Newbie question

[PierreLePanthere]

Hi.
I'm not new to DE shaving but having recently joined this forum (and reading avidly) has made me ferret out an old cutthroat razor I found years ago while doing up an old house.

On one side of the blade it says "42 Paris, on the other "Aug. Zeeb Mannheim".
Was August Zeeb in Mannheim (Germany) the maker/manufacturer and Paris 42 the model?

As you can hopefully see from my q&d pix the blade has nicks in it. Can those be honed out using a wet or oil stone? Or is it beyond redemption?

Is the handle made of bakelite? How old would you judge the razor to be anyway?

And finally ... if this should be usable again - how do I care for it?
Does it need protection with oils or greases? Does the handle need polishing with anything, or again some sort of protective treatment with anything?

Thank you for reading this.

 

[Skrymr]

Sorry, I can't help much on the history of you're razor or the scale material. The blade however might be salvageable. My only concern would be the rust spot on the edge about 1/4 of the way down from the tip of the razor in the third picture. If it isn't pitted too much, the nick should hone out without too much trouble. I recommend getting it professionally honed for you're first razor so you have a base line for what a shave ready razor feels like.

It is a nice looking razor. good luck.

 

[PDB]

I think it can be salvaged. I second the suggestion to send it off for a hone. Another option would be to get a nice ready to shave razor and use this one to practice honing. I ground out a nick about that size an old razor and thought I was never going to get there. I think there are others on here that will be able to tell you about the razor, I am far from an expert in that area. Welcome aboard.

 

[Earcutter]

I would not use it as my first razor. It needs some love. If there is an attachment to it, then after sanding it down and shipping it off to be honed, sure go for it. Otherwise "I" would start with something else while I took the time to get that one in working order.

 

[PierreLePanthere]

Thank you gents. Three out of 3 recommendations to have this done professionally

Well, for the princely sum of € 9.50 + VAT a local shop specialising in supplies for hairdressers and barbers will send it in to be re-ground and honed. I was very surprised that it was relatively easy to find someone to do it ... and for such a nice price, too. It'll be back with me in about three weeks.

So I suppose it'll be DE shaving during the week and on the weekends, when I have the leisure to learn and practise, it'll be cut-throat time.