This is going to be a "Work in Progress" restoration. This razor arrived the other day, as expected. I obtained it for little, because of the obvious damage indicated by the taped scales. Before: H.Boker & Co.. American Line S.S. St. Louis. Deconstructed: I took the tape off, and used Goo Gone, and Palmolive to eliminate the 80 or so years of hardened tape crud. Also, removed the crud between the scales. I then used Gorilla Glue 5 Minute Epoxy, to reset the scale crack. I like this epoxy, because you don't need to tape, or clip the pieces. Just hold firmly for several minutes, until the Epoxy is set enough to hold on it own. It says 5 minute Epoxy, but in reality, it takes a couple of days, before it sets to being rock hard.
Nice razor! I really like the etch on the blade. I haven’t seen one of those before. Looks really nice. I bet that will be a good shaver.
Today was blade sanding and polishing day. I am still waiting another day or two, for the epoxy to fully cure, so no Scale work. It was fairly simple blade restore. I did some light sanding around the tang, near the scales, and between the scales. I also used a Stainless Steel brush to knock off some rust, on the Jimps. The rest of the blade was polished on my Bench Buffing Wheels. This does a fantastic job of preserving the detail of the etched blade, while removing and polishing out unwanted tarnish, rust, and minor pitting. Finally, about 5 minutes with the Maas Polish, and I think I might be done with this part. Only scale work and then Honing to do.
Coming along real nice! Here's mine. I sent it to Glen right after I got it, about 6-7 years ago. After he got it, he gave me a call. "Steve, if you want to be able to use this razor, I'm going to have to get into the wording along the bottom. Still want me to go?" I really appreciate the fact he didn't assume anything and got my approval before honing. I knew I was working with someone who would be, and will be, getting all my business. Great guy. Sure, the wording along the bottom is gone, but, hey, it's a Boker. Of course it's going to give a great shave, provided it's sharpened up right. @gssixgun you da man! Thanks again.
Thanks guys. It actually looks nicer, in hand. The dark areas you see on the blade are shadows. My photography setup kind of stinks.
Small change in plans. I sanded the scales, and it looked really nice, until I polished them. The epoxy lifted out of the crack. It was stable, but had a noticeable crack showing. For some reason, it decided not to bond to this scale material. I know it was clean, because I used Palmolive and then rubbing alcohol, before I applied the epoxy. So, now I'm using some CA, like I've used on other scales. If this doesn't work, then I think I know what the culprit is. Possibly the Goo Gone, which contains Orange Oil, could had soaked into the scales. I will know in a couple of days, after the CA cures.
No problem. I sand imperfections out of the scales, using appropriate sandpaper, up to 1500 grit. It's always better to use a higher grit, and take your time. As for buffing, I bought a bench mounted buffing wheel a couple of months ago, and recently set it up. It's a duel padded 1/2 hp job, from Harbor Freight. It's inexpensive and powerful enough for all my razor work. It came with two pads, and I bought a couple extra. I also bought some compound there, black for metal, and blue for delicate work, like gold and plastics. I use the black for the blades, then move to the blue, and that puts a higher polish on it. The scales only get the blue compound. Only very light pressure is used. Also, each pad has a dedicated compound, and I don't cross contaminate the pads. This setup takes many many hours off of restorations.
This razor is tickling me off. Well, just the scales. The CA isn't even binding. So, I'm guessing the cracked plastic area might be the issue. I sanded the two parts of the crack, on the scale, the applied more CA. Hopefully fresh plastic might allow the CA to bind the two pieces. Any thoughts??
Sometimes adhering to old material is not going to work no matter what especially if it is Bakelite. It may work as long as strength isn't needed.Most plastic adhesives work by sort of "melting " the pieces together. I would look for a doner razor with a crap blade and use the scales. I recently did just that.
I have some razors on the way that may have a set of scales you can use. Won't know for sure till they get here. I bought 6 razors in mixed condition that I hope to make something out of. Should be here by the end of the week.
Thank you for the offer. I do have plenty of NOS scales that will work. I just don't like throwing something away, if I can fix it. One last try, and if it doesn't work, then they are gone.
I forgot to add the ending. The final gluing worked. I have shaved with it a few times, and it's a fantastic razor.
