Thread: first post, first razor...

Hello everyone. I'm Eugene from Oklahoma.
I recently read a few articles on straight razors. I am hooked. I have always used mach3's and always been disappointed. So, as a lover of traditional art forms, I decided to pursue straight razor shaving. I was looking for good razor, and thought maybe I should ask my father if he has one. Then he handed me my great-grandfathers blade. It has been in the family for almost a hundred years. I was thrilled.

Unfortunately, the razor was dropped on concrete several years ago by a man that my dad was showing the razor to. This incident really upset my father, as he loved this razor. Since then he just put it in a baggie in a drawer untouched. I believe the scales are broken beyond repair. The blade looks undamaged, and could probably be brought back to a pristine condition.

I would like to restore this to a usable condition since it means a lot to me and is part of my family history. I will be the fourth generation to shave with it. I have a few questions for all you knowledgeable men out there.

How is the condition of the blade?
When and where is this blade probably from? it is a Frederick Reynolds Sheffield.
Can I find nice original ivory scales to replace it, or should I build exotic wood scales?
What is the best way to shine my blade back up without messing it up?

Thanks in advance.

First of all welcome edrum there is a vast amount of info
on blade resto in the wiki section .
Second ,Its awsome to have a blade past down from your grandfather.
It looks like a wedge blade to me . But if not a wedge then it has massive hone wear and that is not good .
The bone scales might be hard to find , not unless you make them or have someone make them to fit that razor. But I thing some sanding and polishing will bring back that shine your looking for on the blade .
there are alot of experts here that will add more to what im saying
happy shaving

Nice heirloom. As such I would suggest buying a razor for a few bucks at an antique shop, flea market or even EBay to practice on, maybe even a few. Although it looks simple you will be surprised and what pops up. Also honing would be better left to someone that has done this a bunch it it is what you are going to learn to shave with.

The best option would be to send the razor to someone that offers razor restorations in the classified section. Look through the gallery to find examples of their work. You and your Dad will be please with their results. If it wasn't an heirloom I would say have at it yourself and enjoy learning.

Good luck in whatever path you take.

+1 to that, send it off to a professional and the results would be worth every penny.

Working on an heirloom for your first resto is a little risky, but that is your choice of course.

Thanks,
I would consider someone restoring it, although I would enjoy being part of the process. It would mean a lot to me, although I would hate to mess it up either. Maybe some help with the blade and coaching possibly? I would love to restore more razors. I enjoy woodworking in my shop and similar projects. I make traditional bows.

I believe it is a wedge blade. Would a different angle picture from the end of the blade looking down it help you tell if the blade as been damaged from honing?

It looks ok to me. I think it probably is a wedge and looking at that wear it's very even and it's not like you're running out of metal.

I think it's entirely possible for you to restore that your self, do you plan on starting to use a straight razor? If so, then maybe picking up another one to learn how to shave with and the other stuff you need, you will learn so much here that you will be able to approach that restoration with confidence.

Originally Posted by Edrum

Thanks,
I would consider someone restoring it, although I would enjoy being part of the process. It would mean a lot to me, although I would hate to mess it up either. Maybe some help with the blade and coaching possibly? I would love to restore more razors. I enjoy woodworking in my shop and similar projects. I make traditional bows.

I believe it is a wedge blade. Would a different angle picture from the end of the blade looking down it help you tell if the blade as been damaged from honing?

I think you can definitely clean it up on your own. First you might want to just put some Maas metal polish on it to see how that looks, then some good hand sanding and it'll look pretty nice.

I guess that since it's an heirloom you might want to start with a higher grit sandpaper. My heirloom had minimal rust on it so I went light on the 400 grit then up to 800 and 1000 and some Maas, and it looked a million times better to me. I sent it out to GSSIXGUN for some finer polishing and sharpening and now it's a great razor (pic).

I'd advise against using a Dremel (or any rotary) on it and if you insist, always be aware of the direction of the spin and make sure it's sweeping from spine to edge -- one snag going the wrong way and you could chip your razor. Also be very cautious when hand sanding around the edge. It's probably old and dull by our standards, but it's still a razor. There are some great articles in the wiki about restoring blades:
Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Then once you've got most of the grunt work done you can send it off to a pro for some polishing and scales and most-importantly, to be properly honed.



EDIT: There are a few Reynolds in the wiki. This one looks pretty similar: