Thread: My first restoration is underway

Hello all,

I have been interested in Straight Razors for a while but only in the last couple of months has it become an obsession. Several weeks ago I got to take a close up look at a fully restored, mirror finish razor and I was hooked. I decided that I wanted to give it a try. Fast forward 2 months. After a lot of reading and research I was at a local auction and a table of knives came up. I bid $3 each for my choice on the table and I won. I picked up 2 pocket knives which I am now restoring (been doing that a long time) and a Shumate "Glide" razor. If anyone has any information on this razor, it would be greatly appreciated. The scales were some sort of celluloid that I did not find attractive at all so I unpinned it right away.

This looks maybe to be a mass produced razor and not one of the high dollar collectables, but I figure with only $3 in it I wouldn't be upset if I completely destroyed it while learning. It has a 5/8 blade and has a full hollow grind. There is very little staining on the toe of the blade and most of the discoloration seems to be on the surface.

I have done some surface sanding with 600 grit because it looked like it was in good enough shape I really didn't need to go lower. The hand sanding revealed some vertical scratches which I did not see before that you can see in the attached picture. There is some staining on the SHUMATE logo that does not seem to want to come off. I plan on getting it under the microscope tomorrow to see if I can do some micro abrasion to remove the stain without having to do excessive sanding. I know it sounds like over kill, but I am a perfectionist and I don't want to remove anymore of the brand engraving. I also plan on taking some micrographs of the cutting edge while I am at it to see what kind of shape the edge is in and what kind of work I have ahead of me. I am also going to take a look at that stain and see exactly how deep it goes. Have I mentioned I love technology?

So here is the picture of the blade, taken on my scanner, for you to see. I would love any and all suggestions as well as any information you might have on the Shumate "Glide" razor.

Thanks

shumate razor co. was established in Austin, texas in 1900. they later moved to st. louis in 1904 and stayed in production till the 1920s when they changed to shumate cutlery, which ended in 1932. thats about all the info i got.

Hi & welcome to SRP.
Shumates are usually top notch shavers. Ignore the cost & judge the shave
As for the staining on the tang, it is often due to corrosion. Your call on how far to go but I think its good to save the identity of the stamps.

btw. Moved your thread to Workshop which is the forum for step by step restores. The Gallery is reserved for finished products. No harm,no foul. Look forward to the progress.

I love my shumate. Keep us posted on your progress

Well, I have been working on the blade and here is what I have decided to do. The pitting/rust around the stamp on the tang is a little deeper than I would like. After getting it under the microscope it is clear to me that to remove all of the pitting completely would mean the removal of at least part of the stamp even using micro techniques. I have decided to use electrolysis to remove all of the rust that is currently embedded in the pits and just leave them alone. I will look at possibly sealing them later. I am going to finish the sanding work on the blade and move on to polishing

The micrographs of the edge turned out nice and will be posting them here soon. From what I can tell, the edge on this razor seems to be very well taken care of when it was in use. That makes life a lot easier for me!

I have decided to go with some non-traditional scales. Yesterday I went ahead and laid up some homemade denim micarta. I have seen a couple of sets of scales made from denim and I really like it for some reason. I guess maybe it is because I am from a small textile town.

Thanks for the interest and I am sure I am going to have tons of questions for everyone as this thing progresses.

Originally Posted by kf4bsb

Hello all,

I picked up 2 pocket knives which I am now restoring (been doing that a long time) and a Shumate "Glide" razor. If anyone has any information on this razor, it would be greatly appreciated. The scales were some sort of celluloid that I did not find attractive at all so I unpinned it right away.

This looks maybe to be a mass produced razor and not one of the high dollar collectables, but I figure with only $3 in it I wouldn't be upset if I completely destroyed it while learning. It has a 5/8 blade and has a full hollow grind. There is very little staining on the toe of the blade and most of the discoloration seems to be on the surface.

Hmmmm Those of us that belong to the SSS or Shumate Shaving Society might be a little upset with your cavilier attitude to some very nice American razors, if you treat these razors right they will outshave many "Name Brand" razors out there, but then again I consider the Shumate to be a "Name Brand"

Here is a bit of info and pics..

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...g-society.html

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Hmmmm Those of us that belong to the SSS or Shumate Shaving Society might be a little upset with your cavilier attitude to some very nice American razors, if you treat these razors right they will outshave many "Name Brand" razors out there, but then again I consider the Shumate to be a "Name Brand"

Here is a bit of info and pics..

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...g-society.html

You know, when I made that first post I had basically acquired the razor and knew that I wanted to do a restoration. I really had not done any research on the razor or the company and I had not looked around the forum all that much. More importantly, I had not delved that far into the world of straight razors.

Now it is a few weeks later, I have read everything I can get my hands on about straight razors, talk to everyone I can find local, and find myself thinking a razors a lot. You are correct, my first statements were a bit cavalier and for that I apologize. I have come to look at not only this razor, but almost all straight razors as works of art that deserve our very best efforts when restoring them.