Thread: First Restoration

Hello all,

I picked this up for $9 intended to be my first restoration i.e. practice make my mistakes on razor. I have been reading the forums and I think this will be an good beginner project as it seems to be free of most of the major defects I have read about. The scales are in good condition and there is minimal pitting and rust on the blade and none on the cutting edge. The tip has been broken off at some point and it has been reshaped; I have no idea when but it seems to have been made shave ready post damage. There is some engraving on the blade which I want to see if I can keep. I will need some advice and direction as I work through this so I turn to my new found friends here at SRP. My intention for this razor is to learn restoration skills with an end product that will be usable if not pretty. The first thing is disinfecting, how is this done? The second is stones, I have an 800 grit and a 4000 grit stone, I believe I need an 8000 and maybe a 10,000 or 12,000 to finish with is this right? The pics show the razor, at this point all that I have done is run it over the 800 and 4000 stone to where it now cuts arm hair.

Thanks in advance for all the thoughts.

Cheers

Oldschool66

Looks like it might have a bit of hone ware on the spine. Depending on how it acts on the hone it might be fine. As you say, a first restore. Id start with 0000 stealwool and some wd40 to work on the blade. As far as keeping the ingravings on the blade, that is something you dont normally try or atempt with a first restore. Ill let someone else comment on that. The the stealwool and wd40 shouldnt take much of anything away from the etchings.
Disinfecting can be done with barbersol or rubbing alcohol. If it hasnt been used it years then i dought there is mu h to worry about but some folks like to disinfect anyway. Watch what you use on the scales if they are natural materials.

Someone else sould jump in soon to help out. Good luck.

I am wondering if the hone wear has something to do with it being broken? Maybe the unbalanced new edge didn't hone like the original? It seemed to run on the stone ok, I have a clean even edge and I am sure it wasn't my skill on the hone that got it that way. I will try the still wool and maybe a Dremel? Or is this too aggressive?

Thanks for the thoughts, this will take some time as I will have to order and wait for the new stones to arrive.

Cheers

Stay away from the Dremel. its a good way to ruin a blade. I would try some Mothers metal polish or something similar first and see what come off. A hard lead pencil is also a good way to remove rust spots. As for disinfecting it once you,v cleaned it good with mothers and honed it , it should be good to go.

An 8k stone should be all you need to get a should be good to make it shave ready. once you get that mastered than think of getting something higher.JMHO

A couple of thoughts.
Early on in honing it is best to tape the spine. New honers tend to put way too much pressure on the spine. The very easiest and most sure fire way of learning when the bevel is set and when to progress in honing is by using a loupe.
When doing restores elbow grease is the very best tool. You can combine that with WD-40 and steel wool, then polish and steel wool and finish with polish on rag. You will be amazed with what you can accomplish.

Id say stay away from the dremel too. The slightest mistake can damage the razor and you. If it catches the razor and slings it across the room of god forbid, bouce off a wall and back at you... you get the picture. Some folks do use a dremel but im not going to recommend it.

Originally Posted by Oldschool66

Hello all,

I picked this up for $9 intended to be my first restoration i.e. practice make my mistakes on razor. I have been reading the forums and I think this will be an good beginner project as it seems to be free of most of the major defects I have read about. The scales are in good condition and there is minimal pitting and rust on the blade and none on the cutting edge. The tip has been broken off at some point and it has been reshaped; I have no idea when but it seems to have been made shave ready post damage. There is some engraving on the blade which I want to see if I can keep. I will need some advice and direction as I work through this so I turn to my new found friends here at SRP. My intention for this razor is to learn restoration skills with an end product that will be usable if not pretty.
The first thing is disinfecting, how is this done?
The second is stones, I have an 800 grit and a 4000 grit stone, I believe I need an 8000 and maybe a 10,000 or 12,000 to finish with is this right? The pics show the razor, at this point all that I have done is run it over the 800 and 4000 stone to where it now cuts arm hair.

Thanks in advance for all the thoughts.

Cheers

Oldschool66

Disinfection and rust removal:
Disinfection begins with rust removal.
Steel wool (0000) and WD40 is a nice start it is important to have no pits
for bacteria and viruses to hide and abrasion removes them. You can use
rubbing alcohol and high alcohol content hand sanitizer. After sanding WD40 will stop
fresh rust from forming on clean steel. Surface abrasion is important.

There are three categories of hand sanitizers with differences in the current
marketplace: alcohols, quaternary ammonium compounds and triclosan.
Which hand sanitizers are most practical and effective? | Dermatology Times

One pass of disinfecting should likely involve common bleach.
NC DPH: Norovirus - Disinfecting Your Home


I am partial to a folded pinch of 3M wet dry paper at about 8000 grit that allows
me to sand the flat surfaces and not put my fingers in harm's way.
Rusty jimps seem to yield to a tooth brush and Bar Keepers Friend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Keepers_Friend
The chemistry does work on rust and needs to be rinsed off with water
followed by WD40 (water displacement #40).

Time and sunlight are important aspects of disinfection too.
Barbicide is good stuff for disinfecting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbicide

Honing:
You should not need more than an 8K hone to fill out your kit.
Read about the pyramid method using a 4k/8k Norton combo and other pairs of hones.
Pyramid honing guide - Shave Library
A 12k hone is nice but if you cannot shave of the 8k the 12k will not
help ;-)

Safety:
Even a dull razor will slice you. Rest the blade flat on a solid surface and
apply any sanding pressure with something safe like a cork.
Consider cut-proof gloves.
No power tools are needed.

All solid advice this far. A wine cork works great on the face of the blade. Using that as a backer for your sand paper helps keep the etch nice and crisp. Always make sure your final sanding strokes are from spine to edge. A bit of polish and you are there. Scales can also be sanded and polished out with metal or plastic polish.
Most importantly have fun. Ask questions when you hit a road block and if frustration rears its head, walk away.

Forgot to add, always start at a higher grit than you think you want at first. It's easier to see that 800 isn't working and step back to 600 or 400 than the other way around. No point in making more work for yourself

Dremel is a dangerous thing. If it jumps off of the blade, the spinning shaft may impact the edge and chip the blade. I speak from experience on that end.

I don't have much experience with restoration, but I go with the less is more camp. Nothing too harsh and take my time. The couple of blades I have had a go at I have allowed much of the staining to remain rather than risk the blade. I actually like it that way too as I think it adds authenticity to the blade.

That is a nice razor you have there, I believe the etching is William Shakespeare and the text is taken from Love's Labour's Lost and the razor may be a "Keen" George Butler. If so I don't think the end has been re-shaped that much. I think the original may have a rounder point.

"The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen
As is the razor's edge invisible,
Cutting a smaller hair than may be seen."