Thread: Can this W Greaves & Sons be restored?

I am looking for my first straight, and found this one locally. This is a W Greaves & Sons, nothing further is legible. The seller is asking $20 and is including an old brush and mug (most likely garbage). So far I am relying on the seller's images, as he is about an hour away from me.

I am wanting to know if this is worth the price, and if it is likely that I can clean and polish it up, send it out for a professional hone, and get a good shaving razor?

Hard to say definitively. The middle picture looks like a slight frown, but the bottom picture looks straight. There is some hone wear, which are the flat parts of metal opposite the edge. I think it could be usable, though.

I have one of the smaller Old Spice mugs and they're great for holding soap, plus they have that vintage look. The brush could also be drilled out and re-knotted if the handle is in good shape.

Not a bad razor, but has moderate, even, hone wear...

This is a shaver, not a candidate for a restore,,,

Clean it up, sharpen it up, and shave it for another 50 years and be happy...

Most razors CAN be restored - it's just a question of it being worth the time and/or money to have it restored. I love Greaves, but that one will never be a showstopper. I agree with Glen, give her some light cleaning, hone her up, and enjoy the shaves.

Updated with larger blade images

The hone wear is the 1st thing I noticed but $20? Sounds like a deal but then you have to add the hour drive into that too. FWIW- I always liked Greaves brand.

Originally Posted by patrat

Updated with larger blade images

Still looks like a shaver, although the hone wear doesn't look quite as even now, it still isn't "bad"...

I am not quite sure now what you are asking though, if your asking should you buy it, then my answer would be, do you hone your own razors????

Because to get this honed, then you are doubling the price of this razor at least with shipping and honing,,, Now the razors from the classifieds, and many of our vendors, start to look way more attractive and are usually shave ready...

There are alot of razors out there for sale,like the classifieds and other places,i wouldn't fall in love with the first one you found,that one to me looks spent (lack of steel ) i would keep looking. If you did your own honing it would take an edge for sure but at 20-25 bucks to send it out to be honed,now your at 40-45 bucks and you could get a nicer razor ,shave ready for 50.00 or so. JMHO