Wilkin Sword 7 day edition Empire restoration

[ironmonkey]

right, got hold of one of these bad boys off fleabay. and all is pretty much done and although ive managed to get most of her all cleaned and tidy i came stuck with the blades. now ive obviously taken them out of the holders but i cant get rid of the patina and general black crud on them. is this a case of perseverance with polishing as i really want to save the etching on them. or do others just take it for granted that they have to sacrifice this in order to clean the blade??

im sort of at a loss as i want these to stay as original as possible and in honesty i simply like the way they look.

any help or advice received with gratitude

 

[Wm. T]

Pics!!!!

 

[Ray Todd]

Pics!!!!

Yes please! I have one of those old Wilkie sets that needs a lot of attention and I haven't had time to work on it yet. I'd love to see how yours came out. I've read some posts that say with the right tinkering and adjustments you can use de-spined Gem blades or spineless SE Feathers too, by the way. So, unless you really want to, you don't have to worry about trying to hone those old wedge blades. You can just concentrate on restoring and preserving.

I'm afraid I can't help you on technique, except to say that a long soak in barbicide and a tooth brush have never failed to remove any crud and goo I've worked on. I THINK that you would be ok with Flitz or Mr. Metal polish as far as not removing the etch, but I haven't done it myself so I'm afraid to say one way or the other.

 

[Niles]

Welcome to Badger & Blade, Ironmonkey!

 

[ironmonkey]

well i have no before pics. i never seem to take those i jut want to get stuck in ill try to get some up at the end of the week, at the latest as kind of work in progress shots. i may be able to poach the before pic off fleabay, ill see. until then ill just say im pretty greenwith this hobby so dont by any means take my work as a benchmark. atm i use Peek, Brasso, and a generic stainless steel cleaner, but what sort of places would be worth trying for the barbicide? oh and im uk based as well. and thanks for the welcome!

 

[Ray Todd]

Don't worry about creating a benchmark, we're all just playing with old razors! Not sure about where to buy Buy barbicide in the UK. In the US, it's sold in Beauty Supply stores. It's the same stuff that you might see in a glass container behind a barber or stylist's chair that they sterilize combs and clippers in. Online, you can query for Barber Supply stores, and it will probably come up as one of the offerings in most stores. In the UK, I would guess there's probably the equivalent to a "Sally Beauty Supply" somewhere that you could find. I usually get some strange looks when I walk in one of those stores here. Guess I don't look like a hair stylist.

There's lots of other opinions and tricks out there though....that's just the one that I like. Have fun.

 

[ironmonkey]

Don't worry about creating a benchmark, we're all just playing with old razors! Not sure about where to buy Buy barbicide in the UK. In the US, it's sold in Beauty Supply stores. It's the same stuff that you might see in a glass container behind a barber or stylist's chair that they sterilize combs and clippers in. Online, you can query for Barber Supply stores, and it will probably come up as one of the offerings in most stores. In the UK, I would guess there's probably the equivalent to a "Sally Beauty Supply" somewhere that you could find. I usually get some strange looks when I walk in one of those stores here. Guess I don't look like a hair stylist.

There's lots of other opinions and tricks out there though....that's just the one that I like. Have fun.

hahaha, ok ive been "playing with razors" (that does sound sinister) since about May. It has the makings of a very healthy obsession i think. ill have a poke around to see if there are any places like that in my area. i guess ive never been keeping an eye out for them. piccies are to follow soon!!

 

[ironmonkey]

The restoration is complete! As it turns out the etching on the blade wasnt salvageable, by the time i got all the crud off the blades it was barely visable so i just polished the remaining parts of it off. I must admit i am disappointed but i hope to find some others that may be in better knick than these were to begin with. Im later going to get hold of some Gem single edges to give it a test drive at a later date. But for now, as promised, here are some pics! hope these suffice

 

[Wm. T]

Truly a beautiful set !