Is this blade worth sending out to be re-ground?

[bmiller3230]

Here is the razor I referred to in an earlier post regarding either the hone wear or maybe the geometry was just bad from the cutler.
Pay attention to the middle of the blade. Can this be reground without obliterating the stamp on the spine? I can post more pics if it helps...

 

[helicopter]

It is certainly possible to get a good edge while preserving the stamp.

Worthwhile is a personal question.

If it were mine, I would be willing to pay something to get it ready to shave, but my cap would probably be $30-50. Anything more, and I would just try to figure it out with my own stones, plates, and strops.

 

[bmiller3230]

Do you see that recent hone wear? That is mine. The older hone wear on both the bevel and the spine is from all the owners before. Not sure how they were wearing both the edge and the spine like that if laying it flat. Even tape doesn't explain it.

 

[bmiller3230]

As far as whether it's worthwhile--well, everything has its limits. But, I'm particularly interested in the period of history when this was made (early-mid 1820's + or -), so, I'd be willing to spend a bit of coin. Not because it's valuable or has any resale value.

But because it's interesting to me.

 

[LJS]

What does the other side of the blade look like?

 

[bmiller3230]

 

[bmiller3230]

What does the other side of the blade look like?

Posted above

 

[bmiller3230]

Anyway, I was able to set a bevel on it, with a coticule. It's very uneven in every way imaginable (following the spine). But, it shaves hair up and down the blade. Not confident that I'll be able to make it into a shaver that makes the rotation

 

[LJS]

Ok, I was wondering if the blade had a bow towards one side or the other…..which is a bad geometry that can be hard to correct for.

My guess on your razor was that it was honed either freehanded before or on a well dished hone. A dished hone can create a bevel and edge you can’t reach with a flat stone like that (without removing a lot of steel that is). It is also noted that some older razors may have been freehanded to some extent in that original owners did not ride the spine while honing - also can result in an edge you can’t reach with a flat stone.

Regrinding that razor can be done but may be a little tricky and would likely eat into your spine marking/stamp there. The problem is not so much large flat bevels that need to be ground out as much as it is the flats are in the wrong places due to how it was used/honed earlier in its life. Even with a regrind you are going to need to bring the edge back a good bit to overcome the obtuse apex you have as it is right now. Other option is lots of taping on the spine to get to where you can reach the edge…….but it is no real fix, instead just a way to be able to hone it without major correction.

My two cents! Hope it helps!

 

[Mr Bedlington]

If that were mine I would put 4 layers of Super 88 tape on the spine, use permanent marker along the edge, then run the blade over the hone and see where we need to go, 4 layers may be enough or perhaps 3 layers the maker pen will tell you which way you will need to go to get the bevel somewhere near to where it once was. Plus the toe will need more of a specialist approach because that won't hone up like the rest of the blade edge.

 

[alex1921]

I would reach out to one of the guys that do resto and discuss with them. For old Sheffield razors I send them to Karl from mainley straight razors.

 

[Gamma]

Going on the images alone, impossible to say for sure whether or not a re-grind would wipe out the engraving.
I sorta suspect, based on having honed way too many of these types of basket cases to count, that trying to hone in a bevel that passes my muster, without tape, would wind up eating into the engraving.

If it was mine, I'd put it on a 1k without tape until I developed a clear hone wear pattern. You won't need sharpie, because the scratch pattern will stand out like a sore thumb. Sharpie won't hurt though.

Then I'd carefully. check bevel angle. A lot of old blades like this have geometry that is already in the no-fly zone for me.
Soooo, if it was mine, I'd want to know exactly what I'm dealing with before going too far in any one direction. Last thing I'd want to do is make a 27° bevel angle.
I've honed similar, many times. Always got killer shaving edges out of them. When I put in the work, I reap the benefits.

That toe may prove to be a ton of fun to bring into submission. Roll roll roll yer boat....
Previous owners did you no favors, looks like the original grind was challenging too.

 

[psfred]

I suspect a dead straight razor when those where made was an exception, most likely all of them were warped a a little.

Yours has also been honed heavy on the toe, as is very typical for old razors with a lot of use, and likely also honed on a narrow hone so that it's not honed equally along the blade.

Personally I don't think there is any magic in very old razors. They can be made to shave, but they are all wonky and usually mistreated, so if you want to shave with it you will have to hone it in the same way it has been honed in the past. It's more a collector's item to my mind, the history and condition as is have more value to me that grinding half the razor away to make it something it never was. This particular sample has a warp, tapers to the toe now, and maybe when new, and has been honed quite a bit.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Looks like a nice razor worth saving! Depends on what you want to achieve.

If you just want to use the razor to shave, I would measure the bevel angle and then hone the razor using rolling x-strokes with one or perhaps two layers of 3M Scotch Super 88 tape. Each layer of tape will increase the bevel angle by about one degree. I would try to get the bevel angle to between 17 and 18 degrees.

If you want the razor to look new and shiny, you can either sand the blade by hand or have it reground. I have never had a blade reground but it is my understanding that an experienced (grinder) person can fix inconsistencies with the blade's geometry.

Here is a Wade & Butcher 7/8 near wedge (a bit more recent than your stub tail) that I hand sanded. The finished blade looks pretty good and the geometry is also pretty good. You will not really understand the geometry until you hone the razor. The advantage of what I did was monetary cost (a few sheets of sandpaper). However, I spent 6 hours just sanding the blade with 100-grit sandpaper after which my 60-year old right hand locked up and took a couple of months to recover. It was an invigorating challenge, but I will never do this again. The bevel angle was 16 degrees before honing and about 17 degrees after honing with one layer of Super 88.

Before.

After.

 

[bmiller3230]

That is a damned fine job. I see you saved the scales too--I really like that. My real goal with these old razors is getting a cross between usability and conservation. I want to preserve the original character and salvage as much of it as possible, but I also want them to be usable and be able to shave.

I'm not going for a mirror finish--don't mind the signs of their age. But, I don't want to feel like I should go for a tetanus shot if I nick myself either...

 

[Frank Shaves]

^
Well put, @bmiller3230!

I have restored enough of these old Sheffields that I can now judge the level of effort based on good pictures and I have learned the limits of what I can do with the equipment that I currently have. Pretty much only one rule: you must remove all active rust.

BTW, the above razor was sanded with 100, 240, 400, 800 and 1200 grit wet/dry followed by a one round of Mothers polish. This finish seems to be the sweet spot for old Sheffields for me. If you go higher grit or more polish and don't like the results, you can always go back to a quick round of the 1200.