I guess I got lucky.

[Galeocerdoshark]

Some time ago I posted a thread here with some old razors my dad and I found at my great-aunt's place while cleaning up her house. The straight razors belonged to her late husband who used to be a barber. In that same thread I mentioned another razor that I had received from a friend of the family. He had inherited that one as well as a bunch of others from his own uncle (or great-uncle, I'm still not sure about that, I should ask). I go by his house a couple of times every month, mostly to discuss fossils and the likes (we're always out together hunting fossils ) and today he had a surprise for me.
Apparently he found the rest of them and he said that I could have them. He said they were just in the attic rusting away and that it would be good for these blades to receive a spa treatment. He didn't lie. Lot's of them have rust all over them, some even have it on the edge...
Well, it was a LARGE bunch of old razors. Together with the ones I had already found at my great-aunt's, I've gotten myself a nice little collection without even spending a dime! If it may comfort you guys: I'm not always thàt lucky

Here's a list of some tang stamps and/or paint on the blades or handles. Some of them have the same handles but different blades, some of 'em are the same but with different lettering etc. Anyway, here goes:

- AK34 (no other markings). This one was in a box that said Nicholson File Co. Providence. I'm guessing it's not the original box of the razor
- 15 C. Friedr. Kratz & Co., Wald Solingen garantie. On the other side of the tang are two guys sawing through a log.
- 60 Dorko "Resco Luxe", Solingen
- 60 Resco, Dorko
- 60 Colibri "qualité superieure, marque déposée", Forgé & évidé à Solingen
- Best quality Tuckmar Silver Steel Solingen "Sonderklasse fur salen u. kabinet"
- Bartpuzer modell-1930 (one with a Dorko stamped handle and one with a Chabatz stamped handle), Weltz ruf schutz marke, Solingen Germany
- Luxury Special Solingen, forgé & évidé à Solingen
- 65 4/8 Fermarud "best silver steel", Gebr. Lang, soldene medaillen, Solingen
- HO...(blurry because of rust), Solingen Wald
- 50 Chabatz Solingen, forgé & évidé à Solingen.

I also took some quick pics. It's a quarter to 11 PM here so it's already dark. Just wanted some pics up before cleaning them tomorrow.

Some have been well sharpened and/or are heavily rusted.

There are still some examples with beautiful paint on 'em:

I'm definitely going to clean these guys up. I'm not sure how long it will take to get these done.
ANY kind of information is highly welcomed! Age and the like, information about model numbers and so one.
I would also like some kind of information on what I should use in order to get the rust off the blades where the paint is WITHOUT removing or damaging the paint jobs. I think that will be the most difficult. I'll post this thread up on some other boards as well, so you might run into this more than once. Just want as much information as possible, I hope you don't blame me.

I hope you guys enjoys these fella's and are able to give me some good advice. I'll update this thread when the blades are cleaned up. If you guys want any specific pics of a specific blade, don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers,

Jerry

 

[silver]

Congrats! It seems as though the previous owners were quite heavy on the toe wear.

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

That's quite striking indeed. From what I know, the barber that used these used them well and for a long time. Looks like he had more fun sharpening/honing instead of stropping . Anyway, I'm extremely happy with this small collection, even though not all of them could become users.

 

[silver]

Well I know the Tuckmar and Dorko razor come quite highly regarded, so they should make some good shavers once cleaned up.

 

[Alum of Potash]

And I thought razor hoarding was a recent phenomenon! Quite a haul. It'd be interesting to know what happened to the rest of the apparatus (stones, strops, etc.).

 

[weizemanner]

Looks like the guy shaved with straights all his life and never threw old ones away. Hone it and use it for 5 years until the toe is too flat for him, and buy a new one.

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

Well I know the Tuckmar and Dorko razor come quite highly regarded, so they should make some good shavers once cleaned up.

Thanks! And I hope so. I'm not selling or anything, just interested in the collection and possible use so that's he most important to me. Any other info on these blades on a later point is still extremely welcome. Maybe after they clean up a bit.

And I thought razor hoarding was a recent phenomenon! Quite a haul. It'd be interesting to know what happened to the rest of the apparatus (stones, strops, etc.).

Haha, yeah I don't think he threw any of his razors away at any period of time. Well, my family friend still had his honing stone. Really smooth, but some cracks in the stone near the end. He said he wanted to hold on to that for some reason, but I could have it at a later point. You must understand he's quite the hoarder and just doesn't like throwing things away or giving them away so this was already quite the huge step for him . No signs of any strops. I do have a poch in which he kept all of that stuff, but that piece of leather is rotten quite badly.

Looks like the guy shaved with straights all his
life and never threw old ones away. Hone it and use it for 5 years until the toe is too flat for him, and buy a new one.

That's indeed what this looks like to me.

Anyway, gave them a WD40 bath and cleaned 'em up a bit with a piece of cloth. Some of the rust rubbed straight off, lot's of it didn't. Rinsed them and a coca cola bath will be next. I hope that's les corrosive as some chemicals. We'll see how it goes, I'll definitely keep an eye on the process.

 

[pmaster]

You can try and get some Evapo-rust if you don't want to sand everything away. It won't keep the gold ethchings, but it should remove most of the active rust and you can then buff them shiny with some mag polish.

Otherwise there's a threat in the restoration sub-forum about some White Diamond stuff that seems to work wonderfully: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...is-excited-about-a-product-but-WOW!-Pic-heavy

Have fun!

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

A bit more in detail now. Cleaned these guys up a bit but I still have work to do. Not all rust has been removed yet. Sorry for the shine on the pics, they're covered in some oil


The barber did seem to have a thing for Dorko razors, especially the renamed ones for the French market (Resco).

All of these have the same pattern number (60) but the markings may differ, both on the blade or handle.

Odd duck: dorko handle scales but Bartputzer modell 1930 blade

Next up are two blades with a Chabaz handle but... again one of 'em has a Bartputzer blade. I can't find any useful info on Chabaz... so help is welcome

There was a Tückmar among these guys too. I like it.

Two other black handled ones.

One has markings...

And one only says AK34, nothing else. Info?

This guys does come close to a full wedge, but it's still slightly hollow. By far the heaviest blade of the batch.

Some additional yellow handled specimens...

Unreadable to me though...

Nr2 and 3

Ah, and last but not least... Maybe my favourite of the batch. It's the smallest, the finest and has the coolest engravings by far.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Any additional info on the companies, blade types, numbering,... is very welcome!

 

[Doc226]

Instant collection. Most of those will shave very nicely.

 

[GreekGuy]

Many of those will clean up nicely. Sweet score!

 

[weizemanner]

I would leave anything with gold wash alone, you have plenty of razors now, why risk eating off the gold?

Some maas or mag wheel polish will get those things shiny in no time, though it appears many of them were intended to have a matte finish...

Very cool, keep us updated.

 

[Brooksie967]

I love seeing these collections from ONE source. You can tell he either honed everything himself or had the same person do his whole collection as the person doing it honed out every single toe of every single razor! NICE find!