True Blue -- my Great Grandfather's Razor

[IronHammer]

Yesterday my grandmother gave me her dad's straight razor. It was tucked away on top of the medicine cabinet...still, all these years later, to keep it out of the hands of the children.

I am very, very happy to have this razor but I am concerned it may only be a show piece for me since it appears to have a lot of rust on it. The blade has a lovely electric blue hue to it.

Can anybody tell me anything about these and if it can be restored?

Thanks!

 

[IronHammer]

Oh, cool! I found out a little about Challenger Razor Works:

CHALLENGE RAZOR WORKS
Bridgeport, Connecticut
ca. 1891-1898

 

[JoeBass]

Amazing that it was still there waiting for you. Mandatory to get it back into shaving shape as there aren't many folks who have the chance to shave with their great-grandfather's razor.

 

[fine wine]

Hell yes that can be restored!!!! Your Gread-great Grandfathers razor..........that is just pure wonderful!!!!

 

[IronHammer]

Hell yes that can be restored!!!! Your Gread-great Grandfathers razor..........that is just pure wonderful!!!!

REALLY?! That would be so incredibly wonderful. I have been thinking seriously about making the leap from DE shaving to straight shaving. This would be the perfect reason to do it! I have to say though, that, I know nothing whatsoever about restoring these things. If the blade is rusted in spots, will restoring it take off the blue "plating"?

Also, I got to thinking about this. If it was made between 1891 and 1898 then it had to have been 30 or 40 years old before my grandfather got it. I am beginning to wonder if this razor was passed down to him from his father or grandfather! What an amazing thing that would be.

 

[Wid]

If I were so lucky to have one of my ancestors razors I'd look into getting a full restore on it.

 

[benvh]

A really awesome find! I know nothing about restoring, but someone should be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck and make sure to post updates!

Ben

 

[mdunn]

Freaking cool! It's actually blue!

A pro can clean off the rust and re-blue it for you too

 

[IronHammer]

Freaking cool! It's actually blue!

A pro can clean off the rust and re-blue it for you too

Is there anybody on B&B who would do such a thing? I really want to shave my grandpa's razor! LOL!

 

[tnsplayer]

I thought I remembered there being a listing of people who do restores in the Wiki but I can't seem to find it now. Although, I'd highly recommend contacting Bob Keyes at bobsrazors.com He restored a C-MON Cadillac for me that turned out fantastic and his rates are more than reasonable. He called me up a few times to discuss my options and did a complete restore in a few days. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

 

[sanfranciscian]

I believe it not only can but must be restored and used, very lucky fellow you are. Congratulations.

Ian

 

[PapaFish]

Congratulations! It looks like it will be a real nice razor once it's cleaned up. I think sanding will take the bluing off the surface, but like mentioned earlier, you can re-apply. It looks like the writing on the blade is stamped into the surface (as opposed to being stamped [or printed] onto the surface) which means it will likely be able to be saved even with some sanding. I have my great grandpa's razor, it's what got me into straight shaving. It's just cooler to shave with a razor that has some family history involved! It is definitely one of the only possessions I would never consider selling.

 

[tumtatty]

I"m not sure how you put that "blue" back on there. Typical bluing is really black. But I guess they got it on there in the first place so it must be possible.
How deep is the etching? That razor looks like it will need a fair amount of sanding to get back into good condition. If the etching is not deep or it is pitted then it might disappear in the restoration. Just stuff to consider.

If it were me I'd restore it even if the blue and the etching disappeared. It's worth it to have a a functional family heirloom that can be passed on for another hundred years

 

[LittleStropper]

Since it is an heirloom, the most important thing is to ensure it doesn't get any worse than it is now. These scales look like celluloid. If they are and if "celluloid disease" has set in (often characterized by a band of red rust along the spine) the only way to save the blade is to immediately crack off the scales. There is no way to stop the degradation once it has started.

As to whether or not the razor can be made shaveable, that has a lot to do with the presence of corrosion on the edge. I can see some dark spots, but that may not be corrosion, but staining or very light rusting that would home out with a few swipes on the hone. "Restores" also often involve power buffing of the razor to remove rust and surface imperfections. Take great care when doing this with a razor that has a blade face etching like this one, a few seconds at 600 grit on the buffing wheel can take it right off. If you are not experienced with restores and the outcome matters a lot to you, I suggest that you send it to a professional fora restoration opinion. I don't do them, but there are many excellent people on B&B who do and would be happy to recommend someone.

Yesterday my grandmother gave me her dad's straight razor. It was tucked away on top of the medicine cabinet...still, all these years later, to keep it out of the hands of the children.

I am very, very happy to have this razor but I am concerned it may only be a show piece for me since it appears to have a lot of rust on it. The blade has a lovely electric blue hue to it.

Can anybody tell me anything about these and if it can be restored?

Thanks!

 

[mdunn]

Since it is an heirloom, the most important thing is to ensure it doesn't get any worse than it is now. These scales look like celluloid. If they are and if "celluloid disease" has set in (often characterized by a band of red rust along the spine) the only way to save the blade is to immediately crack off the scales. There is no way to stop the degradation once it has started.

I'll eat my hat if that's celluloid rot. You can tell that it's not as it's rustiest in the bits that are not covered by the scales (which is as expected as those bits are more exposed to the elements). You can tell celluloid rot when there is more rust in the covered areas, especially mirroring any pattern the scales may have

 

[IronHammer]

These photos are from before I cleaned off the paint flecks (the white dots) and old caked dust off the scales and blade. It looks much cleaner now and, if I am looking at it right, I don't think the scales have any rot or disease. But I'll take some more photos tonight of the cleaned up version and post a couple (with hopefully better lighting and clearer pictures).

In the meantime, thanks so much for everyone's input and ideas on this. Can anybody recommend someone who could do a restore like this?

Thanks!

 

[honed]

A lot of guys can clean a razor up & make it useful again, but for a heirloom like this, something special is needed IMO.

Brad (undream @ B&B) is whom I would have contacted if it was my great granddads razor.

another guy that gets regular praise for his "impossible" work is Bob Keyes @ Bob's razors http://www.bobsrazors.com/


Amazing find! Good luck & keep us posted

 

[IronHammer]

A lot of guys can clean a razor up & make it useful again, but for a heirloom like this, something special is needed IMO.

Brad (undream @ B&B) is whom I would have contacted if it was my great granddads razor.

another guy that gets regular praise for his "impossible" work is Bob Keyes @ Bob's razors http://www.bobsrazors.com/


Amazing find! Good luck & keep us posted

Thanks, honed! I'll see what can be done with it.

 

[dakotaev]

+1 to honed's recommendations.

I love that the blade is blued. I've seen plenty of blued tangs but never the entire thing. Very nice IronHammer.

 

[Bearsfan]

That is so cool!

I can't wait to see the restored pics.