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Just been given these straights and could do with some advice/info please

I've just been given these straights by my stepmums stepdad, apparently my dad mentioned I was interested in old razors and he said I could have these. Rather nice of the guy considering I've never met or spoke to him ever before lol
Apparently one of these was issued to him during "the war" but I have no idea which (my dad brought them round and I don't think he paid much attention when he was told about them)

Has "The Mois" on the tang, haven't been able to find info on this one.


Has "71 4/8 Halma" on the tang, haven't found much on this either.


"The Fisher" Now I've read a little on these guys but more info is welcome.


Now these are far from perfect. The Fisher razor has a fair amount of rust under the scales, so much it's stopping the razor from opening any more than is in the pic. The Mois has a pretty lose blade (is there a way to tighten the pin?) and the Halma has obviously had one of the pins "Fixed" in the past.
Now I'm basically wondering if anybody can maybe give me some more information on these razors aswell as what they'd recommend I should do to restore them.
I've cleaned up a couple of old razors before but not taken the step to taking them apart etc so decided why not try with these.
I know a place near me to find the brass rods I'd need to replace the pins but haven't been able to find any brass microwashers, I'll try to reuse the ones on the razors but could do with some just incase.
I've used Autosol to clean up blades in the past but never tried to sand away any heavy pitting, so any advice would be nice there too. I also have no idea what the scales on the Mois razor are made from, so don't wanna try cleaning these up before I know what they are.
I'm not too worried if anybody thinks they couldn't be restored to shaving use, I wouldn't mind ofcourse but I'd just be glad to get them back into a nice condition.
Many thanks
Adam
 
Nice! :thumbup1:

Soap and water and an old toothbrush go a long way in cleaning up old razors & scales. WD-40 and dental floss around the pivot if you don't wan't to unpin. Hobby shops sometimes have micro washer as well as 1/16" brass rod. 220-400-800-1500-2000 grit sandpaper progression if you're going to hand sand with the WD-40. Your choice of polish to finish . Flitz, Mothers, Maas, Brasso. etc... etc...

Sorry no info on the blades here. They look nice though. The Mois has a honed out toe and would probably be my last choice to restore.

Keep us posted.
 
The Mois was a brand of Solingen manufacturer Bontgen & Sabin. In business from 1870 to 1970.

Halma Shear and Razor Works was a Solingen manufacturer. I haven't found dates of operation.
There is at least one reference I have found to them manufacturing razors as early as 1897.
Halma was purchased by Giesen & Forsthoff, date unknown, and the Halma brand name has been used on razors manufactured by Giesen.
Giesen & Forsthoff started in 1920 and is still in business today.

You've probably already found this, but "Fisher" was the brand of Paul Kohl, The Fisher Works, based in Solingen.
Can't help you with dates of operation but they're outstanding shavers.

Edit: It's hard to say anything with 100% certainty from the pictures. It looks like you could clean up all of them and make decent shavers out of them. None wiill be showpieces but they shouldn't turn out too bad.

The scales on The Mois look like horn. I wouldn't do much to it except to clean up the rust and use mineral oil to revitalize the scales. There is too much hone wear at the toe to even out the blade. You could still sharpen it and shave with it after you clean it. The pitting and rust doesn't look too bad and you could probably clean it up with 320/400 grit wet/dry sandpaper followed by 1k grit. You can tighten the pin by gently tapping it with a small peening hammer using the side of a regular hammer as an anvil. Search peening in the restoration forum.

The Halma doesn't look too bad but it's hard to tell how deep the pitting is. The same sandpaper regimen as above. If it looks good then polish it with Maas or Mother's and hone.

From your picture, the Fisher looks okay. I would unpin the Fisher to get at the pivot rust with sandpaper. If it looks good after sanding, then polish it and re-scale it with the same scales (cleaned up) or new ones. The blade edge runs into the rear stabilizer and it looks like there's a little chip just in front of the rear stabilizer so it might require a little work on the hone.

I'd be very surprised if any of them were military issue, especially after WW I. The Germans did issue some straights in WW II, mostly to the navy. If the Fisher (the newest one) was issued in WW II it would be to the German military and marked Fischerwerk on the tang. I've never read of straights as military issue after WW II.
He might have "liberated" it during a war or bought it for himself.
It is a nice and thoughtful gift from someone who doesn't really know you.
 
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Thanks for the information guys, the military issue razors I've seen usually have a serial number on them somewhere too so that had me a bit puzzled. I've been told he'd like to see the razors after they've been cleaned up so I intend to try my best at getting them into a nice condition again. I'll post some pictures when I'm eventually done.
Just went over all 3 razors with some autosol, judging from what I cleared all 3 blades are going to need sanding down as the rust and pitting is quite nasty in some areas.
I've been able to find some stainless steel microwashers but still no brass. Would the 2 tone effect be ok or would you recommend I get some stainless rods or keep trying to find some brass ones in the UK?
 
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The 2 tone look is a matter of preference. I see nothing wrong with it and I've pinned a couple of razors with brass rod and stainless steel washers myself.
When you unpin a razor you may find flat brass washers between the blade and the scales at the pivot. Try to salvage these as you will need to re-use them. They prevent wear on the scales and smoother action as you open and close the razor.
I'm not familiar with UK suppliers of washers, but there are a couple of German sellers on ebay.

I would love to see pics when you're done.
 
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