Thread: Boker Keen Shaver - help

I've wondering whether anyone could impart some advice on restoring this old Boker, I think the age would be 1920-30s looking at the tree logo?



I was going to sand her down, but I don't want to loose the etching of 'Keen Shaver' and the spine has a lovely pattern which I don't want to lose either. I've not done many restorations and want to keep some of the history of the razor. But there does seem to be rust towards the edge and sanding will be needed to remove it.


Will sanding remove the 'keen shaver' if I was to start at a low grit? or should I start higher say 320 or 400? And would sanding remove the pattern on the spine? I could just I leave the spine alone? I don't know how deep the etching goes and how much metal sanding will remove.

I really want to get this one shaving as I haven't got a square point shave ready razor (a few in the restoration case waiting for some kindness) and I've heard Boker make good shavers! It would seem a shame to just sand away all the nice features and lose the character.

Also is it realistic to restore this one, is there too much spine wear?

Many thanks

The show face and spine seems to be an acid etch and will disappear quickly if you sand it. I'd use nothing more than MAAS polish or something similar. Some folks advocate using 0000 steel wool but it will leave scratches you will be able to see. If you can live with that then go lightly with lots of oil. You can sand the tang face and back blade face to remove the active rust. It will take some patience to get all the finished to match.
With the rust I see on the bevel I recommend you set a bevel on it first and make sure you have some good steel to work with. Barring the pitting on the bevel there looks like there is plenty of life left in that blade.
Good luck,
Karl

Many thanks Karl,

I'll give the MAAS a go to start and see how it looks, then try set the bevel before I get the sandpaper out, will sand the tang but yeah going to be tricky for the finish to match if I only do the back of the blade.

Thanks

I've seen where some will cover the etching with a thick layer of colored nail polish. Then sand the blade down. You have to keep an eye on the polish and recoat if it starts to disappear.

thanks Suticat, that might work but would think if I'm sanding metal the polish won't last long..I'll give it a think

Nail polish and remover is the ticket, maybe double coat it to start.

Nail polish, etch out and a touch of ferric chloride as shown by a post from Lewy should do the trick..

You would be surprised how much rust and staining can be removed with using just plain MAAS, Mothers or something similar. If you have the patience and some time usually these products will be enough. Myself I don't worry too much about pitting as long as it won't be in the edge, to me some pitting and a little staining gives vintage razors character.

On a razor with that amount of rust/staining, which isn't that much IMHO I would spend extra time with the polish and hopefully won't need to do any sanding, for me sanding is a last resort. Also, you should be able to hone out the rust along the edge without much trouble.

Just so you will know, Bokers are very well known for their 'Buttery Smooth' shave, I love mine.