On the Workbench

Today I started restoring this Joseph Rodgers & Sons blade. I got it without scales but even if it had them I would have had to remove them due to the rust on the tang.

Due to the considerable rust I started with a 220 grit paper and worked up to 2500. I could only do but so much on the etched side of the blade as I did not want to completely blow away the etching. The blade actually came out better than I was expecting.

I added a set of buffalo horn scales (plastic would have been sacrilege on this razor!). I had a bit of an issue shaping the wedge but finally got the geometry right. Once the scales were on I honed it. It took a bit longer than usual getting the bevel set, some razors are like that. In the end, it honed up well.

I shave tested it and it gave as smooth a shave as any of my other razors; however, it did tug a bit more than I was happy with so I'll be touching up on a 12k later and shave testing again.

While there is more than average tarnish on the tang the razor came out surprisingly well. It looks great with its new scales and I'm confident that it will be an amazing shaver.