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: