Razor restoration.....getting started.

[BigFoot]

My interest in straight razors is actively growing, I am also looking for a hobby for the winter months.

I have noticed a lot of the antique stores in my area have a huge amount of straight razors for under $20.00. The only problem is a lot of them have real crappy scales. So I got to thinking that this could be a fun winter hobby bringing some of these blades back to life.

I do not know the 1st thing about restoring a straight razor, so my question is other than what is on B&B what are some resources you guys suggest for learning how to do a restore from start to finish including honing.

Thanks

 

[Phog Allen]

Hi Scott. It is a lot of fun to restore these old beasties. I have not done scales yet but have polished a few blades. I used Mark's tutorial for using a Dremel tool for polishing. And the sticky for hand sanding as well. I can say with NO reservations to pay heed to the admonitions to watch the edge of the blade with those polishing wheels. Even going from spine to edge you can take a nick out of the blade. Ask me how I know. And NEVER, EVER go from edge to spine, even at an angle. Just don't. Polishing old horn scales is possible too. There are a few posts in the resto forum about doing this. Look into a small drill press as well. Best of luck and just do it.

Regards, Todd

 

[Kentos]

Wait...what? Huge number of straights? Under 20.00 bucks??

You lucky DOG....check out the restoration wiki for all the info you will need. When you figure out how easy it is, and how much fun it is, you might have trouble stockpiling enough razors to restore.

plexi glass, wood, etc....jigsaw or coping saw...brass rod stock....washers...peen hammer..sandpaper....little bit of patience and voila, razor scales.

 

[Phog Allen]

Nah Kent, he isn't kidding. Look at his location. That's about thirty-five miles from where I live. There are a lot of straights sitting around in antique shops for the twenty-ish figure. However, whether many of them are actually worth putting any money into is another debate entirely. Sometimes it looks as if they were laid aside so as to put them out of their misery. Remember my post about picking up the 8/8 Frederick Reynolds and the 7/8 Peters Bros? Those are the two best condition razors I have come across and they still needed quite a bit of TLC. I did grab both of them for $30 total though.

Regards, Todd

 

[Undream]

Scale making requires a bit of investment... Theres really no way around it. You need a decent size list of stuff in your work area to make a properly fitting set of scales that turn out good.
If you're making scales, you need all the following:

Belt sander (at least 1x42, but, I Highly suggest a 4x36 + a disc sander) with belts in 80, 120, and 220 grits
Drill press with 1/16" bits (do not cheap out and get a Dremel workstation - they are not accurate enough, built completely out of plastic and flex, ask me how I know. Get an actual drill press, even if it is a cheap $50-60 harbor freight one)
Buffer (1700rpm is preferred, but, if you have to get a 3400 rpm, just get smaller 4" wheels for it)
A vice with an anvil on it
A 4oz ball peen hammer
Flush cutters or wire cutters
A coping saw with a deep frame (at least 6") with lots of blades
A set of files
Wet/dry sandpaper in 220, 400, 600, 1000, and 1500/2000 grit
White rouge buffing compound
Double-sided tape (I use Shur-Tape, blue rolls of double sided carpet tape..its Ahh-mazing!)

Optionals / Time savers:
Scroll saw or Band saw (I have both...and like band saw better. you could get away with just a coping saw, but having power saves you a lot of time)
A variable speed Dremel for scale unpinning and other odd jobs. Find one of those $9.99 rotary tools from your favorite knock-off hardware store. After going through 3 "Real" Dremels in 2 years, obviously you're not paying extra for quality.

 

[Balcmeg]

Just jump in, The water is warm
As for sources, all I needed was to be be found right here in the wikis and sticker posts.

I only worked in acrylic yet, we live in a small apartment and have no space for wooden dust flying around according to SWMBO.

I have to counter the previous post list of needed tools. When it comes to power tools all I needed or ever felt a need for is a Dremel with a drill press stand. It may take some more time to hand sand a blade but not that much! As for not buying a Dremel, Im happy with mine but I do not use it very hard so i cannot speak for its lifespan.

 

[grump]

Very nice list Brad.

 

[Angry__Panda]

Scale making requires a bit of investment... Theres really no way around it. You need a decent size list of stuff in your work area to make a properly fitting set of scales that turn out good.
If you're making scales, you need all the following:

Belt sander (at least 1x42, but, I Highly suggest a 4x36 + a disc sander) with belts in 80, 120, and 220 grits
Drill press with 1/16" bits (do not cheap out and get a Dremel workstation - they are not accurate enough, built completely out of plastic and flex, ask me how I know. Get an actual drill press, even if it is a cheap $50-60 harbor freight one)
Buffer (1700rpm is preferred, but, if you have to get a 3400 rpm, just get smaller 4" wheels for it)
A vice with an anvil on it
A 4oz ball peen hammer
Flush cutters or wire cutters
A coping saw with a deep frame (at least 6") with lots of blades
A set of files
Wet/dry sandpaper in 220, 400, 600, 1000, and 1500/2000 grit
White rouge buffing compound
Double-sided tape (I use Shur-Tape, blue rolls of double sided carpet tape..its Ahh-mazing!)

