Thread: 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:


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:

Nice job!


Mike

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.

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!?

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.

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.

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

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.

Thank you for saving one of these fantastic razors.

Excellent work