Thread: Grandfather's... worth saving?

That's a pretty smile

Awesome work Glen!!! I'm glad you posted those pictures, I've been wondering how that razor would come out. Looks absolutely awesome, neat piece of family history, and nice looking to boot!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

So this is where we are at now,,

Breadknifed out to a nice gentle smile, then buffed to eliminate the rough spine, and to make it look a bit nicer too..

Warning to newbs: This is edge restoration not honing, if you breadknife a razor without knowing what yer doing the problems you create are on you, not the system...

Good show Glen, glad to see the warning in there as most of us are skeptical to mention breadknifing...unless you know how to do it properly.

Looks outstanding! I can't wait to get it back and try her out

I'm intrigued, can you elaborate on the do's and don'ts of breadknifing, or at least a little explanation of what it is?

Originally Posted by no7fish

Looks outstanding! I can't wait to get it back and try her out

I'm intrigued, can you elaborate on the do's and don'ts of breadknifing, or at least a little explanation of what it is?

Honestly I would rather not it is a technique that has too many opinions.. if you Google "gssixgun, honing" you will find several vids of me using it to fix razors, I have never even posted them here, because too many people in the past have used it incorrectly and I have to listen to people say "Breadkinfing is bad, You should never breadknife a razor" "If you breadknife a razor it takes hours of honing to bring it back"

I have done it live at the meets in front of many people, and on the Vids proving it takes me 10 minutes or so, if done right, but it makes no difference, so I stopped explaining it, the vids are there for all to see and use, I made them to prove a point.. they also have the same warning as I posted...

ps: If you use the search function on here, you can find all the threads and all the "Discussions" about it in the past...

Nice save, Glen. I can appreciate the way you approached this.

You brought that back to life nicely Glen

I've been pretty anti breadknifing since I tried it quite early after I started honing, I have instead started with a about 45 degree angle working my way down, it saved time compared to just honing out whatever issues, but after I wached your videos a while back I have used it on a few razors and gotten a whole different view on breadknifing when done properly. It have saved me quite a bit of time.

Do you always hone standing, or is that just in the videos?

Fair answer. I appreciate the explanation and I'll research accordingly. Thanks again. I'll update everyone when I receive it which looks like it'll be soon.

Got the razor back yesterday. Outstanding work Glen, I'm very pleased with it. I promptly shaved with it and I am extremely happy. I have to say it's different shaving with a wedge vs the hollow I have been using. I can't describe how, but it just feels different. The smile works very well, especially being a bit steeper on the end. Makes it very manueverable around the jawline, ears, and mouth. I can't thank you enough for bringing this thing back to life.

I also wanted to give a little more history on the razor. I chatted with my grandfather last night, who I believe is more excited about me being able to use the razor than I am! He had long since written it off as ruined. For it to be useable again, and for me to have it, really please him.

I knew he had gotten the razor during his time in Germany but he was there from early '44 through late '46 or early '47. I didn't know if he had purchased it after the shooting stopped or if he had "come across it" in other ways. I was kind of hesitant to ask since he hadn't volunteered the information. He said last night that as they were working their way through France and Germany (he was in the 69'th ID, first to meet the Russians) they were working their way through bombed out towns and so forth. He needed a razor and they came across a shop with plenty of them. Unfortunately there was no one there to sell him the razor as all the people had evacuated the town. He said they didn't come across a whole lot of still-functioning stores as they went. So I suppose he picked the one he liked best and proceeded to use it. He said he used it for the remainder of his time in Germany and for a while when he got back. I don't know what he switched to but when he decided to pull it down from the shelf and start using it again sometime in the late 60's it was ruined...

Anyway, here are a couple more pics of the finished product.

Thanks to both you guys, this was well-planned and beautifully executed. I especially appreciate the pictures and discussion of options and techniques. Once again, the understanding that old is old -- but can still look better and function like new, was gratifying.