Aerial Golden Beauty

[Riff Raff]

Okay, so I have delved into the abyss that is straight razors. I acquired a blade without scales. It is 5 1/2" long and the blade is 9/16" wide. There is some golden etching on the blade that has a little black on some of the letters. Here my pictures:


So the blade was made by the Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Co. in Marinette, WI. This is the paper sleeve it came in.




Now as you can kind of see the black on the E in Golden and on the B, E, A, and the T in Beauty. How do I clean that without damaging the golden etching?



Backside of the blade.

Any insight into this would be really appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Doc226]

Don't know the maker, but the blade itself looks pristine.

Get some scales on it, hone it and enjoy.

 

[Riff Raff]

Here is what I have learned about the maker:

Aerial Cutlery Co. Marinette Wisc was founded in Duluth, Minnesota in 1909 by Thomas Madden and Jaeger brothers - Chris, Richard and Fred. It was one of the early companies that produced transparent knives, "picture knives".
In 1912, they purchased the Morris Cutlery Co. of Morris, Illinois, and then relocated to Marinette, Wisconsin.
By 1925, the company added barber and beauty supplies. Eventually, pocket knives were phased out. By the late 1940s, only a few patterns were being manufacturers. The company was closed in 1944(from one source) or in 1950(from another source).
So, the razor was made 1925 - ca 1944.

And the blade is absolutely perfect.

 

[tomjr]

i would let it be and scale it then ENJOY!!! looks like a winner 2 me. tom

 

[Slash McCoy]

Maas or toothpaste might brighten up the etching without damaging it much. For such a small blemish, you might consider just leaving it alone, though. That little spot is nothing compared to the effect of 15 or 20 years worth of normal use on the blade. So if you are going to shave with it, it is already an extremely nice looking blade.