Thread: Do these old and damaged razors still serve a purpose?

Hello all,

I was wondering if there might still be a use for these razors. They have huge frowns, chips in the blade and full of rust. They are not of a special brand and have no sentimental value to me. So do they still serve a purpose or completly useless?

Only you can answer that. If you are determined to bring them back, then they are useful.

Otherwise, put them up for auction and see if someone else sees potential.

Personally, I see potential in 2 possibly three of them. They will never be something anyone else might swoon over, but after I brought them back to shave ready, they would hold special value to me. I am still new enough that honing/restoration is about the journey...and the memories of those "special" journeys tend to stay with me.

There is something about taking someone's junk and making it work again that is reward in it's self.

Well the one with Solingen on the tang I might keep it myself to restore it. The rest can go. Still have several other razors to repair and these are in worse condition. Got them in a lot of razors wich got some nice keepers. May put them up for for people who might be interested.

I like the look of a couple of those blades. Working from top to bottom of the first picture, #2 & #3. Both look like they might have some life still in them.

The heavier blades make great patch knives that are quite sought after by muzzle loading enthusiasts. The hollow ground ones not so much, but you can grind out the chips and put an edge on them and they will cut a patch just fine.

Will N.

This might be sacriligious but I know a few wood carvers that love old nasty razors. They cut them down into carving knives because of the great steal. Otherwise, restore them and shave with them yourself. Its worth the time IMHO.

They serve purpose, but value is something only you can decide on. I see purpose in them by the way of learned skills acquired in the effort of fixing them up. I don't see any monetary value. But I don't see much monetary value in an Iphone either, and the rest of the world seems to love those.

Man that's horrible wasting a razor for wood craving but i guess it alright for the badly nick ones.

I used razors just like that to train myself up on different restoration efforts. Rarely have I gotten a razor so far gone that something usefull was not left in it... somewhere As stated above, the value or cost effeciency is another thing entirely. There are a few razors there that seem rather salvgeable and could be brought back to life, heck most of my razors started off looking like these

These are excellent razors for learning things like removing pins, trying out different sanding / polishing techniques, learning what you can do with your dremel, etc.