Two new razor projects

[hellion]

I've been lurking the forums for a few years, after I'd gotten into straight edge shaving, but decided to register and post after an impulse trip and purchase to the local antique store.

I'm planning to start restoring the blades this weekend, and planning on ditching the scales - but I wanted to check I wasn't throwing away anything valuable before I start hacking and sanding away.

I picked up the Joseph Allen & Sons for $16.

I got the Wester Bros for $16.75 (33% off sale from that vendor), and it came with the box. When I got home I realized the box is actually for a Theo A. Kochs razor.

And here's a close up of the box

I'm thinking some sort of dark wood to make the scales for both of these.

 

[dakotaev]

The Joseph Allen looks like a great restore candidate, but I'm sorry to break the bad news on the Wester Bros De-Fi, its pretty much near the end of its life. It would be good for practicing sanding or whatnot on however. Both scales on both are in pretty decent shape, you might want to hold on to them for down the road, cleaned up they could bring life to another razor when you don't want to make something from scratch.

 

[hellion]

I had figured as much on the Wester Bros - it was a gamble from the start. I didn't even know who they were till after I got home, but I figured for under $20, and being the second best condition of the 5 they had, I'd give it a shot. I'd kind of considered shadow boxing it mounted with the box as a gift to a friend that is a barber, but that was before I realized they didn't match. Also upon getting home, I realized the scales on the Wester Bros were cracked/broken on the top pin /facepalm. The Joseph Allen scales are in pretty good condition, I just don't like the bamboo design.

 

[Old Man Army]

Welcome to the B&B! You've just experienced what makes this hobby so addicting; the thrill of the hunt. So the one razor was a bust and you're not crazy about the scales on the other, you still learned something. You also have some good candidates for practice. Even broken scales are useful as a template, you can practice honing, you can also practice cleaning up the grime on the blades. I bet next time you're out you will see another razor, and it might be exactly what you want. BTW, the bamboo design is classic old school, someone might want to trade a different set.