Thread: Restoration differences !!!

What are you after?????

I know we all of a sudden have a ton of Restore people out there, and maybe that is because one of the best documented sections on this forum is the Workshop...

But perhaps it is time to qualify restoration....

There are stages out there, and I know some people don't realize this, especially when I see people saying things like you should leave pits and patina instead of a mirror finish...

That is a degree of finish, that the person who owns the razor decides on...

There are Clean and Hone Restorations...
There are Vintage Restorations
There are Custom Restorations

Each one of these are decided on by the owner of the razor...

For instance on my personal restores, I usually try for a Vintage Restore, to make the razor as close to the day it left the factory as possible...

Some people opt for a Clean and Hone style which is exactly what it sounds like clean the active rust and crud off the steel and scales,and then hone that puppy up and your done... You don't see a ton of pictures of this on the forum because basically everyone has seen them before...
This creates the bias that restorers all want that perfect mirror finish and custom scales, this assumption is almost laughable... We just don't post pics of the Clean and Hone restores, honestly they get boring to look at...

What you see a lot of pictures of, are the Full Custom Restores, with the mirror or near mirror finishes and new custom scales... These are the full blown deal, the razor restoration taken to the limit and again the owner of the razor decides if that is what he wants...

Keep in mind, you see mostly pics of the best work, the most drastic changes... You don't see to many pictures of just normal every day restores but they are being done way more often then you might think...

So get out there, and have some fun...

Yup. I specialize in the boring. Plus my photography sucks!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yup. I specialize in the boring. Plus my photography sucks!

Ron, Ron, it sounds better this way

"I specialize in shavable and functional, and those just don't lend themselves to good photography"

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Ron, Ron, it sounds better this way

"I specialize in shavable and functional, and those just don't lend themselves to good photography"

Yeah, well, that's why you're in sales and I hide away in a lab. Not everyone appreciates my level of honesty.

Oh man I am still giggling, Thanks my friend, I needed a good laugh this week...

Very funny you two!!LOL Its like a garbage man or a Sanitation Engineer,one with sugar and one without,still laughing!!!

So, back on topic.

I appreciate that you brought up this poignant fact. Not every razor needs to be fully restored. That work takes time and there is a cost associated with it. I would love to have a Livi razor and one of Alex Jacques' razors but I can't afford them. A lot of people can afford even less, or else simply choose to spend less. For those, a rust free and sharp razor is all they need, if not want.
For the past few years, I've been buying several hundred old beater fixer upper razors (hmmm, I just realized why I can't afford one of those high end razors!) and many of them don't merit any extensive work. These are razors I sell for $30 to $50. Given that I bought the razor for whatever, and people charge $15 to $20 for honing, it's not worth it for me to spend several hours making them perfect, if I even could. Razors that are "good enough" can still shave just great!

You know I was thinking of one other thing that is a decider too...

The Razor itself...

Some restores start with one objective in mind, but the condition of the razor becomes the deciding factor of how far a restore goes...
Certain razors look much worse than they are when you start, and you set your mind to a simple "Clean & Hone" yet under the crud you find clean and bright, so you take it a step father...
Or the reverse happens and there is not enough steel to do what you had planned in the beginning...
Sometimes the unfortunate sound of the scales snapping like dry twigs, makes up your mind to a "Custom Restore" instead of that "Vintage" one you started off wanting...
There are many factors that come into play with this hobby...

Just rambling along here

Agreed. I've done relatively few restorations for others, but certainly the condition of the razor dictates what should be done. Someone may want mirror finish but if there is deep pitting on a full hollow, there ain't a lot that can be done other than shining up those pits.

I have greatly enjoyed getting into bringing razors back to life since my retirement. I have about 30 on the bench and have finished 80 so far. At this point my work is good enough to put together razors similar to the lot of 10 I have for sale at the moment. Clean, honed, tight and will provide years of shaving at a very reasonable cost basis. I sometimes recover my exact cost for the blade be it antique store, swap meet or ebay but only my cost. Materials and time are on me. This has given me a new lease on life in retirement. I have given 30 or so away and sold a few lots of 10.

I have enjoyed the education here from the pro's who are kind enough to share and I have found great satisfaction with my progress. The wiki's are an amazing resource. Thanks to the members who make all this happen.
Bob