Getting the razor of your choice can be a challenge, since there seem to be more and more DE shavers every day and the classic tools just aren't being made anymore - a perfect example of supply and demand at work. Well, on another forum, I belong to a brotherhood we call the C.B.O.A. - Cheap B*st*rds of America 
and I suppose I could pay some of the high prices I see at auction, but I'll squeeze those nickels until the buffalo bellers! It's just my nature...
This Fat Boy is a recent example - the listing photos were brutally honest, and so was the description: "Estate find, needs cleaning". How true. It looked like the plating was either nearly destroyed, or that the razor had been painted, or who knows what. The razor chamber looked like a blade had crawled up in there to die and rust into oblivion. Seems that the photos scared away most of the bidders who normally flock to Fat Boy auctions and drive the prices up to $60, $75, or more. I scored this one for $26.50 shipped.
So the razor arrived in yesterday's mail and got the standard barbicide treatment, followed by an overnight soak in Dawn and hot water. This morning, while waiting for the shower to warm up, I used my thumbnail on whatever was coating the handle and TTO knob. Seemed like wax and 90% of it flaked off with nothing more than that. I gently scrubbed the knurling with a brass brush to get the remainder that my thumbnail couldn't reach.
I then took an electric toothbrush (please don't tell my wife I used hers) and attacked the rust. Remember that these razors are brass and nickel plating - they don't rust! - so any rust you see will almost certainly be surface rust. Don't let that scare you away when you see it in an auction photo. I then tossed it into the ultrasonic bath and let it run while I was in the shower.
View attachment 525591
View attachment 525592
This is what it looked like after 2 runs in the u/s bath. The razor hasn't been disassembled or polished, yet, but it would certainly be auction and user grade ready as it sits. Not bad for no more than about 5-10 minutes of invested time, so far. I'll break it down and u/s the parts after we get back from vacation in a couple of weeks.
Moral of the story? There is an incredible amount of knowledge, support and inspiration for razor restorations on B&B - up to, and including, major surgery - but it's amazing what can be done with nothing more than a hot soak, toothbrush and ultrasonic bath, if you're not afraid to try.
You want value? Bid on gnarly, knowing that you'll have the support of the members of B&B to make your new acquisition sparkle!
and I suppose I could pay some of the high prices I see at auction, but I'll squeeze those nickels until the buffalo bellers! It's just my nature...This Fat Boy is a recent example - the listing photos were brutally honest, and so was the description: "Estate find, needs cleaning". How true. It looked like the plating was either nearly destroyed, or that the razor had been painted, or who knows what. The razor chamber looked like a blade had crawled up in there to die and rust into oblivion. Seems that the photos scared away most of the bidders who normally flock to Fat Boy auctions and drive the prices up to $60, $75, or more. I scored this one for $26.50 shipped.
So the razor arrived in yesterday's mail and got the standard barbicide treatment, followed by an overnight soak in Dawn and hot water. This morning, while waiting for the shower to warm up, I used my thumbnail on whatever was coating the handle and TTO knob. Seemed like wax and 90% of it flaked off with nothing more than that. I gently scrubbed the knurling with a brass brush to get the remainder that my thumbnail couldn't reach.
I then took an electric toothbrush (please don't tell my wife I used hers
) and attacked the rust. Remember that these razors are brass and nickel plating - they don't rust! - so any rust you see will almost certainly be surface rust. Don't let that scare you away when you see it in an auction photo. I then tossed it into the ultrasonic bath and let it run while I was in the shower.View attachment 525591
View attachment 525592
This is what it looked like after 2 runs in the u/s bath. The razor hasn't been disassembled or polished, yet, but it would certainly be auction and user grade ready as it sits. Not bad for no more than about 5-10 minutes of invested time, so far. I'll break it down and u/s the parts after we get back from vacation in a couple of weeks.
Moral of the story? There is an incredible amount of knowledge, support and inspiration for razor restorations on B&B - up to, and including, major surgery - but it's amazing what can be done with nothing more than a hot soak, toothbrush and ultrasonic bath, if you're not afraid to try.
You want value? Bid on gnarly, knowing that you'll have the support of the members of B&B to make your new acquisition sparkle!
