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Refurbishing a razor in extremely poor condition, possible?

Is it possible to refurbish a razor that’s rusty and even has some pitting? Or would a razor in that condition be a lost cause? If it’s possible, how much might that cost to do?
 
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brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
That handle ought to polish up nicely without issue. The cap will almost certainly have pitting as well as plate loss. The inside portion of the base just looks soap scummy, the bottom however is probably going to have pitting and plate loss.

That being said, it will probably shave once cleaned. It won't be the prettiest bell at the ball but I should think it could shave again.

The only issue is the age of that Merkur. There was a period in time when Merkur switched to zamac. If it is one of those later models then you might as well scrap it. No hope.
 
R

romsitsa

Hello, the head is zamak, so no one will service it. I tried to strip and replate zamak and it’s not really worth the effort as the pits can’t be properly cleaned and the new nickel plate will be patchy.
What could be done, if you feel comfortable with experimenting, is cleaning the pits as good as possible and
1. use a heat resistant filler/putty, fill in the rotted areas then cerakote it.
2. use a conductive filler/putty and try a replate.

Adam
 
Try screwing the head from another razor on the handle. If the handle threads are still in decent shape, you can always purchase a new head from Edwin Jagger, Muhle, and Inidan or Chinese made knockoffs. If the threads are bad, it is probably not worth the effort of restoring even the handle.
 
The handle looks to be a Gillette handle, made of brass. You should have good results polishing that part. It would be worth the effort especially if the barrel is free of cracks.
 
Thanks for the feedback, folks! This is actually an (allegedly) WWII era razor brought home from the European theater that was for sale on the bay. I thought it might be worth it if it could be restored, but it sounds like it's a long shot, so I think I'm gonna pass.

Thanks again!
 
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