My second restoration: six vintage straights

[Bjornvetr]

It was time to buy and restore a second razor, after giving so much love to my XIX century Wade and Butcher.
I noticed a neglected auction on e-bay, with six vintage straight razors at a very low price.

Asked around for some advice and decided to go for it.
After some days of careful observation, I managed to place my bid at the last minute: 88 €, taxes and shipping included, for six razors in various states of health.

One of the pics on e-bay:

According to my research, they are:

• Fritz Bracht Tennis (1940 - 1983, Solingen-Wald);
• Friedrich Emde Kobar no.1 (1902 - 1939, Solingen);
• Osborne, Garrett & Co. LTD Kropp (Sheffield);
• T.R. Cadman & Sons Bengall (Sheffield);
• Giesen & Forsthoff Timor 150 Blue Steel (Solingen)
• P.S. & Co The Acme (a Paul Seilheimer of Solingen used to make SS daggers, but this one was made and ground in England).

Here's a pic of them on my dining room table.

So far I have restored, honed and shaved with two of them.

Friedrich Emde Kobar no.1

The Kobar no.1 still has some pitting left, but I couldn't take it all away even after using 300(ish) - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1200 - 1500 - 2000 - 3000 sandpaper, followed by abrasive paste, Sidol and then toothpaste + old toothbrush.

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle) and after (right).



It's a great shaver, the scales are in great condition and the pitting -luckily- doesn't hamper the edge at all.
It's a hollow ground, singing razor, but it annihilates my tough stubble.

T.R. Cadman & Sons Bengall

This one cleaned up nicely, and it was a breeze to hone.
I usually don't strive for that shining mirror-polishing, especially on razors that are older than me (I'm 31, by the way).

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle), and after (right).



P.S. & Co The Acme

I still have to do a proper restoration on this one: so far I have just scrubbed it and sanded it down from 600 to 3000. Pics coming soon.

Fritz Bracht Tennis

The little one of the family, but the stencil is quite centered so I guess it's born small?
Pics coming soon.

Osborne, Garrett & Co. LTD Kropp

I was actually looking for a Kropp when I found this auction. Pics coming soon.

Giesen & Forsthoff Timor 150 Blue Steel

This one is a beauty, with its dark-blue finish on the spine, tang and tail.


I'm going to update this thread with the other four restorations.
In the meantime, here's my shaving rack with the full collection.

And these are the stones I'm currently using for the job: Naniwa 1000 - 3000, BBW + bout, belgian coticule + bout, NALS Princesa (italian slate) + bout.
I have recently ordered a cheap 600 - 1200 diamond sharpening stone, just to lap and clean the hones, and maybe to raise some slurry on the Princesa a little faster.

 

[GearNoir]

Great lot! Well done.

 

[BigJ]

CONGRATULATIONS!! Well done!

 

[Bjornvetr]

P.S. & Co The Acme

I still have to do a proper restoration on this one: so far I have just scrubbed it and sanded it down from 600 to 3000. Pics coming soon.

Here we are: three down, three to go.

I tried to not sand too much steel off, and moreover I tried to leave the stencil alone by applying a shaped layer of black tape: now there's a difference between the taped steel and the restored part. Oh, well.
I saved the original scales: they should be horn or bone or something like that, and they're a little "gnawed".

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle), and after (right).



Bonus pic with a closer view.

 

[Bjornvetr]

Fritz Bracht Tennis

The little one of the family, but the stencil is quite centered so I guess it's born small?
Pics coming soon.

Update: four down, two to go.

Apparently this Tennis 70 could be either a Fritz Bracht or a Feinste Facharbeit.

It's the smallest, thinnest and nimblest razor I have ever seen and / or tried.

After a bit of wet 'n' dry sandpaper, some abrasive paste and a dash of Sidol, now this cutie shines (except for the area around the stencil) and, with some loving on my Naniwa 1k / 3k, on my belgian coticule and on my "Princesa" slate, now it also shaves like a dream.

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle), and after (right).

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Fun to follow. Interesting and instructive. Thanks for allowing us to participate.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Bjornvetr]

Fun to follow. Interesting and instructive. Thanks for allowing us to participate.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Thanks! I actually forgot to update this thread, so here we go.

Osborne, Garrett & Co. LTD Kropp

I was actually looking for a Kropp when I found this auction. Pics coming soon.

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle), and after (right).



This one wasn't in bad shape, so I just cleaned, polished and honed it.

Giesen & Forsthoff Timor 150 Blue Steel

This one is a beauty, with its dark-blue finish on the spine, tang and tail.

Before (left), during the restoration - honing (middle), and after (right).



As you can see, the last one of the batch was a bit scratched on the blade, so I went from 600 to 3000 wet sandpaper, then abrasive paste and some Sidol polish. I might try some "pasta Iosso" in the near future.

And that's it!

I'm quite pleased with the result. This is my roster, now.

What's next? I'm looking for a nice and massive Sheffield blade without scales, and I have already tucked away some iroko and olive wood. I really would like to learn how to unpin, re-scale and repin a straight razor. I guess that's what I will share in the next thread.

Thanks for reading and for going through all of this with me!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Your work is so good. You should write a tutorial.

 

[Bjornvetr]

Thanks! I just followed the tutorials on this forum and some advice given by a couple of restoration-savvy friends.

Wet sandpaper from 400-ish to 3000, then cotton pad + cheap Arexons abrasive paste, and finally cotton pad + Sidol (a metal cleaner / polish). Next time I might use "Pasta Iosso" (a finer paste / polish) instead of the abrasive paste and Sidol. That's it.

 

[Benaiahianmonk]

That’s awesome!