Let me start by saying that I know a lot of you guys wont like the way this razor looks, and you are going to call it another one of my "ugly razors". In my defence, I have spent a lot of years working for museums and archives in conservation sections. When I started working on this razor I was fully intending to give it the full monty. Sand off as much pitting as I could, shiny new scales, the works.
But, as I was standing in front of my drill press, getting ready to drill out the pins, my museum background kicked in, and I just couldn't do it. I mean, those dirty bent scales are older than a lot of the relics in Australian museums, and I was just going to pull them off and chuck them in the bin. Wrong.
So I decided to do this restoration as if I was a conservator rather than a customiser. Just the bare minimum to get it working, but still as original as possible.
I left the scales on place (those pins and washers are part of the artefact too) and hand sanded up to a satin finish, removing all rust and grime, but leaving most of the pitting.
Using rubber bands, wooden wedges and steam I was able to straighten the warped scales. I stabilised the cracks with CA glue and lightly sanded the surface. I rehydrated the horn with mineral oil and gave it a coat of renaissance wax, inside and out, for protection. I tightened the pins and fixed the lead wedge back into place.
Honing was a major PITA because of the uneven edge and spine, but once all the corrosion was sanded away the edge was remarkably free of pitting and the steel was quite good. After unsuccessfully trying every trick and hone I had to get it sharp, it was a small barber hone sized coticule that was able to do the job. The bevel is quite uneven, but that is to be expected with a blade this old, I suppose. I haven't shaved with it yet, but the edge looks clean under magnification and it is passing all the sharpness tests, so I think it will be OK.
I guess if this razor was any younger I probably wouldn't have gone this way with it. But, at the end of the day, the thing has lasted nearly 200 years, and who am I to be changing it? If someone ends up with it after me they can do what they like, but because I haven't destroyed or removed anything, when I shave with it I really will feel like I am using a museum piece, and that's pretty cool.
Before
After
But, as I was standing in front of my drill press, getting ready to drill out the pins, my museum background kicked in, and I just couldn't do it. I mean, those dirty bent scales are older than a lot of the relics in Australian museums, and I was just going to pull them off and chuck them in the bin. Wrong.
So I decided to do this restoration as if I was a conservator rather than a customiser. Just the bare minimum to get it working, but still as original as possible.
I left the scales on place (those pins and washers are part of the artefact too) and hand sanded up to a satin finish, removing all rust and grime, but leaving most of the pitting.
Using rubber bands, wooden wedges and steam I was able to straighten the warped scales. I stabilised the cracks with CA glue and lightly sanded the surface. I rehydrated the horn with mineral oil and gave it a coat of renaissance wax, inside and out, for protection. I tightened the pins and fixed the lead wedge back into place.
Honing was a major PITA because of the uneven edge and spine, but once all the corrosion was sanded away the edge was remarkably free of pitting and the steel was quite good. After unsuccessfully trying every trick and hone I had to get it sharp, it was a small barber hone sized coticule that was able to do the job. The bevel is quite uneven, but that is to be expected with a blade this old, I suppose. I haven't shaved with it yet, but the edge looks clean under magnification and it is passing all the sharpness tests, so I think it will be OK.
I guess if this razor was any younger I probably wouldn't have gone this way with it. But, at the end of the day, the thing has lasted nearly 200 years, and who am I to be changing it? If someone ends up with it after me they can do what they like, but because I haven't destroyed or removed anything, when I shave with it I really will feel like I am using a museum piece, and that's pretty cool.
Before
After
That is awesome! I need to do some more studying, you know lots of tricks! I want to keep my Pipe razor just like that too. I like that it is a piece of history.
