Found my "grail" razor, now what?

UPDATE: Here's an example of going from absolute bliss to extreme disappointment....


Look at what I caught on the bay!....



It's a hair under 9/8...



..and over 1/4" spine


scales have some chips but the blade is in great shape!


Now how do I get this shave ready?!...

Congrats on the monster. Very nice.

I've got two old W&B that I use from time to time. The smile on mine are not as pronounced as on this one.
Also, yours tapers down quickly toward the tail. I don't know if this is good or bad. I do like the look of it and I find the wider and heavier blades work well for me.

Unless you are skilled at the hone I would send it out to an expert. At least the first time for a primo edge.

Hope you enjoy it !

Congratulations on finding your Grail. Now you can find a new Grail (as long as it isn't a MK no32, that's mine)

imatabor said:

Congratulations on finding your Grail. Now you can find a new Grail (as long as it isn't a MK no32, that's mine)

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+1

I do worry about that rear stabilizer, I think it will cause some issues when honing, it might need some work to get that to sit on the stone.

Very nice indeed. I would not try to hone that razor until I hone my rolling X stroke better. Not one of my strong points yet. Send it off to Doc, he'll fix you up.

Doc226 said:

I do worry about that rear stabilizer, I think it will cause some issues when honing, it might need some work to get that to sit on the stone.

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Folks, this is why you should have a qualified mechanic inspect a classic car before you buy it...

Upon further inspection, it appears that there was a chip towards the heel and therefore they had to grind it out...(look for the dark spot on the edge).



Sometimes you get so caught up in "the hunt" that you overlook the obvious.

Hopefully this "catch" won't be a "catch & release".

That razor scares me. You are brave men.

spyrodog said:

Folks, this is why you should have a qualified mechanic inspect a classic car before you buy it...

Upon further inspection, it appears that there was a chip towards the heel and therefore they had to grind it out...(look for the dark spot on the edge).

View attachment 579823 View attachment 579824

Sometimes you get so caught up in "the hunt" that you overlook the obvious.

Hopefully this "catch" won't be a "catch & release".

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Grail with a "ding"? Find a good grail repair guy . . . or release it in this direction.

If the "repair" wasn't reported I would return it.

I honestly like the profile aNd i think it could be redone well if the stabilizer is reduced a bit

Wid said:

If the "repair" wasn't reported I would return it.

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Trying to find out now what can be done.

global_dev said:

I honestly like the profile aNd i think it could be redone well if the stabilizer is reduced a bit

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I need to weigh my options now but I'm also having a hard time finding someone who will restore it.

This might be a VERY expensive "lesson learned"....

If you end up keeping this, its just a small "shave" off the heel, a slight reprofile of the edge and a nice rolling stroke and your good.

Update: I was able to negotiate a decent discount from the seller and decided to keep it.

I shaved down the stabilizer and managed to get a decent looking edge on it...



I used a combination of 800 & 1000 grit wet/dry sand paper to get a bevel going and finished it up with some 30 micron lapping film. Then I went through a progression of 15, 12, 9, 5, 3 and 1 micron. It cuts tomatoes and arm hair, let's see if it shaves.....

Doc226 said:

I do worry about that rear stabilizer, I think it will cause some issues when honing, it might need some work to get that to sit on the stone.

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I was thinking the same. I think that the heel will need re-profiling in order for the razor to side flat on a hone. Looks like you did a pretty decent job of it.