Old straight from Holland still fit for restoration?

[JdB]

Gentlemen,

I have this old straight which belonged to my wife's grandfather. I want to make it look brand new again by rescaling it (with wooden scales) and ofcourse polishing the steel upto mirror-standard.

If you look at the pics, could this be restorated or is it a waste of time and money? I think the razor is not in that bad a condition. Am I right?

 

[Troggie]

You could sand it down around the edge to see if it is just surface rust but it looks like pitting to me which means it may not be salvageable.

 

[Seraphim]

I think it definitely looks salvageable! Especially as it's part of the family!

Do some searched for "hand sanding", and get to it!

 

[MileMarker60]

I would hone it up and see what the metal looks like at the edge. If that part is good, then it's salvageable.
You may not be able to remove everything but you can clean it and remove the active rust.

Other then the spots on the the edge the rest is just cosmetic.

 

[Luc]

+1 on sanding then you might be able to see if the rust got to the edge. If rust is in the edge it will need to be honed util the edge is solid (without rust/pitting). I'd say, give it a go. You could send it out to a honemeister for restoration and see what you get back...

 

[johnmrson]

As it's a family razor, I'd send it off to one of the restorers. I reckon that's well salvagable. It might still show some signs of it's age but I reckon in the circumstances, that's a good thing.

 

[honed]

As it's a family razor, I'd send it off to one of the restorers. I reckon that's well salvagable. It might still show some signs of it's age but I reckon in the circumstances, that's a good thing.

Good advise, right there ^
You don't want to take a chance ruining a family heirloom.
Send it off to someone reputable.
Since you are in Europe, I can highly recommend Neil Miller @ the Strop Shop in the UK.
If you want to try yourself, get a few junkers from eBay & do your homework & training first.

 

[JdB]

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts Gentlemen.

I understand that this straight is worthwhile restoring, so I will contact a barber here in Holland to have a look at it.

I will be back with updates/pics once the restoration-job is done and then... I will start straight-shaving

 

[Luc]

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts Gentlemen.

I understand that this straight is worthwhile restoring, so I will contact a barber here in Holland to have a look at it.

I will be back with updates/pics once the restoration-job is done and then... I will start straight-shaving

Awesome!

 

[Antique Hoosier]

As it's a family razor, I'd send it off to one of the restorers. I reckon that's well salvagable. It might still show some signs of it's age but I reckon in the circumstances, that's a good thing.

I agree with John. KenRup restored my Great Great Grandfather's 1850's era Wade & Butcher he brought with him to Indiana from England in 1858. It was in quite worse shape than the blade you acquired. Here is a "Before" and "After" pic when I received it back from Ken.