A few restorations

Mastropiero

Mastropiero

Forum GOD!
Had this one on the bench for a while now, today I managed to finish it. This Puma 89 was completely darkened by Father Time, rust, patina, god knows what. You can appreciate there's a lot of pitting, although it isn't all that severe, but it definitely shows. I did have to unpeen it, and I really didn't want to but there was just too much rust around the pivot, so I went for it. I was hesitant because I know the collars I use are ever so slightly thicker than the original Solingen ones. In hand, a trained eye will notice the difference but I must say, I am pleased with how it turned out. Width wise it sits at 20.3 mm at its widest. I don't know how wide these particular Puma razors are, but it is still a hefty amount of steel left. Hope you like it.
















 
G

Grayswandir

Veteran
Did you get the collars from Austin at Old School Razors? His cup washers are the larger ones. The guy from Romania sells a smaller sizes. I've yet to get my hands on a Puma, I'm still trying. They're more expensive then a lot of other razors. Nice job.
 
UKRob

UKRob

Forum GOD!
With such a hollow grind it would be almost impossible to remove any pitting without damaging the temper - and, as long as it is not on the edge, there’s no need to worry about it anyway. Use it while you can - I’m sure it will be a great shaver.
 
Mastropiero

Mastropiero

Forum GOD!
BlacknTan said:
I've got a couple of Pumas... IMHO, they are worth a slight upcharge. Very fine craftsmanship, and great steel!

BTW, very nice restorations. I like the fact that you leave a bit of character!
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Many thanks, I'm happy you like them!

UKRob said:
With such a hollow grind it would be almost impossible to remove any pitting without damaging the temper - and, as long as it is not on the edge, there’s no need to worry about it anyway. Use it while you can - I’m sure it will be a great shaver.
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Well, there is that and there is also the lack of know-how and equipment to go any further. At the end of the day, the only way to leave the blades pristine is to remove metal. There comes a moment when you either know very, very well what you're doing, or you end up properly screwing up the blade's geometry. I am also not a big fan of razors that look artificially NOS, if you know what I mean. Sure, I look in awe at the restos the guys at Griffiths Shaving Goods do, they sure are eye candy, but the hard truth is that a late 1800's razor is more likely to look like one of my restored blades than one of theirs. The work is exquisite but, to me, they look too good, if I'm making any sense here.

In any case, hats off to their staff, I wish I had their know-how.

For the moment, I'll keep limiting myself to only going to town on scales. Much easier to handle and, worst comes to worst, I can always fix myself a pair of them, but I will not risk destroying a razor just out of ambition. If I do, let it be only due to clumsiness. Which it has happened, by the way.
 
Mastropiero

Mastropiero

Forum GOD!
Yikes, bloody Imgur, all my links broken....

Two more razors, this time I managed to snap a "before" pic:

IMG_7934.jpeg


Razor number one:

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IMG_7937.jpeg


Henckels 9. This one is an oddity, never seen one like it. Despite the "hollow ground" etching, it is a 1/4 hollow grind at best. Should any of you Gentlemen have any more info about these ones, please, do share, I'd be very grateful.
 
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