered the entire time).

She was then honed on my Nakayama Maruichi from bevel set on through. This steel is the hardest I have encountered so far, and starting on my Chosera for the bevel would have saved me a good bit of time (but what's the fun in that?). She's an amazing shaver, and I can see why they are so coveted. I will certainly keep this one around for a while (maybe decades). Hope you enjoy!

AFTERS:
Attachment 219657 Attachment 219660 Attachment 219659 Attachment 219658 Attachment 219661 Attachment 219662
11-24-2015, 01:17 AM
mglindo

Nice job!

Mike
11-24-2015, 02:14 AM
Utopian

Nice photography!
The Before photos clearly showed the flaws. The After photos did not. It's hard to tell if any restoration was done.

This is NOT a criticism of your restoration. It's just my preference that before and after shots be done at the same angle and same lighting so that the restoration, rather than the photography, can be assessed.
11-24-2015, 11:36 AM
DocMartin0321

4 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utopian

Nice photography!
The Before photos clearly showed the flaws. The After photos did not. It's hard to tell if any restoration was done.

This is NOT a criticism of your restoration. It's just my preference that before and after shots be done at the same angle and same lighting so that the restoration, rather than the photography, can be assessed.

Um...thanks? ;)
What can I say? The razor stirred up some creativity once it was finished.

Just for you Utopian, I took boring pictures trying to capture the worst of the flaws. These pics are the best I can do before I rush off to the hospital.

As you can see, there is still a remnant of the pitting on the blade and tang noticeable at certain angles. Like I said before, I like to make my vintage razors pretty, but with hints that they have been around the block once or twice. I personally think this one strikes the balance fairly well. Enjoy!? :p
Attachment 219723 Attachment 219722 Attachment 219724 Attachment 219725
11-24-2015, 01:03 PM
Steel

Looks like a beautiful razor doc. I love the "grain pattern" in the Ivory. The blade is shiny and new looking but you can see, if you look close, that it is indeed a vintage razor. Kudos for honing the whole thing on a natural stone. A true one stone hone. That takes patience and attention to detail but it seems to have rewarded your efforts with a fantastic shave. Great work.
11-24-2015, 10:12 PM
DocMartin0321

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel

Looks like a beautiful razor doc. I love the "grain pattern" in the Ivory. The blade is shiny and new looking but you can see, if you look close, that it is indeed a vintage razor. Kudos for honing the whole thing on a natural stone. A true one stone hone. That takes patience and attention to detail but it seems to have rewarded your efforts with a fantastic shave. Great work.

Thank you sir! This project was very therapeutic, and I learned a lot along the way. :beer1:
11-25-2015, 12:24 AM
TwistedOak

I think the restoration work is best shown in those scales, very nice!
11-25-2015, 01:43 AM
DocMartin0321

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

I think the restoration work is best shown in those scales, very nice!

Thanks! I think the giant "V" carved in the ivory scared a few people off, which explains why I got it for $40. I was very pleased with how easily they sanded smooth and polished up. They turned out better than I could have hoped for. :tu
11-25-2015, 05:22 PM
Polarbeard

Thank you for saving one of these fantastic razors.
11-25-2015, 07:19 PM
Frameback

Excellent work
11-25-2015, 11:00 PM
DocMartin0321

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polarbeard

Thank you for saving one of these fantastic razors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frameback

Excellent work

Very cool to receive kind words from the razor's homeland. The brush in the pics happens to be Swedish as well. :beer1:
11-25-2015, 11:39 PM
Utopian

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocMartin0321

Um...thanks? ;)

:roflmao

Yeah it wasn't the most enthusiastic compliment, was it? I do appreciate when before and after photos show the same thing so that you actually can see the result of the restoration rather than the photographic skills of hiding flaws.
11-26-2015, 03:19 PM
Polarbeard

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocMartin0321

Very cool to receive kind words from the razor's homeland. The brush in the pics happens to be Swedish as well. :beer1:

I never knew were my grandfather's skull went, Thank you for enlightening me[emoji6]. I'm very enthusiastic when it comes to Swedish razors, but I mostly do my posting at the straight razor section at the other place.