Is this straight repairable?

[econjoe]

Good evening everyone,

It has taken me a month to go from my first DE to picking up my first straight razor. I picked this up at an antique shop that I stopped in looking for DEs and brushes. After I got home to better lighting I noticed a place on the blade edge that seems to have had some damage. It is difficult to get a clear picture of that spot but here goes:


The blade has 52 J.A. HENCKELS on it. There also appears to be CR...... underneath that but most has been worn off. I have no attachment to this razor, just curious how much edge damage can be repaired.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mdunn]

I cant quite see where the crack ends - but so long as it doesnt go too far it can be repaired. You (or someone with the knowhow) would have to remove the blade edge to the back of where the crack is. So long as you dont lose too much blade it should be fine.

(and im straight up banning the first person to says to breadknife it!)

 

[Heespharm]

I cant quite see where the crack ends - but so long as it doesnt go too far it can be repaired. You (or someone with the knowhow) would have to remove the blade edge to the back of where the crack is. So long as you dont lose too much blade it should be fine.

(and im straight up banning the first person to says to breadknife it!)

Y not bread knife it? Too deep?

 

[Gamma]

Yes it's fixable.

Working on lost causes like that will teach you more about restoring and honing than any new blade ever will.

 

[ScottinAZ]

Ive saved and shave with worse than that. Get some wet/dry paper, a granite or marble tile, some lapping films of various grits, and use it to learn how to hone. In the end you will have a usable razor, and the understanding of what is needed to make them sharp.

 

[totorlekiller]

Yes it's fixable.

Working on lost causes like that will teach you more about restoring and honing than any new blade ever will.

Agreed. And those dents do not look that big. Bread-knifing over sand-paper should work.
I broke a blade, trying to fix something like that by just honing with a lot of pressure on a low grit stone - too much pressure, broke a very nice David Issard with wrought back. Expensive lesson learned.
This seems safer.

Plus you can also work on the rest of the blade with different grits of sand paper to remove the pitting. No risk of hurting the edge here as it has to be redone after the dents are removed.

 

[weizemanner]

Agreed. And those dents do not look that big. Bread-knifing over sand-paper should work.
I broke a blade, trying to fix something like that by just honing with a lot of pressure on a low grit stone - too much pressure, broke a very nice David Issard with wrought back. Expensive lesson learned.
This seems safer.

Plus you can also work on the rest of the blade with different grits of sand paper to remove the pitting. No risk of hurting the edge here as it has to be redone after the dents are removed.

(and im straight up banning the first person to says to breadknife it!)

Now that the risk of banishment is gone, Breadknife it. J/K

I would put it on a DMT 600 or so and hone it backwards (like stropping) to remove any burrs that can catch and tear the thin metal. Then lightly breadknife it for maybe 10 strokes to make sure that you are starting with a completely new edge. Then put it on your favorite bevel-setter/sandpaper and hone away. In a few hours you should have a perfectly useable blade.

 

[mdunn]

Y not bread knife it? Too deep?

Any breadknifing will screw the geometry of the blade. If it was a regular knife, breadknife it all you like because the angle is up to you. With a razor, the angle is fixed by the spine, and you will end up with a shaving edge thats too obtuse.

so a) im fundamentally against it. its lazy honing.

and b) yes, especially on a razor that will need more than a couple of little dings removed it will stuff the angle too much.

Bread-knifing over sand-paper should work.

Yeah, it will remove the crack, but I hate that this is always so quickly suggested. Its got to be an absolute last resort, and in this case why not go to town on a DMT or something. This blade will have to lose 1/8 at least. Think about the angles!!!

(ps - banned, goodbye! )

(and im straight up banning the first person to says to breadknife it!)

Now that the risk of banishment is gone, Breadknife it. J/K

Well, youve got me there... good thing I always reserve the right to change my mind and get two birds with the one stone!

Goodbye!

 

[econjoe]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm glad to know I have an acceptable candidate to learn how to hone. Now to research and watch videos on honing...

