Here's a razor I've had for a while and finally got around to finishing it off. I picked up the blade off ebay, no scales, and overall it wasn't in bad shape— and the scalloped spine was pretty cool . I figured an easy fix-up (new scales, polish, done!). Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way….. First I popped it into a case tumbler with nut shells & rubbing compound, and let it run for several days. This would normally clean up the blade quite well and leave the delicate blade etching untouched. Well, we had a power outage. Power came back on hours later, and I forgot completely about the blade in the tumbler. Bad idea. When I finally remembered the blade (days later), I discovered the combination of the fine walnut shells and compound had adhered to the blade like age-old rust….. My formally pristine blade was now in need of a face overhaul….. So in bringing back the blade to usable condition on the buffer, I had to sacrifice the subtle etching on the blade…oh well… Live & learn. She did polish up well. Put on some vintage black horn scales; silver nickel hardware and she was done! 4/8 wide; 2.75" long; hollow-ground round-point with scalloped spine….
I like my blades a bit wider, but love spine work. That turned out beautiful and I really like that spine and how the scalloping continues down the tang. I worked a few blocks from Piccadilly when I was stationed in London at the US Naval Headquarters so that is appealing as well. I wonder if they made it in a wider blade?
I've not come across many by this maker/importer in my research. I, like you, prefer a wider blade, but it does have some 'eye candy' going for it!
Thanks, Mike. There's always something new to be learned with each new razor I attack. I stopped trying for 'showroom new perfection' as it just ain't possible in most cases, and am content to simply give new life to some off these oldies by putting them into usable condition. If they happen to polish up well, that's a bonus!
Very astute Kevin, you've put a finger on my approach as well. I seldom have cosmetic expectations or a mental "picture" of a razor I'm working on before it's done. My only goal most of the time is getting the razor shave worthy, and if it accidentally looks ok when I achieve the prime directive, it's just gravy .
Now I DO get a mental picture of how I expect the razor to turn out (see my initial post) and begin to anticipate how many man-hours it will take. When I do get a curve thrown at me (such as my tumbler problem above), I try not to get my undies in a bunch over it. I go into 'problem solving mode' and will attempt various methods to 'fix' the issue. It's not always successful, but I value the experience gained by trying. I just wish it went smoother sometimes….
Really too bad about the blade etching. But the stamping on the shank came out really well!! This razors good for another 2 or 3 hundred years!!
Yeah—I'm now really wary of snagging blades where I know the etching will present a challenge during the restoration process. This etching was VERY faint to begin with.
