(reposting this here)recently came into possession of my great granddads ovb straigh

[cptn_young_beard]

I recently came into possession of my great granddads ovb straight. I would very much like to get it back into useable condition and was looking for some guidance as to how to go about doing this. I am now to the community and do not trust myself to take a family heirloom to a hone at this time. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.


Thanks and God bless

 

[Cachorro]

Welcome to B&B.

It will help to see some pictures of the heirloom in question to provide better suggestions. But I can say, if you are new to SR shaving, better get your self a shave ready razor, something inexpensive maybe?

Also, are you a traditional wet shaver already? if so, then just use your current brush and soap, if not, then I would recommend you start with getting yourself a starter kit, brush, soap or cream, strop, etc.

It may sound a bit much to start with, but the gratification I get from it is great.

Looking forwards to seeing those pics

 

[cptn_young_beard]

Sorry for for the poor lighting but the only camera I have is my phone

 

[Cachorro]

It looks to be in very good shape, just some honing will make it serviceable. Here are a few options:

Option 1: You can just send it to be honed with a reputable member from this forum, that will be the minimum recommended, that way you will have a nice shave ready blade.

Option 2: You can send it to be restored and honed to a reputable member from this form, that will give you a shave ready and pretty razor to start with. From the looks of it, it should not require to much work. (I recommend this option)

Option 3: Restore your self and send out to be honed. Soap and water for the scales, wet/dry sand paper for the blade, look on the sticky for tips on that:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...Look-Here*****

Option 4: Go all the way!!! Resto and honing by your self, this is a long (and maybe expensive) option, but IMO, the most rewording. You may end up destroying the blade, but you can also be a natural and have a nice clean piece of sharp steel that you can proudly say you restore/honed.
Sticky for the honing: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...u-need-to-know

Any way you go, you will need a strop. A beginner strop is recommended (Whipped Dog poor man strop:http://www.whippeddog.com/products/v...-man-strop-kit) or a folded news paper should get you started ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGVNbMvvOJI)

There are several members here that may assist you in restoring and/or honing it for you. Bayamontate, Doc266 come to mind, check their post and send them a PM.

I hope this helps.

 

[Avenolpey]

I like the above advice. Buy a GD from Seraphim and send it to Bayamontate or Doc266 for restoration. Doc's recent work can be seen here. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...in-Curly-Koa?p=7350350&highlight=#post7350350

It looks all original and in good shape. You really need at least two razors to keep things interesting. Add leather and linen/canvas and you are off to the races with a head start.

 

[FairlySlow]

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Sorry for for the poor lighting but the only camera I have is my phone

Im looking for this exact brand razor currently. Seen one on ebay and now im fixated on it. I scored a vintage strop/hone in one from the same brand that says “OVB/Our Very Best” on it and im hoping that the leather is okay. The hone part looks unused and the leather looks okay mostly but its got a small gouge in the middle. Ill probably end up posting pics and asking here on b&b sometime soon. Its the first time ive seen a vintage hone/strop together

 

[lasta]

I'm far from an expert (stopped straight shaving 7-8 years ago), but IMO, you don't need much to bring it back to tip top shape!

The razor looks to be in fine condition, a bit of metal polish should make it shiny shiny in no time. Might need some sanding on the back of the spine (or extra work with polish alone), but cosmetically, not much wrong with it!

As for honing, a 1000 grit should be enough to set the bevel. 1000 should be in every household IMO, even if you don't shave.

Follow up with a ~4-6000 stone (your choice, no difference really) and a finisher. Finishers are and have always been YMMV, but my journey ended with a Woodcraft Chinese 12K 15-17 years ago. If Woodcraft stopped selling those, @rbscebu should be able to point you to an alternative.

Good luck and have fun!

*Sorry, just saw this was almost 2 months ago! How did things turn out?

 

[alex1921]

I'm far from an expert (stopped straight shaving 7-8 years ago), but IMO, you don't need much to bring it back to tip top shape!

The razor looks to be in fine condition, a bit of metal polish should make it shiny shiny in no time. Might need some sanding on the back of the spine (or extra work with polish alone), but cosmetically, not much wrong with it!

As for honing, a 1000 grit should be enough to set the bevel. 1000 should be in every household IMO, even if you don't shave.

Follow up with a ~4-6000 stone (your choice, no difference really) and a finisher. Finishers are and have always been YMMV, but my journey ended with a Woodcraft Chinese 12K 15-17 years ago. If Woodcraft stopped selling those, @rbscebu should be able to point you to an alternative.

Good luck and have fun!

*Sorry, just saw this was almost 2 months ago! How did things turn out?

8 years and 2 months