Advice: the aesthetics of old steel?

I bought an old JRD Huggins straight razor last week, and I'm not sure if I'd rather leave the pits and patina or send the blade off for a full restore. I think the ugliness of the blade is charming in a historical sense, plus leaving it as-is requires no work or money spent. On the other hand, a full restore with new black horn scales and a shiny reground blade might look spectacular! (The pits are deep, so many would remain, of course.) I think the problem is that I'm having trouble imagining what the after pictures of a full restore might look like for this type of razor.

Simple opinions or photos of similar restores are welcome.

Oh, and for what it's worth, JRD Huggins was a flamboyant NY City barber in the late 1700s to early 1800s. He was also a poet, and wrote many barbering poems that also doubled as advertising. He called himself the Emperor of Barbers and was often written about in the newspapers of the day. Anyone who was anyone in or around Manhattan was seen spending their days lounging in his Broadway shop. He eventually published a collection of barbering and other poems in 1808 by the title Hugginiana. (It'll be my life's goal to find an original copy for my shave den.)

Thanx,
Christopher

Lovely razor, though Im one who prefers stones and well, those stones....just awesome!

The razor looks great the way it is. I wouldn't bother restoring it as the patina suit it. Loving those old style stacked pins. Looks like you've already given the scales a neatsfoot treatment and they've come out nicely. Maybe buff em up a little with some rogue, but other than that I wouldnt change a thing.

You CANNOT lose the etch, period everything else is personal opinion, and cleanliness,,, I don't shave with rusty, pitted steel, some people have no problem with it... Myself if it is going to be used to shave it should be as clean as possible, if it is going to be a collector then oil it polish it and put it in a picture box...

This is one of the oldest I have done myself, and yes it is special shaving with something 200 years old...

Attachment 56663



I have another oldy moldy that is going on the bench today, I will have pics up when it is done...

Congrats for the beautiful old razor.
Of course it is up to you, but i wouldn't want to see that old beauty fully restored. I'd rather leave the patina and pitting. Just try to remove them from the cutting edge and hone it back to its former glory. That lady deserves to carry and show her old age proudly.

Scipio: Thanx, I love those stones too. =)

gssixgun: I do plan to shave with this one. I gave it a quick honing, but the shave was rough. I honed it again last night, and I'll give it another try tomorrow morning. If my luck isn't better, I'll send it off and let someone else worry about honing it. On a side note, I remember selling an old Flower & Co / Warranted razor in 2010. I always wondered what happened to it. Who did the regrind on your Flower? (EDIT: You did.)

Sailor: "That lady deserves to carry and show her old age proudly." I know, but I deserve a shiny 200 year old razor like Glen's! =)

Nice razor. I believe that razors of this age should be kept as original as possible. I use 0000 steel wool and Maas to remove any accumulated dirt and crud, but still keep the patina of the steel. It is great to be able to use a tool that is 200 years old and still functions as it was intended.

Regards - Walt

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/Approved.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...W1780-1816.jpg

I'm with Walt on keep it original. I also use a bit of 0000 wool and 'Break Free' to take off the surface grunge followed by the Maas, or an equivalent on a paper towel. On those stub tails that are on the cusp of the 17 to 1800s I like to leave the original scales/pins even if there are bug bites and chips. Of course if there is a crack at the pivot replacement is necessary. Great story Christopher. Interesting info you gathered on the history of that razor. All the more reason to leave it as close to original as possible. IMHO.

On one that old, I'd have to leave it as it is too, just a light clean.
Thanks for the history, very interesting.
Grant

Here's another vote for 000 or 0000 steel wool and MAAS or the like. With stuff that old, I don't like to do anything more. Almost pains me to see something like that hit greaseless.

It took 200 years to develop the character that it has. Consider mine another vote for light cleaning only.

I would definitely leave that original.

Thanx, everyone. I'll follow the 0000/Maas route. Now, can anyone tell me where to find the 0000? Would it be near the sandpaper in my local auto parts store?

Me

Hello! My first post here and my first real straight.
Been using a shavette for a long while though. Anyhow. Your razor looks really nice. And i have got a similar one but in a much more pristine condition. Thought you might use another one to compare with. The blade is almost flawless. Have a look and see what you think.
Bye the way. Do any of you guys know where to get hold of these types of washers?

/ Victor

Gorgeous! How does she shave?

Me

My personal choice is to retain the character. Just clean it, put it on the hone and enjoy the history in your hand.

OTOH, they sure are pretty when completely restored.

Thank you! Pretty good actually. Im using a 8000 grit hone and a strop. Its my first time using a real straight razor and i got some more honing and stropping to do but its very promising. The handling is excellent and feels very delicate and balanced. Hope i dont muck it up with the honing though...

I'd keep it... specially since the scales are in good condition. If the scales were dead I'd say restore the whole thing but you got the whole package, I'd leave it as the whole package.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have another oldy moldy that is going on the bench today, I will have pics up when it is done...

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Hey now. :rant: :) ;)

There was no mold when I sent it. :roflmao :roflmao :roflmao

Lookin' forward to seeing it, Glen.

LOL I needed a chuckle TY

Lol YW

Glad I found a restorer with a sense of humor. :beer1:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CJBianco

Thanx, everyone. I'll follow the 0000/Maas route. Now, can anyone tell me where to find the 0000? Would it be near the sandpaper in my local auto parts store?

Me

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I picked up synthetic steel wool by Norton I believe at my local Woodcraft. I went with the synthetic stuff so the MAAS wouldn't affect it, and it's been working very well for me.

OK...I honed it again (1K-Escher) to see if the shave was better, but it was still unfavorable. So I took out my little loupe and found big microchips along the edge. It seems there are a few areas of heavy pitting that did reach the bevel, so the bevel is dead. And I am sad.

Personally, I'm a user, not a collector, and I can't see owning a razor that I can't shave with. However, I guess I can make one little exception for this particular razor. It would look very nice in a wall display. Especially next to an old newspaper article about JRD Huggins. Wouldn't that be cool! =)

Thank you, everyone.

Christopher

I am in favor, in your case, of doing the minimum to make it nice. I do not always say that. Some oldies are worth saving as is and some aren't! A blade by itself could be a different story. A case in point, cleaned, honed and loved:
Respectfully
~Richard

Quote:

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Almost pains me to see something like that hit greaseless.

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Almost?! I'm dying just thinking about that poor thing being torn apart!

[QUOTE=CJBianco;735884]OK...I honed it again (1K-Escher) to see if the shave was better, but it was still unfavorable. So I took out my little loupe and found big microchips along the edge. It seems there are a few areas of heavy pitting that did reach the bevel, so the bevel is dead. And I am sad.

Dont give up on it mate. Microchips? in my book that just mean more and better honing. Or am i wrong? My knife is up to par now i can tell you and shaves like a dream. 1 k escher. 1000 shaptons? you cant shave on that. you need to go up to like 8000 at least. Im a beginner so im not sure about my above statement but seriously, dont give up. its a beautiful razor.. have another go.

is there a lot of pitting on the bevel´? can you find a clean area of it thats up for a good honing or do you hit the pitting on the whole thing? even if there is pitting on the bevel you should be able to get a clean edge unless the pitting is real bad.. didnt look like on the pics..

CJ, keep honing at the 1k level until the micro chipping is gone, sometimes that may take awhile with these older blades, and dont be surprised if they come back as you move up the grits. If they do drop back and start over until all of the bad metal is gone.

There are two spots on the bevel where the chipping is bad, and the pitts are deep in the bevel. I may try again in a few days, but it looks as if I'll just keep opening up fresh pits the more I hone. Maybe not. We'll see.

Me