DB's Restorals

Not sure how much of a thread this is going to be in the long run, but here's to being hopeful.

My first restoral project is an old Depose French frameback. I regret that I didn't take a before pic, but the spine was black, some black on the blade and rust on and under the tang.

It was a real pain to unpin. The original pin seemed a bit big and it was a real battle to get out. The scales are in relatively good shape, but the wedge snapped in half during the unpinning. It was old and brittle.

This is a look at the blade before I have it repinned. I still need to obtain and shape a new wedge... I'm not equipped to make my own wedges yet.

I didn't go all the way to a high mirror polish, but I like the way it looks, and I think it is in good usable condition. It has a bit of a frown that needs honed out. I hand sanded it from 220 to 1500, and used a fine wire brush in a couple tough spots, which worked very well.

Thanks to Nerdman for advice and moral support along the way. I will update this thread as I go along, or start a new project... mostly for my own enjoyment, but I hope you like the pics.

Good work Jay!! Razor looks nice! Now polish up them scales and post it all pinned up!!

Nerdman said:

Good work Jay!! Razor looks nice! Now polish up them scales and post it all pinned up!!

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Thanks, Ernie!... and thanks for all your advice along the way. It has been fun!

That stupid wedge is holding me back, at this point. I found some replacement Dovo plastic wedges, and I will probably order a couple of those and sand one down to the right size... but that is holding me up.

In a pinch, I've used parts of old broken scales to make wedges. It saves throwing them out and if they're the right size its like a second life for them.

Edit: And the blade looks great btw, keep it up!

Thanks! I started on my second blade project today, which is a more modern razor that I do want to restore to it's original polish, but I've been having a bit of trouble with it. I'm taking a break and I'll go back to it later. It's making slow progress.

On the bright side though, this one was quite a bit easier to unpin, and the original scales and wedge are good to go... so I will be able to pin it back together as soon as I'm done with the blade.

Here is my current project. A Sear's Craftsman razor... these are the original scales. So far I have hand sanded out most of the black and water marks. There is more work I want to do on the blade and scales to get them looking better, but I absolutely could not wait any longer to re-pin this guy, so that I can hone and shave with it tonight.

I am really happy with my first re-pinning job. Sorry the closeup of the pins is a bit blurry. The problem I am facing, now that it is back in the scales, is that if the razor is not closed slowly, it slightly brushes up against one scale. I'm not sure if this is partly due to the scales, but I am almost certain this old, crappy wedge has shrunk up a bit. I can fix this whole problem by putting in a slightly wider wedge... so, yet again, I'm stuck at needing to be able to make my own wedges.

I'm going to have to pick up equipment and material for wedges soon. Due to my limited space, I think I am going to go with a dremel, and a dremel workstation, or dremel routing tool, or something like that... not sure yet.

Anyway, here's the pictures so far. I'm gonna go hone this thing.

For the wedge, you just need to cut it out rough (a couple mm bigger around the scales than necessary) and sand it. To taper it, a piece of wet/dry on glass (like for lapping a hone) and some 2 face tape on your finger. Lap it into the shape you want. Pin it in and sand it flush.

That's the way I've done it and it works fine, might not be the best option but limited equipment necessary.

Looking good! What did you end up pinning on? Seems to of have worked well!!

Looking real good, I like the Craftsman.

The blade cracked right next to the heel while I was honing it.

It must have had some kind of a invisible fracture or something. Dunno. It's toast.

Ernie, I used the side of a hammer as the metal surface for my pinning. I have a little divot drilled in it so the pinhead is resting in a domed surface.

Anyway... game over... frustrating.

*edit* Actually, looking at the second picture I posted of it, above, I think this crack started before I honed it. Not sure how this happened. It wasn't there last night when I was sanding it.

That sucks dude... I'm just waiting for the day when one of mine croaks on me. Doesn't seem to be if, but when with the vintage blades.

Sucks more that it was a special one you've been waiting for.

Munxcub said:

For the wedge, you just need to cut it out rough (a couple mm bigger around the scales than necessary) and sand it.

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What material are you using for your wedges, Munx? I'm thinking about ordering some acrylic... and what are you using to cut it? I have very limited tools right now, and space... so I'm working on getting the necessary tools and materials.

Munxcub said:

That sucks dude... I'm just waiting for the day when one of mine croaks on me. Doesn't seem to be if, but when with the vintage blades.

Sucks more that it was a special one you've been waiting for.

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Yeah, man... I'm kind of afraid to touch or hone anything now. I'm sure it wasn't my fault that this one broke... but it's like after you are in a car wreck and you feel nervous to drive for a while.

But yeah... when you see that crack and you know there is absolutely nothing you can do about it... it kind of ruins your day... lol.

Drybonz said:

What material are you using for your wedges, Munx? I'm thinking about ordering some acrylic... and what are you using to cut it? I have very limited tools right now, and space... so I'm working on getting the necessary tools and materials.

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I used a piece of white plastic I cut from an old plastic thing I had laying around. I cut it out with a scroll saw, but you could do it with a coping saw, especially if you're sanding the final shape to fit the scales, the cut doesn't need to be THAT precise...

Which blade broke? I have a Swedish Razor that is similar to your frameback and it's one if my favorites!

rambus007 said:

Which blade broke? I have a Swedish Razor that is similar to your frameback and it's one if my favorites!

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The Craftsman broke. The frameback I just need to make a wedge for it. I need to pick up a Swedish frameback.

Drybonz said:

The Craftsman broke. The frameback I just need to make a wedge for it. I need to pick up a Swedish frameback.

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Oh man!!!!!!! Dang it! Real sorry about that one DB. Hang in there!

Drybonz said:

The Craftsman broke. The frameback I just need to make a wedge for it. I need to pick up a Swedish frameback.

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Sorry to hear that. Can you salvage what's left of the blade and perhaps turn it into an kamisori type of razor with a fixed handle?

rambus007 said:

Sorry to hear that. Can you salvage what's left of the blade and perhaps turn it into an kamisori type of razor with a fixed handle?

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Thanks for the suggestion, but no... it's toast. I'm gonna keep it around as an example of my first full restoral, but I would like to replace it.

Sorry to hear about your loss, at least it wasn't your own fault.