Thread: Do these razors need restauration?

Hello everybody,

Bought two razors of the bay and one I'm very happy with but the other seems to need quite a lot of restauration.
Both came with original scales and box but need sharpening and polishing.

First one is a Schulze 197. Love the scales on this one. Extra hollow ground made from best silver steel. This one I think only needs sharpening and polishing.

Second one is a Wicawa solingen 262. Made from Kayser Ellison & Cois best sheffield silver steel. The edge on this one is not straight on the tip of the blade.

Any thoughts on what they might need to look nice again?

When you say the edge isn't straight near the point, do you mean the blade itself is warped or that the honing is uneven when the two sides are compared? If the blade is actually misshapen (bent, warped, etc) then it will likely need an extended visit the hones to remove the offending bit. Very hard to say though as I can't see quite what you mean from the pics. It looks like there's some hone wear on the Wicawa, so that could explain a wonky bevel.

Other than that, I'd suggest not really doing anything other than giving them a good cleaning (but be *very* careful what you use to clean the Wicawa as some products will remove that gold entirely!), hone them up, and test them.

The scales look to be in decent shape, there's no active rust apparent, so I'd be tempted to leave well enough alone and just enjoy them!

EDIT: I should also note that I'm a fan of patina over mirror finish, and of first doing no harm, and so I will likely have a rather less-invasive opinion on this than others. The important thing to remember is what *you* want them to look like!

Originally Posted by Cangooner

When you say the edge isn't straight near the point, do you mean the blade itself is warped or that the honing is uneven when the two sides are compared? If the blade is actually misshapen (bent, warped, etc) then it will likely need an extended visit the hones to remove the offending bit. Very hard to say though as I can't see quite what you mean from the pics. It looks like there's some hone wear on the Wicawa, so that could explain a wonky bevel.

Other than that, I'd suggest not really doing anything other than giving them a good cleaning (but be *very* careful what you use to clean the Wicawa as some products will remove that gold entirely!), hone them up, and test them.

The scales look to be in decent shape, there's no active rust apparent, so I'd be tempted to leave well enough alone and just enjoy them!

EDIT: I should also note that I'm a fan of patina over mirror finish, and of first doing no harm, and so I will likely have a rather less-invasive opinion on this than others. The important thing to remember is what *you* want them to look like!

Well what I mean with the Wicawa's blade is that when I put it on a flat surface with the edge down the tip of the blade points up slightly.
Not sure if you can see it better on this picture.

Oh, that's no problem at all! You just have a slight smile on the blade, that's all.

As long as the blade is straight in the vertical (ie. spine to edge) plane, then you're good.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Oh, that's no problem at all! You just have a slight smile on the blade, that's all.

As long as the blade is straight in the vertical (ie. spine to edge) plane, then you're good.

That is some good news. Since I'm just a complete beginner what exactly do you mean with the straight in ther vertical? It looks nice and even to me.

That looks fine to me too.

I don't know how well this will show up, but hopefully this will explain what I mean:



Yours is nice and straight along the plane indicated by the red line. What can happen sometimes is that blades will get bent or warped so that they more resemble the green line. That's a big problem! But because yours appears straight from spine to edge I don't think you'll have any problem getting it honed up and ready to test.

The rounded profile you showed by laying the blade on a flat surface is not a problem. That is what we call a 'smile' and is in fact preferred by many straight shavers. In fact what you have on that blade looks to be a very slight smile.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

That looks fine to me too.

I don't know how well this will show up, but hopefully this will explain what I mean:



Yours is nice and straight along the plane indicated by the red line. What can happen sometimes is that blades will get bent or warped so that they more resemble the green line. That's a big problem! But because yours appears straight from spine to edge I don't think you'll have any problem getting it honed up and ready to test.

The rounded profile you showed by laying the blade on a flat surface is not a problem. That is what we call a 'smile' and is in fact preferred by many straight shavers. In fact what you have on that blade looks to be a very slight smile.

Thank you very much for the great explanation. . Really glad that there isn't a big problem. When I look very close I can see that the blade really is nice and straight the way you indicate it. Looks like I got lucky with my purchases.

Seems to me the only things I need to do is polish it a little, tighten the hinge pin because the blade falls open when I turn it and hone it since they are really dull. Good thing I bought a coticule few days ago. . Will try it tomorrow.

Good luck!