 

[Slash McCoy]

Yeah don't breadknife. Just hone. Start out with some coarse sandpaper lightly glued to a polished marble tile or a thick piece of glass. When the chips are nearly gone, start progressing the grit upward. You might start that one on about 150 grit or maybe 220. Coarser might be overkill. If you are anal about the details, measure the thickness of the spine, and also the distance between the back edge of the spine's bevel flat to the shaving edge. The ratio can be used to calculate the bevel angle. You can steer it toward a more acute or more obtuse angle, or you can try to keep it more or less where it is. Being aware of what you got is key to getting what you want. If you are more laissez faire about it, just hone normally and it will stay somewhere near what it is now, which is probably well within the normal range. But breadknifing a repair job will change the bevel angle significantly, much more so than a simple bevel set.

If a big bevel flat on the spine annoys you, you can always sand it back round again. Or in most cases you can just leave it. It doesn't hurt a thing as long as it is not super wide, which will actually slow down the spine wear enough that spine and edge no longer wear proportionally.

That razor I would consider a medium repair job. Not a big deal. Sure, you will lose some steel but there will still be plenty left, enough to shave nicely. Worth the effort IMHO and a great learning project.

One nice thing about repair and bevel setting on sandpaper is you can have a nice wide and long honing surface, with no flatness issues, so you can go for a nice straight edge. It is almost straight anyway. Straight edges on wide hones are a very easy honing job, and a scary sharp edge is an easy do. And since you got a lapping plate, no reason not to hone on out with film. Plus all your used sandpaper can be used to sand the blade, especially your mediumish and finer grits.

Scales look pretty nice. A quick polish on them so they don't look out of place on a freshly polished blade, and you are good to go. Be sure to remove them for polishing the tang. And do your final honing after all polishing and re-pinning.

With diligence and patience, you can make a nice looking, sweet shaving razor out of what you got, and it will be well worth the effort.

 

[econjoe]

Yeah don't breadknife. Just hone. Start out with some coarse sandpaper lightly glued to a polished marble tile or a thick piece of glass. When the chips are nearly gone, start progressing the grit upward. You might start that one on about 150 grit or maybe 220. Coarser might be overkill. If you are anal about the details, measure the thickness of the spine, and also the distance between the back edge of the spine's bevel flat to the shaving edge. The ratio can be used to calculate the bevel angle. You can steer it toward a more acute or more obtuse angle, or you can try to keep it more or less where it is. Being aware of what you got is key to getting what you want. If you are more laissez faire about it, just hone normally and it will stay somewhere near what it is now, which is probably well within the normal range. But breadknifing a repair job will change the bevel angle significantly, much more so than a simple bevel set.

If a big bevel flat on the spine annoys you, you can always sand it back round again. Or in most cases you can just leave it. It doesn't hurt a thing as long as it is not super wide, which will actually slow down the spine wear enough that spine and edge no longer wear proportionally.

That razor I would consider a medium repair job. Not a big deal. Sure, you will lose some steel but there will still be plenty left, enough to shave nicely. Worth the effort IMHO and a great learning project.

One nice thing about repair and bevel setting on sandpaper is you can have a nice wide and long honing surface, with no flatness issues, so you can go for a nice straight edge. It is almost straight anyway. Straight edges on wide hones are a very easy honing job, and a scary sharp edge is an easy do. And since you got a lapping plate, no reason not to hone on out with film. Plus all your used sandpaper can be used to sand the blade, especially your mediumish and finer grits.

Scales look pretty nice. A quick polish on them so they don't look out of place on a freshly polished blade, and you are good to go. Be sure to remove them for polishing the tang. And do your final honing after all polishing and re-pinning.

With diligence and patience, you can make a nice looking, sweet shaving razor out of what you got, and it will be well worth the effort.

Thank you for the detailed advice!

And a huge thank you to everyone else as well! Y'all have made me change from thinking about having a "pro" hone it to feeling confident about giving this a shot myself.