Thread: worth restoring?

i went to a couple antique shops this weekend looking for a nice old razor to compliment the Thiers Issard i got from the Art of Shaving last August. i ended up finding this:

i know the blade is heavily worn on the toe, but im curious if ill be able to hone the blade and make it shavable, or if im just going to be making a show piece. its rust free with only 2 or 3 small nicks and the discoloration is coming off easily, and i plan on polishing it up and putting it in mahogany scales, maybe a single piece scale like Hart Steel razors. I'd also like to know if anyone can tell me anything about the maker. The one side is stamped Metropol and the other says Finest Sheffield steel forged and real hollow ground in Germany. Thanks for the help

Personally, I don't think that there's too much hope for that blade-- but I think it would be a shame for those scales to go to waste, they have some real character, and seem to have some kind of interesting history behind them. JMHO.

Clean it up the best you can, first , then decide how far you want to go with it. if the scales are original to it & not damaged, it would be a shame to replace them.
Keep us advised & thanks for sharing it.

It may or may not end up being a good shaver, but by restoring it your guaranteed to learn a lot along the way.
So why not? as long as you can spare the time.
What do you mean though, by the blade has a couple of small nicks in it. are they chips/cracks in the cutting edge?
Grant

From the pic it looks to be a WWI British Army rescale. The photo is a little small but the numbers on the horn scale look right and I'll bet its a Sheffield blade. The blade seems pretty far gone, at worst practice honing on it. If you don't want the scales give me a yell. I collect the WWI blades and I would hate to see the scales go to waste.

The other side of the scale was in pretty rough shape and fell apart when I removed the pin; it looked like it had been crushed or something near the wedge. Is there a way I could replace just the one side? And if yes, any advice on restoring the good side? It's cracked and feels pretty brittle. I've never tried to restore a razor, really all I was hoping for when I got it was to make it shiny and usable because I liked the pattern on the spine, but it would be great to bring the whole thing back even just to look at

If you could post a pic of the damaged scale it would help those more knowledgeable than myself to give you ideas. Failing that you might ask for a spare scale. There should be someone out there who has had the same problem and has kept the good scale. Either way good luck. The project should stand you in good stead if you want to restore more blades down the track.

I agree with everyone else. Those scales are pretty cool!
Too bad the one cracked.

Does anyone know if there is any way I could get the remaining one restored a have a new one mad to match it? I'd really like to save the one I have. I also bought another vintage straight last night from Fabyan Knife co. And I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about that brand. This is quickly becoming an addiction lol

If there is no active rust on it, leave it alone and hone it up. Everyone should have a nice patina'd old razor in their collection/rotation....shiney is over-rated.