Thread: Hard to tell from pictures, help please?

Hey guys just wondering if I could get your thoughts on the condition of this blade?

To me it looks like it just needs a thorough polish with some MAAS and it would be ready to go. But I can't really tell if there may be some pitting or not. Any comments would be appreciated?

Oh, its a Mulcuto. Thanks!

i think you have to polish a bit to see what is what before you will know

I think you may have some minor pitting. But I don't think that will effect how the razor shaves. It will just look like an old razor with some character instead of a new razor.

It looks to have been subjected to Kryptonite...I wouldnt

That's probably surface micro pitting. You'll be able to clean it up somewhat and remove most of the black you see but you'll never be able to remove the surface pitting with Maas only. It will be a decent shaver none the less.

What I always do with a blade is hone it a bit and then check the edge under my 30x magnification. Regardless of rust, tarnish or pitting if it isn't in the bevel the razor can be brought to shave ready. If the pitting is in the bevel you have to see if you can get to clean steel or if the pits will become holes as you remove metal making for a swiss cheese effect. No point in polishing the blade until you know that.

Looks like a lot of potential. I just polished & honed up 2 antique store finds last night, a super nice Solingen Finedge 4/8 full hollow and German, 5/8 Hicks Pride. I paid $20.00 for the pair. Both were in a little better shape than yours but not by much. In a few minutes I will test shave em.

Use some Maas on 000 steel wool. Stubborn black stains will come off with green scotch brite pads. Remove those scratches with 000 & 0000 steel wool and Maas, then buff with Maas and paper towels. I like the blue paper shop towels. I try to remove as little metal as possible.
A little Maas and paper towel will bring the scales gleaming back to life. Be careful around the gold wash.

I have several razors with pits on the blades, but are clear near the bevel. They are shavers, someday I’ll rescale and completely sand & buff the blades out. But until then just a little work adds them to the lineup.

What Jimmy said is very true, I won’t buy anything with rust near the bevel, but from the photos the bevel looks good with some light rust and tarnish. You should be able to clean it up with just a little work.

Marty

Aright, thanks guys. You have successfully talked me into waiting. I am looking for something that will require minimal effort, and I just came across a possibly much better deal. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks