Thread: Bengall first attempt at restoration - questions and assistance

Hello,

I picked up this Bengall yesterday at an antique shop for $9.00. I know the razor had some issues like rust, grime etc, but there were no visible cracks or chips in the blade, and the scales looked to be in good shape. There is very little to no hone wear, so I took a chance.

I removed the majority of grime and rust with my dremel tool, and MAAS, and this is what I'm left with so far. There is still some pitting (devil's rust?), but I think with more elbow grease and MAAS, I can remove more of it.

What is a bit concerning at this point is the edge. There appears to be more of the black stuff, and with my limited arsenal of tools, I don't want to put a ton of time and effort into this restoration if you would advise otherwise.

Should I continue on and attempt to hone it?

Also, between the scales at the hinge pin, it is near impossible to remove the grime and surface rust with a dremel or cloth. I saw a video where Lynn used a fiberglass pen to remove rust and grime. Are there other options to consider too?

Thanks!

From the pics it looks like you may have a some corrosion issues at the edge of the blade. The only way to know for sure is to put it to the hones and set the bevel.

As far as the pivot area, of you take a q tip and flatten it with a hammer you can apply some metal polish and work it back and forth. You can also work the crevices with a toothpick as well.

Best of luck, looks to a good looking razor overall.

Originally Posted by relli1130

Hello,

I picked up this Bengall yesterday at an antique shop for $9.00. I know the razor had some issues like rust, grime etc, but there were no visible cracks or chips in the blade, and the scales looked to be in good shape. There is very little to no hone wear, so I took a chance.

I removed the majority of grime and rust with my dremel tool, and MAAS, and this is what I'm left with so far. There is still some pitting (devil's rust?), but I think with more elbow grease and MAAS, I can remove more of it.

What is a bit concerning at this point is the edge. There appears to be more of the black stuff, and with my limited arsenal of tools, I don't want to put a ton of time and effort into this restoration if you would advise otherwise.

Should I continue on and attempt to hone it?

Also, between the scales at the hinge pin, it is near impossible to remove the grime and surface rust with a dremel or cloth. I saw a video where Lynn used a fiberglass pen to remove rust and grime. Are there other options to consider too?

Thanks!

If you know how to unpinn and repinn the blade, that would be your best way to clean the pivot area. If not, I've used .17 and .22 calibre gun cleaning brushes and hoppes #9 to clean some, also dental floss too.
As for the blade, its hard for me to tell, but yeah, try honing it, but start with 3-4 layers of electrical tape untill you reach clean metel (no pitts,chips, ect.) then remove all but one layer of tape and set your bevel.

Any time you are working on a razor that has any corrosion issues down to the edge, the bevel set that Matt is referring to is often best done first. I hope you have read all the safety warnings about dremel tools and blades. Steel wool and Maas Polish will work well too, it digs deep, but it is dependent on elbow grease to make it work. When you go to set the bevel on that razor it will take quite a bit more effort, this is not normal honing it is restorative honing, so don't expect to be able to set a bevel in five minutes. Also with the corrosion down on the edge like that the use of a loupe is super important. If you are not checking it with a loupe you could get a bevel that is able to cut hair but is so weak from metal fatigue that it will just fall apart the second you move up or perhaps not ever until you try shaving with it. It is important to get the steel back to clean fresh metal.

Mike types faster that I do.

Thank you. I need to get a loupe. When you say that it is important to get back to clean, fresh metal, I assume you are saying that upon inspection under a loupe, the entire cutting edge of the blade is free from pits, rust etc.

Also, I do have some 0000 steel wool. I could use this to remove the rust etc. But will that ruin the finish/shine?

oops, never mind. I see that now in outback's post

0000 when used with polish or WD-40 leaves a very nice shine. It will also dig out any weak metal but leave all the healthy metal.

well, it has been a learning process. I have a Norton 4k/8k, and while the 4K put a bevel back on the blade, it took a very long time. I got a loupe, and it was critical, just as it was stated above. The rust along the edge seems to not got all the way through the blade. Using my 4k/8k, I was able to put what I think to be a good edge back on this razor. However upon inspection with the loop, there are probably about 3 or 4 rust spots on the edge. I could continue to try and hone them out, but I'll wait till I get a 1k stone I think. I'm going to shave with it tomorrow, and report back. Thanks everyone for your assistance with my first restoration.

The 4 will do it.. But alot of work. You'll have better results with the 1000 in less time. I use a 220 or a 400 for edge restoring... But am going to get a 6 & 800 in the next few days.
Cause it takes for ever to remove 400 scratches with a 1000 [emoji6]