Old straight what should I do with it

[Beerhunter]

Gents,
For a while now, I have wanted to get a straight razor but was somewhat reluctant. So today a buddy at work brought in in for me he knows I shave with a de and I have talked about using a straight. It be longed to his grand dad who was a barber for 50 years and retired in the 1970's. It says F W Engels Special sclingen-gr (or RR) Germany next to the blade. It has surface rust I can't see pits or scratches, etc. but the scales are warped inward and seems loose when I take out the blade and put it back.


This is my first straight, I haven't a clue what to do --- I know it needs a cleaning, it has to get honed, and somehow prepped. Is it worth the money and effort to restore it or should I replace it with a better one?
I am sorry that these are the best pictures I can get from my cell phone.


Anyway -- I'll do some research, but would appreciate any initial thoughts on making this a usable razor.


Cheers.

 

[temjeito]

I'm pretty new at this, but here's my two cents: get a sight-unseen flawed razor ($28) and poor man's strop kit ($25) from whippeddog.com. Since you're already a DE shaver, that will give you everything you need to get started, with a blade you can be sure is shave ready.

The razor you have there has some issues. It can probably be made shave ready and become a productive shaver, but if I were you I would at most hang on to it until you're ready to start playing around with honing and restoration, and then use it as a learning tool. From the pics, it looks like there is a fair amount of rust, including near the edge. Hard to tell, but it is possible that the uniform discoloration near the edge visible in the last picture is cel rot. The edge itself is ragged as all get out and, if it is not rusted, will still require a fair amount of metal to be removed before a bevel can be set. It also looks like there is some uneven hone wear near the toe, which could create additional problems for proper bevel-setting. The scales look ok, though.

edit--looking closer at the picture, it may not be uneven hone wear I'm seeing at the toe but just all that remains of the original bevel. The spine looks pretty uniform. I think your biggest issue is the oxidation near the edge. Someone more experienced than I may be able to tell you how bad it is from the pics.

 

[Oscroft]

"sclingen" is presumably Solingen.

 

[Beerhunter]

"sclingen" is presumably Solingen.

Yes you are correct, that friend was a typo.

 

[Doc226]

Used to be a nice razor, not sure if it can be saved, the rust on the fornt 1/3 of the blade is present on both sides so I am not sure you can ever get a good bevel on it.

The scales are very nice.