Thread: first post, first razor...

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: