Thread: Too Far Gone?

As I'm new to SR shaving, I need the opinions of people who know what they are doing. Attached are some pictures of a razor I was given by a friend who is a knife guy (he made the antler scales). He said the blade was over 100 years old. The black marks are some pretty bad pitting (both sides). I think it used to be a round toe, but that was honed pretty badly it looks like. There's some flattening on the spine, and a few small chips on the edge. It was probably a 5/8 blade at one point, but now is at 4.5/8.






Do you think it is worth having restored? If so, who would you suggest sending it to and what would the ballpark cost be?

That's a tough call. If *I* was in that situation with *my* finances I'd buy something else to have honed up and actually use for awhile. That way you'll know if you'll stick with actually "using" a SR or not. You can always keep that one as-is as a momento. After awhile you'll have a better feel for the whole subject of straight razors and will be able to make the decision with confidence.

There's no shortage of blades out there that are or can be quickly brought into a useful condition.

Thanks. I do have a brand new Dovo I'm using. I would definitely not have bought this one--it was given to me. My Dovo is a full hollow, and this one is a solid wedge. I wouldn't mind using it down the road to see the difference in how the blades treat my face. If it wasn't a gift, I would be less hesitant to toss it.

I wouldn't pay to have that restored, or work on it yourself. It looks like it was hit with an angle grinder at some point... it might shave, but it will always be ugly as sin.

Looks like some one turned that razor into a butter knife. That is a big no to having some one else restoring it. But it would make a great practice razor to try and restore.

As said above, it may not be a good candidate for restoration.

Wedges like yours can take on large bevels or honed areas. There may be plenty of life left in that thing, but I don't know.

As mentioned above, it really isn't worth restoring...unless it had some special meaning to it. It also looks like a pretty full wedge and they are real hard to get a good edge on because of all of the steel that you have to remove. To have much anything done to this razor by someone else would far exceed (i'm talking tenfold & more) it's actual value IMO. Hang on to it though...you may decide to work on it yourself one day whether it's just honing it or actually restoring it.
Best of luck either way,
Scott