Thread: Nice to meet yall, starting to restore razors.

Hi Everyone, I decided I wanted a new hobby, so I bought 11 razors off ebay to restore. Honestly, half of it is just because I like sharpening knives, but don't dull them fast enough. But, I have polished up two of them, honed and shaved with one, and have enjoyed it so far. At this point, I don't want to buy a bunch of equipment, so I am doing them by hand. Starting with 220 grit sand paper and working my way up to 3000 grit. Then polishing with white jewelers rouge on a piece of leather. Honing on 1000 - 8000 grit whetstones and finishing with the jewelers rouge on a strip of leather glued to scrap lumber.
I don't think anyone wants me to post pictures of 11 razors here, but I do have some general questions, if yall will indulge me.
1. So far I have been hesitant to unpin them. I am going to have to in order to do the whole lot as some of the scales are broken and some probably have some pretty heavy rust around the pin. Do yall generally unpin all of them so you can get the blade polished from toe to whatever you call that swoop end your pinky goes in? Youtube makes it look really easy, but I am a bit nervous about getting the pressure right putting the pin back in.
2. Some seem to not have washers between the scale and the blade and rub near the toe a little when you close them. The don't hit the edge of the blade, but would I be better off, or would I risk anything, by adding washers when I (get up the nerve to) repin them?
3. I am not interested in looking to make scales right now. My sawing skills are, lets just say, imprecise. I have seen maggard razors sells some generic plastic ones and a shop on etsy that sells some nice wooden and bone ones out of the UK. Any other places to get them and perhaps other supplies (both sell pinning kits).
4. Is there a library out there that I may be able to figure out brand, age, and quality?
I have attached some photos of the second one which I have not sharpened yet (in case there are eagle eyes out there that can tell).
Thanks in advance for help, and look forward to poking around these forums.

Welcome to SRP.
Post photos of all, we like razors here.
Unpinning is a bit of an art, just takes a bit of practice.
Best to attempt on a trashed set of scales so it doesn't matter if you make them worse
Everything you need to know is here, just use the search button.

Welcome. Go on strazors.com
There is info under construction tab that identifies parts of a razor and different grinds. A little info on restoration. In library on SRP has good info on restoration.

Hi Grazor. Testing on trash scales is a good idea, thank you. I should have a couple of those to work with.
I actually haven't taken a picture of all of them yet, and waited too long to download the ebay pictures. I am trying to remember to take before and after pictures of all of them for my own record. And, if I post all of them maybe yall will find more trash scales for me to practice with.
Thank you.

Originally Posted by bouschie

Welcome. Go on strazors.com
There is info under construction tab that identifies parts of a razor and different grinds. A little info on restoration. In library on SRP has good info on restoration.

Hi Bouschie. You mean "the swoopy part" is not the technical term? I will look for the construction tab. I did see the library and it looks like it has a lot of info. I got a bit overwhelmed and decided to go back to it when I know more of what I don't know. Thanks for the tips.

Pinning is done with new pins.
Trying to remove them and reuse them is not going to happen as they will be too short by the time you get them out. Now the washers inside and collars around the pin Peen are reusable if you are carefully removing them. Practice pinning by buying the pin rod and washers and use a couple of popsicle sticks. This will give a good piece to play with and get the hang of removing too. Read up on this pinning and removing in our library and watch a few vids on youtube and it will work for you. But remember that this takes time to master.

One other thing I'd like to point out is the heal on your restored razor. Read up on reshaping the heal. The stabilizer is down to the same point as the edge of the razor. The edge should reach down past the stabilizer. Read up on this and you will see what I mean. This restoring can be a lot to learn. A lot more than most folks think when they start out. But with time and effort you will get it.

Welcome aboard! Restoring razors can be a challenge, but, you'll find a lot of good information here. If you can't find the answer, just ask in the forums and you'll get more answers than you can handle!

Thanks Gasman. There is no way I will be careful (steady) enough to save the washers on the outside. But, I was planning on buying some kits that have the rods and washers. I will just get a few extra for practice. And, I have an excuse to buy eat some ice cream.

Nice catch on the heel issue. I had no idea to even look for that. Makes perfect sense though. I think I found a post that you were referring to (https://sharprazorpalace.com/honing/...ml#post1714002). It is a lot "easier" than what I had first imagined you wanted me to do.

Originally Posted by jfleming9232

Welcome aboard! Restoring razors can be a challenge, but, you'll find a lot of good information here. If you can't find the answer, just ask in the forums and you'll get more answers than you can handle!

Thanks JFlemming. Already glad I signed up for this. So far it has been fun. And, I'm looking forward to lots of answers. Whenever there are a zillion ways to do things it is always nice to get multiple methods and pick the one for me.

Why was the elephant wearing your pajamas?

Welcome to the forum. There are a few work in progress threads and a few tutorial threads. The what are you working on thread is a great place to post and banter about the details. Pinning does take some practice. There are a couple of people selling collars for replacements. ajkenne is on ebay as well as a member here. Many people use his collars and he has rod too. Many small taps with a tiny hammer and keep your pins quite short. If they are too long you will bend them before they tighten. Basically you are creating a mushroom on the end of the rod and it is the outer edges of the mushroom that tighten and hold it all together.