Assorted Straight Razor Restorations

It's good to see we all have handy skills here.
Today I really screwed on the cap to my bottle of Kefir. Real tight.

 

More fun with power tools….
I spent some time on the buffer today— mainly using the lowest grit greaseless (80) to attack some blades that needed some help.
Thanks to Glen (@gssixgun ) for some truly helpful tips on using the right wheels and application of compounds for maximum efficiency.
I started out globbing too much on and made my whole workspace resemble Jackson Pollack's studio.
I have an assortment of blades that each has slightly different 'issues'—so this opportunity affords me some good practice. I made good progress working through about ten blades (all with the low grit) removing some of the major buildup of gunk, rust, scratches and light pitting. What I am learning from this experience is seeing how to approach certain areas of buildup, the safest method to hold the razor(s), and to gauge heat build-up.
Post-85 grit…most are looking pretty good—much better than when I started. One blade revealed a big surprise beneath the gunk—no cracks, but a veritable minefield of deep pitting (razor on the far right in the shot below).


Scale finishing…
I had applied a number of coats of wipe-on poly on the zebra wood scales, but I really didn't care for where it was going. It revealed some pretty shabby flaws in my finishing sanding, for one, and so I went back and re-sanded the scales to remove the poly and take it back to the raw wood again. My next approach was to apply a CA finish. More challenging, certainly, but I've been doing some reading up on the process and I have really liked the appearance and supposed durability of a good CA finish.

Scales rough sanded with 220; apply a good wiping of acetone, then applied a wash coat of thin CA. Here are the outside of the scales after the wash coat is applied. Still rough, but that is to be expected at this stage.
I've already applied two wash coats and three applications of the CA on the inside of the scales. These were then sanded gradually up to 1500 grit, then buffed with rubbing compound. Smooth as glass.
The INSIDE of the scales was my test & practice area

 

Looking good Kevin..

 

One down…many more to go…..

 

A Beautiful job!

 

In my opinion, the fun of shaving is greatly enhanced when you do so with a razor that you yourself have resurrected from the bin. I'm impressed with your progress through this thread! As your first post to this thread was in April, you've clearly been learning and having fun these last 2~3 months! I feel your pain about the cold one at the end of a job well done, but sadly as the result of a previously excessively hedonistic lifestyle, I no longer truck with Old John Barleycorn.

Nice work. This really is the fun part

 

It has been a fun journey for me, Mike! I've learned 'on-the-job' as I progress my way through it all. So much still to learn....and for me, that is a big part of the fun.

 

Beautiful job.

 

Finished another—not quite as an extreme makeover as the Rodgers (shown above) but this razor required some blade manipulation and re-pinning. I wanted to keep the original scales, but they were slightly warped, causing the blade nose strike the scale edge and wedge, resulting in this broken tip:


I cleaned the scales and flattened them in a press (under weight), while i went to work reshaping the nose into something more 'pratical.' About 20 minutes on the 40ook stone created a nice rounded nose and transition.
Re-pinned the razor with nickel rod and brass washers; blade was buffed with compound @ 400g; 600g, then emery and stainless polish.
The blade now sits evenly in the scales and there is plenty of clearance for the 'new' blade tip. It hasn't been honed yet, that step awaits….

Post Nose-job….






'Mulcuto Lifelong'….'Lebenlang'

 

One more I left off the previous post….
I look forward to trying out this big 3/4" Solingen blade….

 

A recently-finished Worcester. I had to remove quite a bit of pitting near the spine on both sides of this razor, and although I left some of the deepest pock marks, overall the 11/16 blade come out looking great. The marbled scales and bolsters just needed a very light sanding (1500grit) and polish.

 

A few more restores.....

W&B Bow razor - (more pics of this razor in a separate thread)



Bingham Best Brand; German-made 13/16 — terribly scratched blade given new life; polished up nicely!




Swedish Razor Co. 5/8 — This one was in brutal shape. Re-worked the blade; new pin & double brass washers, spruced-up the filthy scales. It turned out okay, though.

 

Kevin, you are doing some fine work these days! Good times, eh? If everybody knew how much fun this is, we wouldn't be able to find basket cases to work on!

 

Quite the impressive resume here. I wish I would have kept nice pics of all my earlier restos. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

 

Thanks, guys. Mike, it really has been an enjoyable ride—despite some of the learning bumps along the way.
I find the restoring keeps me busy in my 'free' time as my current CTS situation (carpal) prohibits me from doing my other loves (guitar playing, for one).

One problem: every time I see a vintage straight razor now in less than 100% condition, I start thinking, "hmmm…a little low grit touch-up there, grind the edge down here…..etc, etc.."

 

I think/see the same thing!

 

This straight razor habit is relatively low investment/high return...I used to collect Martin guitars...

 

That'll drive one to the poor house on the express line!


1946 D28.

 

OH. Oh my. Is that your D-28? THAT baby is a chunk of change. I just know the back of that is the most beautiful quarter sawed Brazilian rosewood...and I'd bet it rings like a bell...<slobber>

I've had some beautiful D-28's, but nothing that close to pre-war/wartime. Had a couple of fine old D-18's as well. I have to say though, I NEVER lost money on a Martin guitar!

Jeez, thought I was getting the whole Martin thing under control!

 

Nope…all mine were lefties. Sold them off…. Kid's tuition fund……...Really miss the vintage Om-45. I've nothing but modern guitars left.