brand new member with a question

hello, gentlemen.

i am a very recent member to this community, and this is my first post. i had been considering buying a straight razor set for a few months when a very close friend bought an entire set for me as a surprise. a wonderful gift, the package included everything that i needed to start my new hobby. the blade, im sure some of you are interested, is a thiers issard "petit francias".

anyhow- the reason im posting this evening is due to the fact that the same friend gave me an antique razor that is in pretty beat up shape. im very excited about the idea of restoring it, and ive gotten most all of the rust from the blade. there are a few blemishes and pock spots, but the blade itself is still straight, and i believe honeable.

maybe some of you know more about frederick reynolds razors, but i have yet to find any definitive information about this particular razor. it reads: "ADAMANTINE" in large bold font across the top. beneath adamantine in significantly smaller font it reads- first line:"MANUFACTURED BY"; second line:"FREDERICK REYNOLDS"; third line:"SHEFFIELD". at the bottom in again large font, but smaller than adamantine it reads "IMPROVED INDIA STEEL". on either side of all the script there is decorative ivy or leafing.

my question is about the etching. most of the restored razors i have seen on this site and others have been ground or sanded to a mirror finish, which i would really enjoy for this restoration. unfortunately, in order to do that, i fear i would lose the etching that makes this razor unique. i am wondering if anyone can produce a hi res image of the razor im speaking of so i can have it re-etched in the same manner. OR if anyone has any recommndations on how to restore a mirror finish without destroying the etching. part of the etching is already gone, and part of it is covered in some of the pocking i described. i have thought about taping over the etched areas and going to town on the rest, but id like some feedback from those more experienced. also- any additional information on frederick reynolds as a manufacturer would be much appreciated.

thank you for your time, and i hope this was posted in the right place. if not- forgive me, please. again, i am brand new to this site and this hobby!

-jmachine

Welcome to SRP. Sounds like you are a hands on guy. If you go to the SRP Wiki here you will find the beginner's guide which will point you in the right direction for shaving with your new straight razor and maintaining it. You will also find a section on restoring straight razors. I am not a resto guy but plenty of our members are and someone will no doubt answer you question on the etching. :gl:

thank you for the response and for the kind welcoming, jimmy. hopefully, i will get to the bottom of this!

take care,
jmachine

First of all, if you have been "lurking" for a while, you should know that we always want pictures. By your description and all, more than likely you will need to make a choice: Leave the etching and have a blade that is showing some dimples where the rust was or wipe the blade clean (literally) to have it look perfect by sanding it all out. Etching is not very deep, so it would be wiped out & lost forever as well. There are many of us who would rather just clean up a blade the best we can to preserve the identity of a razor (includes the value as well in most cases), which leaves it with character like the pock marks you are mentioning, but the original etching is still there.

In regards to more info on Frederick Reynolds, I'd check the Wiki first, there is a bunch of info there. If you can't find it look up the SRP member Manah. IRC, I believe it was him who made available to us a PDF file on what you are looking for as well as his own personal website that has quite a bit of SR info on it.

First off welcome to our little world of restore torture...

Although the Wiki is a great resource for a quick read you really need to follow the link backs to the original threads as huge amounts of information is contained in the discussion in the threads themselves...

In the Workshop forum itself you are going to find this Sticky at the top of the forum... It really does have everything to help you learn to restore a razor....

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

Now for your specific questions...

The Murphy's law of etch says that pitting will always be deeper than etching..:)

Using aggressive enough means to take out pits will wipe the blade face clean as Ben told ya...
The best thing I have found to date for preserving etch, and cleaning the blade, is the Tumbler method... BUT that will only clean and polish, it will not smooth pitting...You will have very nice, shiny, clean, pits though :)

We also have a live chat every Tuesday night in the chat room (link above) at 8:00pm eastern time and we talk about restores please join us tonight...

shooter, the reason i did not post pictures is because i dont have a camera with image resolution that will explain what im describing, but ive taken one just to satisfy any general curiousity about the blade. as you can see ive polished it some, but theres no way im going to be able to pick up the etching so ive also attatched a general outline of what it looks like. this does not include the standard FR stamping on the tang- just the etching on the blade itself.

thanks again for the reply, and thank you for your input as well, gssixgun.

-jmachine

Glen has restored many more razors than I, but what he said: "The Murphy's law of etch says that pitting will always be deeper than etching" is fact. I personally take any restore comment into definate consideration. IMO, you should not destroy the etching, you have a new razor already (great friend by the way). That leaves a couple options, stick with the polishes (hand or buffer) or tumbler method. With a razor that old, you can't ask it to be perfect, it's got it's own personality and beauty...clean it up and put it back to work...

Quote:

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maybe some of you know more about frederick reynolds razors, but i have yet to find any definitive information about this particular razor.

---

Ok. Let's speak about Frederick Reynolds.
Frederick Reynolds is very interesting person. As for me, the history of his company is mystery. I've seen many sources, and every time different result. When did Frederick Reynolds make razors? ...and where?

http://manah.strazors.com/f_reynolds_1.jpg

http://manah.strazors.com/f_reynolds_2.jpg

http://manah.strazors.com/f_reynolds_3.jpg

On the stamp "Sheffield", and what about Birmingham.
I couldn't find him in the list of Masters Cutler of Hallamshire, in this list all Sheffield Masters.

http://manah.strazors.com/f_reynolds_4.jpg

At the end. Who know true history of Frederick Reynolds company?

thank you very much, manah. that is exciting information to me! one thing i have noticed in attempting to track down my particular model is the reynolds stamps on the tang. sometimes it is bowed upward a little and sometimes it is just horizontal. i presume it has to do with production date, model, etc. any thoughts?