I'm enjoying this thread. It's motivating me to clean up a few razors. This baby gave me a wonderful shave this morning Mama Bear Earl Grey Tea Soap Wolf Whiskers Brush H & J.W. King 8/8 Razor Thayers WH St. John's Bay Rum Have a blessed Sunday!
My Rat Razor for the day. This one was really messed up, when I bought it, but I also spent little for it. It gives fantastically sharp and smooth shaves. Also the Inlay in the scales are Silver. I guess I could sand it down, to pretty it up a little, but I kind of like it, plus, the pitting towards the toe area is probably too deep to get out. It still has another 80 years or more of shaving left in it. Razor- J.A.Henckels 472. Zwillingswerk.
Here's one 'ratty' razor I've had for some time and completely forgot about. I do recall running it over the hones upon acquiring it and taking it for a test shave. I do like Torrey razors and I probably did have a decent shave with it. Plenty of hone-wear present at the toe and uneven spine wear. Unusual scales and solid hardware. Totally redeemable, but it currently resides somewhere in the restoration queue...
Here is one of my first razors I tried to restore. But, no matter how much you sand and polish, you can only get so much pitting out. I've come to really like this razor, because I learned to hone on it, several times, before I figured it out. It is now one of my best shaving, and favorite razors to use. I've posted it on my shaves, many times, but it's time she is admired for what she is. A Rat Razor. Meet "Ratty Cherry 92". Japanese steel, at it's best.
My addition to the rat team... A Simmons Hardware Barber’s Pet. Got this one in a lot and had some fun learning Coticules with it, hence the hone wear. It is now about 9/16” and has a synthetic 16k edge, but gives a real nice shave. The Bakelite scales have seen better days- I think it had a price tag “sunburned” into the color, but it seems to fit with the condition of the razor.
George wostenholm & Sons. Celebrated IXL Razor. Washington Works. This one definitely is a "Rat Razor". I hope it shave well. It feels sharp enough. All the discoloration is from large amounts of corrosion, from years of rust abuse. I will give it a go, tonight. Pretty Side. Pretty Ugly Side. Take not of the huge bevel. There is actually a normal bevel there, after three layers of tape were needed to hone.
Update: It shaves well. I had to loosen up the strops, to compensate for the three layers of tape, used to hone.
Dirty Kami Rat It has an interesting weld line Front with a heavily struck kanji The kanji is what caused the honing issues, it was struck very hard and deep and was causing the heel to hook. Grinding that off finally allowed a decent edge on it.
