I have a vintage Timor wedge razor I received from a fellow TSD member (thanks, David!) who came across it at an antique store. The wedge razor was made by Giesen & Forsthoff (Solingen), who've been making them since around 1920. The razor itself has seen better days, but I believe it has some potential. Additionally, this razor will give me some practice in inlay removal and fitting.. Here is the razor de-pinned & separated out. The scales will need to be replaced as the pin end is splitting on both sides: Original wedge and end bolsters… The 4/4 wedge blade needs some work…plenty of scratches, rust around the pivot and some hone wear… First thing is to remove the brass inlay & bolsters from the broken celluloid scales. To do this, I'll use an acetone bath (Glen@gssixgun has a Youtube video outlining the process! ) that will dissolve the celluloid and liberate the brass fittings. First in: soaking in acetone for just a few moments. The scales will dissolve into a sticky mess if left too long in the bath. On the second scale half, I cut the long section into 2 smaller pieces…less mess as it softens and begins to dissolve. Brass removed. Very delicate. Handle with care! Glen reiterates this point in his video and it's quite true how delicate & prone to bending these thin pieces are! Next up: Blade work & making some scales to fit the brass…
Hint for next time Kev Clean and polish the inlay before removing, the acetone will of course dull them a little again but it is way easier to do the heavy polishing before they are off Looking good my friend
Thanks, Glen! Yeah, I realized I had forgotten that polishing step once the I had already begun the acetone process! Oh well, next time…..
I have plenty of black horn to use for these scales, but I'm thinking black g10 might be a better choice. I've not used the g10 before, but I understand it shapes well.
G10 shapes very well, BUT it is very hard on tools and your lungs and skin, the stuff is downright dangerous when sanding so make sure you beef up your protections.. I come in the back door of the house and the shop clothes got straight into the washer and I go straight into the shower after working it, you do not want the fibers around the house
There's a great step by step over on the SRP by 10Pups Kevin take a look I'm sure you will pick up some good pointers from him. http://straightrazorplace.com/workshop/103320-10pups-restores-reaper-5.html
Man, i didn´t know that Giesen & Forsthoff have produced Straights?! Well, now i know it. As i read "Timor" i thought on the Safety Razors...it looks very nice.
I had heard some time ago of the precautions necessary when using the stuff, and your post is a very timely reminder. Thank you for it!
Most of the comments I read on the Timor straights is nothing really positive about the modern incarnations, but that the vintage blades are decent shavers. I can't verify the accuracy of these observation, only report them. Guess we'll find out when I'm done….
I like g10 a lot; however what glen said is very true. I tried cutting with a scroll saw and one scale chewed through 2 blades. I now use my bandsaw and go slow, though it does spark every now and again. Sanding and shaping is straight forward but it just takes a while. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS open your shop up and wear a respirator...this stuff is like fiber glass, once its in your lungs its there. I wear an apron when sanding walk outside and dust off still wearing my respirator mind you. Have fun I think you'll like it once you've tried it.
Well, I checked my supply of G10 and thought it too thin for the scales. On to Plan B: makes scale from black horn. Using the scribed outline of the previous scales, I cut the two scales from a horn blank. Trimmed to size and began sanding and shaping the scales. Shaped and chamfered: now on the critical hand-sanding process to ensure a proper fit... After much time and some progress-checking, I discovered I overdid it on the sanding. I had removed too much material and made the scales too small to fit the brass bolsters properly…. Back to Square One: cut another set of scales, slightly larger than the ones I just finished. Lets just say I was more diligent in shaping the scales to ensure a good fit with the brass. New set of scales sanded, test-fitted & with the first coat of poly finish applied: Scales after 3 coats of poly & buffed… Some clean-up: Hand-polished the brass pieces, VERY carefully, yet still managed to drop each piece at least 2-3 times in the process. I made a brasso bath for the pieces, and after a short soak, carefully removed each with long tweezers and used a q-tip to clean up the tight spaces. This sort of tiny detail work is not my personal 'cup of tea'—but I was pleased with the results (no pieces were lost or harmed in the process). The Blade: Once I began working on the 4/8 wedge blade, it became obvious there was quite a bit of underlying pitting on both sides of the blade—much more extensive than I initially thought looking at the earlier blade pics. With this in mind, I'm not really that happy on how this 'glossy' blade turned out. I may take it back to the buffers and remove some more material and perhaps go more toward a matte finish. More to come……..
Thanks. The horn is easy to work, and doesn't have the same health risks as working with the G10. If I had taken photos along the way of every misstep, there'd be many more photos. I had just finished photographing the polished scales in the photo above, and as I was transferring the plank with the scales to my work space, both sides of the scales slid off. I found one under the table but the other piece was missing. I spent nearly two hours (!!) searching for the missing scale half. It just vanished! Finally located it after tearing apart the shop—wedged in the slightly-open bottom cabinet drawer between hanging paper files… …..sometimes it's a comedy of errors.
