So a little background information on what I'm up to here. The long story short is that I recently decided to get into straight razors after obtaining some of my grandfather's old razors. However, not wanting to ruin them (going to have one of the pros around here take care of those most likely) by tinkering myself I decided I needed practice.

So I ran off to an antique store and found me some practice blades to work on. They aren't in the best condition, I know and maybe even really bad off. I figured even if they aren't salvageable (not capable of being shavers after 'restoration' by me) I can at least practice rust removal, sanding, polishing, etc.

The first patient is a Dubl Duck Special No 1 with an 11/16 blade. It has considerable rust, a chip and a crack in the blade (excluding any issue with scales, something to tackle another time).

Anyway, to the questions at hand:
- Is breadknifing this blade the solution to the chip and crack in it?
- Can a blade be breadknifed too thin?
- Does grind type limit the amount a blade can be breadknifed?
- Is it possible to make this blade usable or is the best I can hope for a polished blade with a crack in it for show?

Here are some images to give an idea of what I'm concerned about.







In the last image I try to make some marks to make it more easily described:
Measurement #1 is about 3/16.
Measurement #2 is about 8/16.

If this blade is breadknifed down to 8/16 (4/8 ... not sure what measurement to actually use for the nomenclature) would that be an issue?

No matter what, I am going to use this razor to at least try some rust removal and polishing techniques. I would like to formulate and attempt a plan to make it more than just an exercise in making metal shiny.