New (to me) straights

[Mr_Spiffy]

Got a couple straights in the mail today from the bay. They're both smaller in blade width. One is an Anchor brand "Manganese" Steel 4/8, with what appear to be bone scales.

Looks to be in decent shape, with only a small amount of hone wear. The wedge seems far from the end of the blade, so I'm wondering if it was shortened at some point. But the tip doesn't really look like someone cut it down. So, I dunno...

The second razor is a Boker. I figured it was a smaller grind, but it looks like someone really took the edge down, probably from some damage at some point in its lifetime. If you look at the close-up, you'll see etching that was cut off when they took the edge down. This ends up being around 9/16 or so in width. Is this one still usable? Hopefully it'll still shave well. I'm sure the surface rust can come off, too. There's also a crack at the pivot pin, so I think I may need to rescale these, if the blade is still usable.

So, what do you guys think? Did I do okay, here? Or is the Boker toast? Is there a method to removing the rust, without removing the etching?

 

[noahpictures]

Nice score! I'm a fan of magnetic straights. In my experience they shave better than most. It doesn't look shortened to me.

Boker is well known for a reason and that one has plenty of life left. Red rust is not that bad and should come off with a soft cloth and polishing compound such as mothers, blue magic, or turtle wax. If the scales are functional I wouldn't rescale.

 

[Slash McCoy]

The boker is fine. The etching? Who cares? Polish it up and if the etching survives, then it does. Hone that guy up and it will be a shaving beast. The only problem with blades that have been reduced significantly in size is that if the spine was taped while honing for much of its life, the bevel angle might be a bit on the obtuse side. This is often no major thing because it will still shave with up to about 19 degrees of bevel, but the sweet spot is around 16 to 16-1/2 degrees. So it is literally a matter of degree. The cure of course is to thin down the spine, if you measure and calculate the bevel angle and find it too blunt. Conversely, to correct a too acute bevel, simply tape the spine when honing for the next several years. Other than that, a blade worn down to even half of its former width is still a piece of steel that can be made shave sharp. Oh, another issue is often there is a long up-ramp where the blade fairs up into the shoulder. This can present a problem and you can either cure it or live with it.

As for the Anchor, FWIW it looks like the toe has acquired a bit of taper through poor honing technique, but no biggie. Just hone it up. May take a lot of laps to get your bevel right and you may have to resort to rolling x's or actually just rolling it up slightly on the toe to get the whole edge, but I would first try just straight honing and see what you got. I don't find having the toe dull for the last 1/4 to 3/8" to be a major inconvenience so razors like this I usually just hone flat and straight when the rest of the edge is already straight.

 

[Raithskar]

Both are nice. As long as there is no pitting on the edge of the Boker it will be fine. Both will be great shavers when they are honed into the good steel.

 

[Wid]

I believe the anchor brand is made by/for Wester Brothers. It was originally founded in 1891 as Jacoby & Wester.
Wester Brothers was the sole inporter of goods made by Wester & Butz of Solingen.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Sweet! Thanks, everyone. I figured there would be enough steel on the Boker, but wasn't sure. I may also mute the tip just a touch. Seems that point could be a little ripe for nicks and cuts.

Time for another round of honing! I'll hone them straight up and see how the bevels come out. Hopefully they come out nice!