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My dad brought me back my grandfather's razor from Greece

Well, my dad knows I use a DE. He doesn't agree, he uses a Mach III or whatever but he went to Greece and brought me back my grandfather's razor.
It's a Gillette serial number C 8 8 5 3 (I think?) 8 0 which looks to be a 1915 manufacture model.
The threads are excellent, hell I could shave with this thing as soon as I cleaned it up.
Not bad for a 96 year old piece of equipment, hey?
I wonder if it was a WWI issue piece.

What is the best way to clean really old rust and crud off this razor? It hasn't been used in at least 23 years.




 
That's pocket edition empire pattern set #504, but razor don't seem match, it's suppose have a swirl type design.
 
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Just clean it lightly with some dish detergent and leave it alone. Looks good the way it is, it got that was somehow, don't mess with it.
 
As for the cleaning rust portion, you can use a wire brush, or pumice stone, or sand paper, but be careful not to go too deep or outside the rusted area. The problem is that rust will continue to return over time, just like it got there to begin with. Some metals need to have a treatment to prevent rust / oxidation after being worked, so you may want to look for some form of 'chem-film' that will provide a decent protective layer after cleaning the rust and not be affected by shaving usage.

Never having met my grandfathers as they both passed before I was born, you have a great heirloom there. I would invest the time to wait and get everything lined up before cleaning, then after cleaned and protected just use it on special occasions.
 
I would not use any abrasives as listed above as they will cause damage. The case looks like it was possibly silver coated, the best way to clean this is the backing soda method. I always clean with hot water and dish soap soaks and a soft bristle tooth brush first, then depending on the finish go from there.
 
I would not use any abrasives as listed above as they will cause damage. The case looks like it was possibly silver coated, the best way to clean this is the backing soda method. I always clean with hot water and dish soap soaks and a soft bristle tooth brush first, then depending on the finish go from there.

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