Can these be restored

[elmerPHuD]

I am pretty sure the Gem can. I think one of the straights can, but I am unsure about the one with the curved edge. Should I DIY or send them off?

 

[The Monkey]

The Gem should be ok. Do you have blades?

The May and Thom has a lot of hone wear. @uacowboy is our resident restorer would know better.

The Damascus has a nasty frown and may not be redeemable.

 

[MilkCrate]

Lots of hone wear. Once that frown is worked out, there won’t be much razor left.

 

[uacowboy]

Yeah. The gem should just need a good cleaning. The May & Thom looks to be mostly in need of a good cleaning as well. The Damascus is pretty far gone but if it has a thicker grind it might clean up as a utility knife but I don't think it has enough steel left to be a razor based on the hone ware.

 

[elmerPHuD]

The gem should just need a good cleaning. The May & Thom looks to be mostly in need of a good cleaning as well.

So is this something I can do myself, or do I need to send it off to someone?

 

[MilkCrate]

So is this something I can do myself, or do I need to send it off to someone?

You got this.

 

[The Monkey]

So is this something I can do myself, or do I need to send it off to someone?

Cleaning it up is simple. Careful sanding the blade, it is easy to cut yourself.
After cleaning you will need it honed. I dont know if you can hone.

 

[CBLindsay]

Depending on your confidence with power tools and/or hones you could do a lot yourself. If you wanted to make that Damascus shave again it would take a major body off chassis overhaul. Use a dremmel or dragon sander to remove the heel and cut in a deep thumb notch (shortening the blade from the heel) until you had a squared up edge that MIGHT be able to be honed up with proper geometry again. The scales are worth saving either way.
If you want to do a basic clean up with minimal effort you could pick up some Evaporust and soak the whole razor in it then rub everywhere you can reach with an abrasive polish. That will render it rust free without much effort and will keep a lot of the look it has now. Polish more aggressively and it may shine up. Then hone away. OR go full restore- hand sand with progressively finer grit sand paper. It’s not hard but can take an evening or two.
If you have even a glimmer of a desire to try a restoration yourself I say dig in, we are here to help and if you need help along the way we will ALL share our thoughts. Just remember even when you render that edge “dull” it will cut you.

Regarding the Gem, if you’ve seen what @Techichi has done to the stuff he finds you would know how much better that one can look with a little cleaning. Don’t go crazy and scrub away the plating but do give it a good cleaning and maybe a light polish.

 

[uacowboy]

What these guys said! Cleaning can be accomplished yourself fairly easily depending how far you want to go. Evaporust is pretty awesome stuff and what it doesn't totally dissolve it stabilizes. A good soak in that followed by a little polishing and honing will get you a nice razor that still shows its age. Sandpaper and hand sanding can get you back to a mirror finish with some patience and effort but if there is much pitting in the blade and you want that gone you need power tools and care not to alter the geometry. As long as you are comfortable doing it yourself I say go for it! As Chris said, we are always happy to give pointers if you need advice.

 

[uacowboy]

Just remember even when you render that edge “dull” it will cut you.

I learned that the hard way! Geometry of the edge makes it always sharp, even when I can't shave hairs!

 

[Majorrich]

Cleaning that Gem shouldn’t be too bad. I typically use scrubbing bubbles and a toothbrush to scrub all the accumulated sponge. It does an especially good job on soap residue. Sometime I’ll follow up with some silver polish, or bon-ami to get stains in the surface itself.

 

[elmerPHuD]

Thanks everyone. I am going to start with the gem and go from there. I will keep you updated.

 

[Techichi]

On the Gem, I would give it a soak in warm water and dish soap. Then get an old tooth brush after it. If you want to remove some of that corrosion, a nylon brush Dremel attachment would probably be good.

PM me or ask here if you have anymore questions. My day is insane so it may take me a bit to reply.

 

[The Monkey]

Dont use anything with bleach. It can turn your razor pink.

 

[Brew]

Let the straights be, they've given their all.