Thread: Restoring an old Friedrich Herder 30

I bought this Friedrich Herder razor some time ago. I have another identical one in perfect condition which is an absolute fantastic shaver. So I thought you couldn’t go wrong having a second one.
The razor was in bad condition when it arrived - a lot of rust that had let to some deep pitting on parts of the blade. The blade measures 15/16.



The razor was restored following the traditional way of grinding and polishing straight razors. I used old polishing wheels of wood surrounded by leather or wheels of felt. The surface of the wheels was coated by different grades of old Naxos emery that was glued with bone glue to the wheels.
Because of the deep pitting I had to use relatively course emery in the beginning and then changing to finer emery, finally blue polishing with Naxos 5/0 and mirror polishing with a special paste according to an ancient formulation I got from an old grinder.



I think I will skip the old black synthetic scales and make some new horn scales. What do you think?

It'll be nicer with the horn, undoubtely.

That is going to be gorgeous! Can not wait to see the final product

Very nice!
I'm amazed how cleanly that came out, beautifully done !
Someday I will get me a Herder too, I hear nothing but good about those blades.

I like things in pairs, I try to have pairs of all my razors, nearly impossible, but it's an idea I adopted after I received my GGF's razor gear.
He had two razors and one hone. Simple, but now I'm trying to recreate it; pairs of razors (not necessarily one set of pairs though )

Can't wait to see this done. I really love the way this blade looks, and the way you've restored it looks amazing. I vote horn, those blanks you have are pretty.

Well it is a beautiful blade and a great restore, Your process obviously work very well. Save that old knowledge, there is already too much lost. The horn will look fantastic.

Very nice polish on that blade, yes of course the horn…

Could you post some more on the polishing process with perhaps some photos of your wheels and emery you are using?

Did you make your own wheels and at what speed are you polishing?

Thanks for posting.

Marty

Great job on the blade restore and I'd bet the new horn scales will look good with that blade. Be sure and post the finished project.

Bob

Great restore on the blade.

Another vote for horn.

Great restore on the blade. whatever suits your fancy on the scales. Nice work!