Optionals / Time savers:
Scroll saw or Band saw (I have both...and like band saw better. you could get away with just a coping saw, but having power saves you a lot of time)
A variable speed Dremel for scale unpinning and other odd jobs. Find one of those $9.99 rotary tools from your favorite knock-off hardware store. After going through 3 "Real" Dremels in 2 years, obviously you're not paying extra for quality.

Listen to this man right here and then go watch his videos on how-to . I would say though to limit your investment before you go all out, you can get away with not having some of the stuff. I.e. if you don't have a band saw or a buffer or a belt sander...You can do ALL of that by hand, it will just take you an extra few hours. I am saving some money while I clean my garage out of stuff so I can build a little work space for myself to do this during the winter months as well (even though in AZ it is nice during the winter, it gets stupid hot in the summer so the winter is a better time to be in the garage lol). Anyways if you start it, everyone has told me to start with wood as your first material because it is forgiving and a lot easier to work with.

Thanks by the way Undream for mentioning not buying the dremel set up, I was going to do that but not now .

 

[Old Man Army]

Scale making requires a bit of investment... Theres really no way around it. You need a decent size list of stuff in your work area to make a properly fitting set of scales that turn out good.
If you're making scales, you need all the following:

Belt sander (at least 1x42, but, I Highly suggest a 4x36 + a disc sander) with belts in 80, 120, and 220 grits
Drill press with 1/16" bits (do not cheap out and get a Dremel workstation - they are not accurate enough, built completely out of plastic and flex, ask me how I know. Get an actual drill press, even if it is a cheap $50-60 harbor freight one)
Buffer (1700rpm is preferred, but, if you have to get a 3400 rpm, just get smaller 4" wheels for it)
A vice with an anvil on it
A 4oz ball peen hammer
Flush cutters or wire cutters
A coping saw with a deep frame (at least 6") with lots of blades
A set of files
Wet/dry sandpaper in 220, 400, 600, 1000, and 1500/2000 grit
White rouge buffing compound
Double-sided tape (I use Shur-Tape, blue rolls of double sided carpet tape..its Ahh-mazing!)

Optionals / Time savers:
Scroll saw or Band saw (I have both...and like band saw better. you could get away with just a coping saw, but having power saves you a lot of time)
A variable speed Dremel for scale unpinning and other odd jobs. Find one of those $9.99 rotary tools from your favorite knock-off hardware store. After going through 3 "Real" Dremels in 2 years, obviously you're not paying extra for quality.

+1 The drill press and the belt sander are really important. I found a small ball peen hammer at my local crafts store in the jewelry making section. Instead of an anvil, I took a regular claw hammer and drilled a small divot on the side (I think there are pictures of how to do it under the Wiki section.)

Instead of double sided tape I use rubber cement, it's what I had on hand and it works.

Make sure to get some actual 1/16 brass rod. In my first attempt I used brass coated nails, which took for ever and looked like crap. For my second attempt I used brass wire. It peened well, but bent at the pivot end so the scales didn't line up right. I finally found some brass rod at my local hobby shop and it worked great.

Microfasteners sells the #0 size washers for a reasonable price. You will also need larger washers for the pivot point. Your best bet is to try and recycle the ones off the old set of scales. I bought some washers, but they were too thick and needed to be thined down.

If you buy a dremel, don't cheap out and get the rechargeable one. I made that mistake; that darn thing doesn't have enough juice to buff out a blade. Harbor Freight is the way to go.

Good luck to you and make sure to post pictures.

Best regards,

Andrew

 

[brushybill]

i would recommend bill ellis' video "straight razor restoration", there is a lot of info on that one disc, also as has been said before, undreams videos are great to get you started
good luck

 

[mdunn]

There is a link in my sig for an easy start to resto. Scales are the easy part, just sand away anything that you don't want!

 

[BigFoot]

I appreciate all the advice guys. I hate to make a huge investment until I have done one and see if I like it. The 1st few I try I am sure will be done with just the bare necessities, if it is fun the goodies will start coming.

 

[Legion]

Everything you need is in the restoration stickies.

As an extra reference, Bill Ellis sells a CD with a lot of useful info on it. It does not cost much, and is a good read + videos.