My Great-Great Grandfathers Straight

[Eagle_eye735]

I have been shaving with single and double edged safety razors for about a year now and lurking around these forums for about as long. This Christmas my grandfather presented me with my great-great grandfathers daily shaver, anything you guys can tell me about it would be greatly appreciated.

On the left side of the blade is inscribed:
Worcester Razor Co.
Worcester, Mass. U.S.A.

The blade seems to be hollow ground. It has quite a bit of rust, including on the edge, but pitting is very minimal. No chips or cracks in the blade. There are no signs of excessive hone wear. The edge has a slight smile towards the point. The scales are in great shape, just a little dirty and dull. I would love to restore it and have it honed, is this reasonable considering it's condition? I would get some other straights to try restoring before I even think about attempting to restore this particular razor, but would it be reasonable to do?

 

[lukam]

It seems nice, half hollow with horn scales. It's going to be a fantastic shaver. I think it just needs a proper touch of a member here and you'll be ready to go. I've been doing light restores myself and it's not so hard but if I was in your place and the razor being of sentimental value I'd rather thrust someone on B&B to do it right.

 

[gash]

I agree. Some of the people here can do wonders with needy blades. Also, straight razors can be more delicate than you'd expect. I'd send it to someone who has a lot of experience.

 

[Leon]

Nice catch, congrats.

I only wish I could have some heritage straight razor from my ancestors. The only thing I have is the scissor my great grandfather had that he used to clip his mustache. He bought it in Paris when he was fighting in WWI.

 

[seattleshaver]

You can do a little light cleaning up yourself. Just use a little Mother's metal polish and a cloth and go over the blade and a little soap and water and a used toothbrush to lightly go over the scales.

Hone the blade on a finishing stone and strop it and at least see how it shaves. If it doesn't then sent it out for honing.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I agree with the guys above. This isn't a beater blade off eBay. I'd bite the bullet and send it out for a proper restoration and honing.

 

[gruntedshaves]

that's an INSANELY easy clean. hot vinegar, and very fine sand paper to very light steel wool. pm me if you wanna take on the task. I envy your heirloom sir, wish I had something like that! take good care of it!

 

[Eagle_eye735]

Thanks for all the responses guys, I have an ebay beater blade on the way to attempt to restore myself, if that goes well I might try this one myself. However, considering the sentimental value of this particular razor, I will probably end up sending it to trusted member for restoration and honing. Does anybody have any recommendations for a member who does restorations?

 

[Alum of Potash]

Looks like a good candidate for a restoration. Since it's your great-grandfather's and since you are starting out, I would recommend sending it out to someone who has a fair amount of experience in restoration and honing work, if you want to use it in the short term. Don't risk learning to hone on a family heirloom IMO.

 

[Marco]

You have a beautiful piece of history in your hands, mate. I will ask for a complete restoration of the blade, maybe replacing the scales too. There are several nice guys here who can do this.

 

[gimpochin]

Please do not practice on your GGrandfathers razor. Not hard to make nice but eazy to screw-up. If properly done it should last another 100 years. Good luck.