Thread: What do you think of this razor?

I tossed in 5 bucks for this razor on ebay a few weeks ago(the seller didn't take paypal, so the transaction took awhile) and forgot about it. I thought maybe I could use it for honing practice. It arrived a few days ago and I think I've got something pretty nice. The more I sand it, the more it's been growing on me.

Enough talk, on to the pictures! Here is the backside after many hours of sanding. (btw, it's 6/8, a little wider than that in the middle) I'm not quite done with it, but it's getting there.


And here is the front, which I have not touched.

I really, really like the emblem/engraving/inlay or whatever the term is. And I know it's gonna have to come off. So I'm saving it for last

It's a Frederick Reynolds razor, and it's Sheffield steel, which I hear is the cat's meow. There are three small nicks on the edge and one just past the heel, and there's a lot of hone wear.

So what do you think? Should I follow through?

You could turn that one into a really special shaver. Good steel. Fair amount of hone wear, but still has plenty of life left in it, I would think.

I think I'd be tempted to try and save the engraving by just polishing with some fine abrasive grit on a piece of balsa wood. It may not work and you may have to go to the sandpaper anyway, but it's just elbow grease...

I have a wade and butcher that is similar in size and shape as that one and it also has the etching on one side. Luckily the etching was kinda deep so while I was sanding it, it didn't come off. I didn't care about a perfect polished shine on the razor, heck its like 100 years old, so its got some tiny bit of spots on it but I still have the etching which I think makes it look so cool.

I guess a long story short, try to keep the etching but you may end up having to have some imperfections as far as a mirror finish.

Just my two cents but I have a thing for the etching.

that razor still has a good blade and lots of character take care of it and restore her....I think you did really well for $5.00. get a crappy razor to play with, dont use this one!

lucky lucky lucky,great pick up for only five bucks.
Don`t practice on that one,it would be a shame to bugger it
regards Peter

What a great razor!

Here's my take. You have already altered the collector value by making that one side look really nice... and functional. Now that it is in the functional category, I would do what is necessary to fix the other side to match your good work. You will lose all the hallmarks, but at this stage it will be more beneficial to have things symmetrical. You can always find another one in a collectible state.

Well I went through with it. The etching was very shallow and came off after the first few swipes with 100 grit. I think it shined up pretty nicely, and the edge isn't nearly so bad as I thought it was at first. It was sharp enough to slice my fingers open twice . It even pulls at my arm hairs after all the sanding (I used a little more pressure than I should have around the edges, but those scratches were stubborn!) This is definitely some good steel.

Here's the back:

and the front:


I didn't have any 1000 grit paper, so I had to jump from 800 to 1500, which was grueling, to say the least. There's pitting on the spine too deep to grind away, and there are still some scratches here and there, but I'm happy with the result. Getting that far was really difficult. I was using some cheap sandpaper that probably added on an hour of sanding(buy premium sandpaper! It's worth every penny!)

Well, the easy part is done. Now my baby needs some scales and some honing. I've grown quite fond of it, despite the cuts it gave me, so I think I will leave that to a professional. Who can turn this from a shiny piece of metal into a shaving instrument? And what kind of price am I looking at?

Originally Posted by dvarry

Well, the easy part is done. Now my baby needs some scales and some honing. I've grown quite fond of it, despite the cuts it gave me, so I think I will leave that to a professional. Who can turn this from a shiny piece of metal into a shaving instrument? And what kind of price am I looking at?

If I want a great job on scales I send my razors to urleebird. Bill does a magnificant job that you will be proud to display.

That one polished up real nice. With a new set of scales, it'll make a great razor. I love the shape of those old razors.