Thread: Otto Deutsch Hans

I just scored an Otto Deutsch on ebay for $29. I'm not sure if this was a good deal or not... this is the first straight I've ever owned, but after reading several posts on here, I decided to buy an older razor and fix it up instead of buying a newer cheaper quality one. It looks to me like I should be able to restore it, but I'd like some input if ya can. Is it salvageable, or did I just buy a nice paperweight? haha

Good luck with that blade. I have one just like that and I sanded right through the scales. They seem to fall apart easily. But lemonade from lemons, i picked up a decent Otto blade on the cheap and will switch the scales to make a nice one. Hopefully your's is not as bad as mine was..Good luck!

Thats a full hollow blade so be careful you don't sand it through. I think that blade is restore-able. You are going to love those scales once you clean them up too!

That is a great deal you got.

I'd clean up the blade with Maas or Mothers to get a better picture of what the pitting is like. I don't think you should even try to get rid of it all. You'll likely destroy the blade if you do. Start sanding with 220 grit wet/dry and work up to 1000 grit. Clean it with Maas every now and then to check your progress. Maas or Mothers will work wonders on the inlays as well. Take your time and go slow. I'd definitely sand that blade by hand though.

I love my "hans" ! if you can get her shave ready you will have a razor that you'll never want to get rid of!!

The trouble with any restoration is when the pitting has eaten deeply enough in to what will become your new edge.. Yes you can hone it but it will chip wherever there is a pit. Always establish a bevel first & check with magnification to see what you're dealing with, then proceed with cosmetic restoration. If the edge forms smoothly at 1 k you're usually good to go.

Here are some things I have learned over the years, I cannot say whether this applies to your Hans for sure or not by way of a pic...

Fantastic shavers
Very very fragile scales
Scales very susceptible to celluloid rot
Scales very susceptible to warpage
Cell rot will normally show first as a mottled pattern black rust on the steel

Whether this is what I am seeing on your razor I cannot tell from just a pic but that is what I suspect

I can't remember the circumstances of how the point broke but I cut the blade off at 2 inches and shortened the scales. Must be great steel - takes a fine edge. Wish I had one fully intact.

Good luck restoring your HANS......

JERRY
_____

Welcome to SRP. I think Glen (gssixgun) is right on this one. My guess it that your razor is suffering from cell rot. Celluloid that is decomposing gives off gases that corrode metal. Not all celluloid suffers from this but once it starts it will never stop. The blade is probably too far gone to restore and if you put a shiny new blade in those scales , no matter how much you clean them up, it will also end up rusting. Those pretty green Otto Deutsch scales are frequently victims of the decomposing phenomenon IME. OTOH, I could be wrong, I was wrong once before.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Welcome to SRP. I think Glen (gssixgun) is right on this one. My guess it that your razor is suffering from cell rot. Celluloid that is decomposing gives off gases that corrode metal. Not all celluloid suffers from this but once it starts it will never stop. The blade is probably too far gone to restore and if you put a shiny new blade in those scales , no matter how much you clean them up, it will also end up rusting. Those pretty green Otto Deutsch scales are frequently victims of the decomposing phenomenon IME. OTOH, I could be wrong, I was wrong once before.

Good to note.. Maybe, better just pull thehardawre and pit it on diferent scales to get rid of the sell rot...

Ok, here's the lowdown... so far as I can tell. I got the blade and did about a half hour's worth of cleaning to the blade to see what I was dealing with. I'll post some pictures when I get home from work, but I think the blade is salvageable. There's some pitting down near the heel, but it doesn't really look too bad. I don't know if I could get it all the way out without forfeiting the integrity of the steel, so it might be a case of "get it as good as ya can and let it be."

Now... the scales...
I've been doing some reading about cell rot and most people agree that, normally, the tell tale sign is that the corrosion starts where the blade is in the scales and not on the spine, etc. where it touches the air, which is where normal rust would start. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but one side of the blade has almost all the corrosion within the scale area while the other looks like it started on the spine. So just out of curiosity, I turned the scales toward the light and looked between them. Sure enough, scales covering the blade on the side with the most damage within the scales is starting to deform, noticeably. So here's the deal... I figure I can either try to save the blade and send the scales off in hopes I can get the inlays transferred over to an acrylic in the same color maybe... or, since the guy I got it from on ebay described the scales as "excellent condition," I could send the thing back and get my money back and put it towards something else. Ideas?

You've already worked on the razor, so you can't really send it back, as it's not what you received anymore.
I'd throw the scales away - too suspicious. You can get the inlays off the scales yourself - acetone should do it.