Thread: Inherited blades. Restore or not?

They can all be saved.
As you read the rest of this post please bear in mind I have a preference to restore razors to original condition… that is: reuse the original scales and fittings whenever possible, others will have there own opinions... that's good, the more opinions you get... better for you… so here goes.

The first one has quite a bit of rust around the tang and without careful restoration the manufacturers mark may be lost, but until one has it in hand it is difficult to tell for sure. Scales will have to be replaced. The blade face however will easily clean up and should make a great shaver.

The scales on the second one appear to be Bakelite. Bakelite is brittle material, and though there is a very small piece missing from the scale at he pivot area the scales can also be saved and when polished will look very nice. The blade looks solid, and though there is a slight smile at the toe end of the edge, with careful honing in that area will sharpen up nicely. The etching appears to be deep and can easily saved so you will still have the dark contrasting tint to stand out against a polished steel face.

Third, the steel looks solid and will clean up nicely, the scales will have to be replaced… looks like it would be a nice shaver.

Incidentally you didn’t mention the names of the razors.

As these are heirlooms I would not recommend you attempt to restore them yourself, but if you insist I suggest you pick your favorite and send it to a professional for restoration.

Hope this helps,

I know that I dont have the skills to restore them. I want to learn but I dont want to do it on these. I agree with you on using as much of the original razor as possible. The razor has a history and I dont want to lose that. Where can I find a professional who does quality work?

i would really try and restore those. it is always great to shave with a blade that is that old, especially when it was someone in your family from years ago. i would check with some of the other members on getting help with the restoration and good luck. post some pics here if you decide to get them restored

Originally Posted by jrdunn

I know that I dont have the skills to restore them. I want to learn but I dont want to do it on these. I agree with you on using as much of the original razor as possible. The razor has a history and I dont want to lose that. Where can I find a professional who does quality work?

Check out the members services of the Classifieds section there are plenty of skilled individuals that can help you restore these razors.

Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Best of luck and let us know how they turn out.