J. Castant Bordeaux straight razor restore

[Khay]

Got this little french gem sometime ago, finally had time to work on it and take some photos.

This is how it came to me, the horn handles were scratched and stained, the wedge was partially broken and the blade was pitted, along with rust spots on the pivot :








I unpinned it, cleaned up the blade - didn't really want to sand it all down and risk doing more harm than good - I left it cleaned, with some of the original pitting showing, and gave it a polish - one can now read the maker's mark clearly.

Made a new wedge in bone, and also sealed some of the inside of the scale with CA glue, before sanding/polishing them. Had to use a little heat from a hairdryer to remove the slight warping from one of them before I pinned them back.

Unfortunately I didn't have washers that were similar to the originals, so one can see in the photos some marks around the pins - the original washers were bigger and the factory pinning left those marks on the scales - I only noticed it after I already had the wedge pinned...

Here is how it came out :









Sharpened it and had a shave with it some days ago - nice little wedge, I like it

Does anyone know anything about the "J. Castant" manufacturer ? I would love to know the aproximate date of manufacture, along with any information anyone would be kind to share.

 

[Toff]

Nice work, I appreciate the restraint shown!
~Richard

 

[Antique Hoosier]

In the classic car arena this one would be known a "gentle restoration". Nicely done.

 

[BakerAndBadger]

Lovely job, very sympathetic to the original. I think that it may be the sellers stamp, seems a lot of French blades outside of he main manufacturing cities are stamped with the shops name. Just my opinion however I may probably be wrong!

 

[Khay]

Lovely job, very sympathetic to the original. I think that it may be the sellers stamp, seems a lot of French blades outside of he main manufacturing cities are stamped with the shops name. Just my opinion however I may probably be wrong!

Thanks guys. I'm still learning many of the skills for this hobby - the making of scales, the metalworking, the sharpening - I really liked the shape of the razor when I first saw it, and so I didn't want to mess it up by doing something I shouldn't

I did a search for the manufacturer's name and came up with this :

http://www.coutelleriecastant.com/presentation

It's a cutlery shop - and from the information, it seems to have been in business since 1917. It's located in Bordeaux - which matches both the maker's name and the region that is stamped on the blade. I'll have to email them and see if they can tell me anything about this straight...

 

[Antique Hoosier]

It is indeed a wonderful and unique find and would especially appeal to straight razor shavers who love great wine!

Thanks guys. I'm still learning many of the skills for this hobby - the making of scales, the metalworking, the sharpening - I really liked the shape of the razor when I first saw it, and so I didn't want to mess it up by doing something I shouldn't

I did a search for the manufacturer's name and came up with this :

http://www.coutelleriecastant.com/presentation

It's a cutlery shop - and from the information, it seems to have been in business since 1917. It's located in Bordeaux - which matches both the maker's name and the region that is stamped on the blade. I'll have to email them and see if they can tell me anything about this straight...

 

[BakerAndBadger]

If you want anything translating gimme a shout for that email. I lived in Bordeaux for a couple of months a while back by the way, was a nice city, apparently it's gone down hill since I was there. Coincidence?

 

[UKRob]

Well beginner or not I think that's a really nice restoration job especially getting the scales up to scratch again. They seem to be in nice condition and a lovely colour.

 

[Khay]

If you want anything translating gimme a shout for that email. I lived in Bordeaux for a couple of months a while back by the way, was a nice city, apparently it's gone down hill since I was there. Coincidence?

Heheh. Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it ! I've managed to write them and if I get an answer, I'll let you all know.

 

[Khay]

Well beginner or not I think that's a really nice restoration job especially getting the scales up to scratch again. They seem to be in nice condition and a lovely colour.

Thanks !