Dress up an eBay razor

[boz]

I got this razor from an eBay vendor. I think someone has tried to restore it in the past; because the area around the wedge pins seems to have file marks, the crack near the pivot pin seems to have been fixed. I want to make this razor more presentable, not new but clean. The razor may not make it to my rotation but could be relegated to a shadow box with LED lights to display it. Anyone have thoughts on shadow box display for straight razors?
1. I would like to sand the scales to minimize the file marks around the wedge pin and the scratches on the rear scales. I will probably start with 1000 grit paper. What can I use as the final polish on the scales? What can I to enhance the writing on the frond scales, gold paint? What material are the scales made of horn, bone?
2. The blade is loose should I be able to tighten up that large a blade, 7/8 by tightening the pivot pins?
3. Does the blade look like it can be sharpened? It will cut arm hair but is not shave ready. I have never shaved with nor honed a wedge razor.

[RezDog]

Get some collars from Austin, ajkenne and I would start with a lower grit 400, sand wet or the horn just plugs up the fine paper. A product called rub and buff has been used by a lot of people to get the gold back in the writing. As for the razor I would check it for corrosion at the edge, and if there is none then clean it deep with 0000 steel wool and mothers mag polish.

[MikeT]

By the reflection it looks like the blade may need some pro attention, especially if you haven't worked on and honed a wedge. Simply knowing how to make a wedge look good does not necessarily mean it will be prepared for honing. So I'd suggest sending the blade to someone, also because if restored and honed properly, I think you will possibly really enjoy that blade.
The scales are honey horn. With some reading on the workshop (highly suggested, very rewarding), and some patience, horn is not too hard. I think you can make those scales look amazing, they are in relatively great shape, and in the end you'll have something of great personal value in that display case!
Good luck!

[Gasman]

Yep. Horn. Check out some of the threads Outback has made on restoring horn. Lots can be done to it. You can make the horn scales look new if you put the time into them and fix the crack but it takes some work. Outback is the guy.

Depending on how far you want to go with the blade it can be an easy cleanup or with a lot of sanding you could go to a mirrow finish. Id say to start with steelwool and polish and see what you have from there. Honing a ebay razors or a restored razor can take a lot of honing to be right. But the first thing it to check the bevel for rust or pitting. That will let you know if your going to be able to make it shaveable or if its going to just be a display piece. But then again, that comes with practice. Its a nice one to start with.

So check out the workshop. I think all the i fo you neex to make it look better is in that thread.

[jfk742]

Put a straight edge on the blade, from edge to spine and check it down it’s length. That can give you an idea of how bad the hone wear is. From the looks of the scratch pattern on the blade though I would guess that blade probably needs a fair bit of attention and tape to get it honed. If you want to make it a show piece and not a useable shaver I’d take some time to sand out the existing sanding marks (check the library, Bruno did a restore piece in there that’s low tech and cheap but got good results) to “straighten” and uniform the scratch marks. As far as the scales go definitely follow the advice above and check out outbacks work.

IMO this is not a restore to cut your teeth on. It will sour you to the work from the get go. I’d stick it in a box and come back to it after you’ve done a couple first. Either that or send it out to someone, the money would be well spent.

[Euclid440]

Nice Ark and razor, can be made to shave very well.

It depends on what level of finish you want to end up with on the razor and scales. The scales can be made to look pristine, will cost you some hours of work. Horn is very forgiving and easy to work, but clear honey can be tedious to get an even finish on a repair. You will spend more time on the scales than the blade, in this case. All the discoloration will have to be removed to get an even finish and strong repair, scraping with an exacto knife.

No, they will not tighten up with a crack in the pivot, unless repaired.

Once un-pinned you can sand the scales over a piece of paper and save the dust, sand the inside if you need more dust, then with super glue and dust fill defects. Re enforce the pin with either a liner or fabric and super glue on the inside. Fill the chipped hole and re drill to repair the chipped edges. Or replace with larger collars as suggested to hide pin defects and reinforce the pin hole.

Scales are brittle and could easily crack when unpinning. There also appears to be some delamination that can be filled and sanded, soaking in neatsfoot will help and make the scales less brittle. You can soak before repair, put the whole thing in a Ziplock bag and submerge in oil for a few day or week or two, then remove and unpin. Or make repairs then soak. If you soak first, you will have to wait a few days for the oil to penetrate and dry for your glue to stick well but will reduce the chance of breakage during unpinning.

Sand and polish the blade, start with 600 and go to 2k, drop down if needed, hone with 2 layers of tape. Blade looks good and should shave well.

Then again, if destine to be a wall hanger, neatsfoot, sand and polish the blade and scales, do not un-pin and find or make a nice shadow box. Would look great on black or dark velvet.

[ScoutHikerDad]

Boz-You've gotten great advice on how to clean up and restore the blade and scales already. Whether you send it out or do it yourself, please hone or have that old war-horse honed and shave-ready. That razor belongs in your rotation IMO; there's nothing like a smiling old Sheffield to get into the neck hollows.

For what it's worth, I learned to hone on smiling Sheffields like that. That one actually looks like it would be a fairly straightforward hone job compared to some of the more extreme examples I have seen. If you already hone, just tape the spine, use a sharpie on the edge and see where it's touching the stone. Rolling x-strokes and some rocking it a touch to get all of the edge honed will no doubt be in order.

As for display cases, shadow boxes, etc., many of the more handy fellows on here have made their own. Personally, though I have done a bit of woodwork in my time, I decided to go with something made by a pro given my limited shop time and limited proficiency (especially on mitered corners, which are my nemesis!). After weeks of researching about every pre-made option I could find on AMazon, Etsy, Ebay, etc., I ordered this wall-mounted display from an Etsy vendor: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1807879..._home_active_4. I plan to mod it as necessary, maybe with some 1/2" brass shoulder brackets-we'll see after Christmas; my wife already stashed it.

Let us know how it turns out!

[boz]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will be sending the blade out for professional honing. Any recommendations?