5/8 Thiers Issard

[Tywno]

Last friday I went out to buy a yellow coticule from The Dutch Barbershop (http://www.barbershopclassics.nl). Before going home I asked the proprietor if he had a blade that required some restauration. He showed me a few razors and my attention was drawn to a Thiers Issard razor. It had minimal oxidation and a frowning edge, as can be seen in the pictures. (yes it lies on my brand new coticule :w00t:)

The markings say (picture order):
1. 1196 5/8
2. 69 Medaille ARGt Thiers Issard (69 Silver Medal Thiers Issard?)
3. Rasoir Français, Evide Sonnant Extra, Garanti (frowning edge)
4. Almost the same picture as the last, after 15 minutes on a diamond hone. Now this straight razor is straight once more.

After straightening the edge I gave the blade a very quick polish to remove the oxidation, being careful not to remove the engraving/etching. I already put on a new bevel but have yet to hone it to razor-sharpness. More razor p*rn will follow, when I'm finished with it. Any additional information, comments, compliments and questions are very welcome. :biggrin:

[Dharion]

3rd pic and 4rth provide so much insight! :eek: Tell us, how did you accomplish it?

[mparker762]

:eek: I'm really curious how this one shaves...

[Sullybob]

In the first couple of pictures the spine also looks like it is not straight. In the last picture the spine looks like it is now straighter. Is the spine really straighter on the razor and did you intend to straighten the spine?

Nice work and nice find.

What grit was the diamond hone?

[Tywno]

Dharion:
You get insight into what? I just straightened the edge by trying to 'cut' the diamond hone (razor perpendicular to hone). Light pressure, to prevent the edge from chipping and the metal gets worn away until all of the edge touches the hone again.

mparker762:
At the moment it doesn't shave ;). The razor was blunt at the time the picture was taken. It would only be useful as a movie prop, to 'shave' people. After taking the picture , I put on a new bevel. If it were a kitchen knife, it would be considered very sharp. But it is not ready to shave with, just yet.

Sullybob:
I think it is an optical illusion the spine looks more straight. While grinding down the edge, the blade was perpendicular to the hone, so the spine was untouched. All pictures show the exact same, unaltered spine.

As for the hone grit, I used a 20 micron hone. Only to realize it would take a very long time, so I finished it on 40 micron :rolleyes:. I did take the time to create the bevel on the 20 micron hone. First with a taped spine to get the right shape without removing too much metal from the spine. When a reasonable edge was formed I removed the tape and did 100 passes to create the final bevel.

[paul.c]

I like it. Can't wait for the rest of te pics

[Tywno]

Here are some more pictures. The blade was quickly polished and the bevel is set. Also, the third picture shows some more detail of the etching.