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First Razor Restoration/Rescale -- W&B in Padauk

First and foremost, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge about restorations on the boards. I couldn't have done it without you guys. :thumbup1:

I started this project many, many months ago, but I've been so busy that I was only able to do things one small step at a time. That made it incredibly frustrating when I made mistakes and had to backtrack. But after much trial and error and a ridiculous amount of hands-on learning, I finally have my finished product! :biggrin:

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The blade is an old W&B that I purchased a while ago from Antique Hoosier. It's 5/8 or so and about a 1/4 hollow. Nice heavy grind. It had been brought back from the dead by someone (not sure whom), and it was in perfectly serviceable "shaver" condition, but it still had some issues...There were heavy grind marks and spots of deep pitting, including a circular "cigarette burn" on the back of the blade, the scales were warped, and there was hard-to-get rust on the tang by the pivot pin. Sorry, I forgot to take before pics (doh!). :redface:

I originally picked it up to learn to hone with, but after I discovered the rust by the pivot pin I decided it needed some TLC. I fell in love with the blade and wanted to give it treatment befitting its elegant lines.

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I chose Padauk for the scales, and after some deliberation I decided to finish them in CA. I wanted a glass-like finish that really showcased the grain of the wood, and CA seemed to fit the bill. There's quite a learning curve with CA, and I even made myself sick for a few days from inhaling the vapors--so take note: if you're going to use CA, get a respirator! The Paduak, by the way, is a dream to work with.

I tried unsuccessfully to capture the 3-D effect of the scales, but these before-mounting shots should give you an idea of the finish. I lost count of the number of coats...probably 14-16.

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I went for a mirror finish on the blade, which was also an interesting (and sometimes frustrating) learning experience. The closer I got to a mirror finish, the more every small imperfection in the blade would come out. In the end, I had to let go of that desire for perfection, but I'm still pretty pleased with the result.

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I used imitation ivory for the wedge, but I made the early mistake of not matching it with the scales during initial sanding. Trying to sand the wedge to match already-finished scales was a PIA and pretty stupid in retrospect. Live and learn, I guess. :blink:

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I chose nickel for the pins/washers to keep with the silver-look. I'm definitely glad I practiced peening before trying it on the finished product! Quite a bit of patience needed for this step. One thing I noticed was that my dremel drill press doesn't drill at a 90-degree angle. Very annoying. I had to eyeball it and 'force' the dremel to drill at the angle I thought it should be, but my holes still came out slightly uneven. :frown: If anyone has advice on how to drill perfectly vertical holes in their scales I'd appreciate it!

One thing I noticed when pinning the scales was that the tang of the razor is not straight. So, the blade would not center properly. Thinking back on it, the original scales were very warped but the blade still centered in them. I thought it odd at the time, but knowing now about the tang it makes sense. I was able to make it center a little better by removing some material on the inside of one of the scales. Seemed to work pretty well.

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All in all, a smattering of firsts for me, and a very rewarding experience. I highly recommend anyone who's thinking of restoring to grab a blade and get their hands dirty!

Now for the next step, honing! I have a really good feeling about how this one's going to shave. :biggrin:

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Please feel free to let me know what you think! Comments/criticisms welcome.

Take care,

Michael
 
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Very very Nice !!!! and after reading all the things you overcame I am even more impressed....:biggrin:

Beautiful CA finish there...
 
Thanks for all of the kind words, gentlemen! :biggrin:

Just for kicks, here's another shot with a more lively background:

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Very very nice, indeed! Enjoy the shave! Be very careful not to run off the edge of the hone - it puts scratches in the finish really quick... Sigh...
 
wooah! thats a great looking resto. any 'before' pics?

I forgot to take any, unfortunately...but my resto is nowhere near as impressive as some of these blackened/rusted blades that fellas have brought back to mirror finishes. Most of the work getting rid of that blackened gunk had been done by the previous restorer. From a distance, the blade looked pretty darn good, but up close it still needed some work. The finish wasn't bad, but you could still see grind marks, pitting and quite a bit of rust by the pivot pin. Getting rid of those deep pits was definitely tough and took a lot of hand sanding. Even though most were only the size of flea bites, a lot of metal needed to be removed to make everything smooth.

I bet the previous restorer probably brought it back from such a miserable state that it looked great when they had finished with it. But it wasn't quite there...I just helped it take those last few steps. It was such a valuable learning experience for me. From the mirror finish to CA scale finish to peening and wedge making. Just awesome!
 
Absolutely beautiful! Did you sand/polish between each coat of CA?

Well, when I started I did. But it's not really necessary if the surface isn't contaminated between coats and you're using thin CA. Maybe a light sanding after every few coats to maintain shape and reduce irregularities. I had the unfortunate experience of getting moisture on the CA before it set completely a couple of times, which makes these awful white spots that need to be sanded out. CA's certainly a pain, but I do love the finish.
 
`If that`s your first attempt,the only problem I have is not with the razor but it is with you , no one likes a show off, seriously though, excellent work :thumbup1:
Kind regards Peter
 

Antique Hoosier

“Aircooled”
That was my very FIRST straight razor purchase a couple of years ago. I wanted a Wade & Butcher to start off with and it was sent to Josh Earl for a minor polish and honing. Josh did not attempt to do a full fledged restoration on the blade and left the plain black ho hum scales on it as I instructed him to do. I had purchased it at an antique mall in New Port Richey Florida for $40.00 and then Josh put another $20-$25.00 worth of work into it. It was an excellent shaver from the time I received it back from his honing. I'm so glad to see what a wonderful restoration you have done on this classic blade!!! I always enjoyed the quality heavy grind for such a nimble W&B and the barber notch is super cool.
 
That was my very FIRST straight razor purchase a couple of years ago. I wanted a Wade & Butcher to start off with and it was sent to Josh Earl for a minor polish and honing. Josh did not attempt to do a full fledged restoration on the blade and left the plain black ho hum scales on it as I instructed him to do. I had purchased it at an antique mall in New Port Richey Florida for $40.00 and then Josh put another $20-$25.00 worth of work into it. It was an excellent shaver from the time I received it back from his honing. I'm so glad to see what a wonderful restoration you have done on this classic blade!!! I always enjoyed the quality heavy grind for such a nimble W&B and the barber notch is super cool.

Wow, thanks for the background!! It is indeed a wonderful shaver and I've been really enjoying it. I appreciate the kind words, everyone. :001_smile
 
For a first time rescale/restore you should get a big 2 thumbs up. Job well done I would say. Something to be proud about.
 
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