Help With Cleaning Up Vintage SE Razors

[Old Sarge]

Greetings, All!

Below pictures from the Ebay listing of two vintage SE razors that I purchased today. Barring mechanical issues, I'm optimistic that the Gem Damaskeene will clean up nicely while the Ever Ready 1914 will be more of a challenge. I hope to get the 1914 to an acceptable user grade condition. Both were at the top of my Wanna Get list.

I plan to use the tried and true method of soaking the heads in hot/warm water with Dawn dish soap for 30 minutes, followed by scrubbing with a old soft toothbrush and a more firm firearms cleaning style bristle brush. Then spray with non-bleach Scrubbing Bubbles type bathroom cleaner for a 10 minutes soak followed by scrubbing with the brushes. I don't have any acceptable polishing product, but in the near future will order a tube of Flitz.

Do both handles look to be nickel plated steel? And if so, should these be cleaned differently than the heads. What about gently using a firearms cleaning style brass brush on the knurling?

Any advice, particularly with the 1914, will be much appreciated.

Thanks to Dave in KY for giving his opinion on the listing prior to making the buy as this was my first Ebay razor purchase.

PS...Hey Tony'schin, your postimage tip worked perfectly for these images. So much easier than what I was previously doing. Thank you!

[TobyC]

Greetings, All!

Below pictures from the Ebay listing of two vintage SE razors that I purchased today. Barring mechanical issues, I'm optimistic that the Gem Damaskeene will clean up nicely while the Ever Ready 1914 will be more of a challenge. I hope to get the 1914 to an acceptable user grade condition. Both were at the top of my Wanna Get list.

I plan to use the tried and true method of soaking the heads in hot/warm water with Dawn dish soap for 30 minutes, followed by scrubbing with a old soft toothbrush and a more firm firearms cleaning style bristle brush. Then spray with non-bleach Scrubbing Bubbles type bathroom cleaner for a 10 minutes soak followed by scrubbing with the brushes. I don't have any acceptable polishing product, but in the near future will order a tube of Flitz.

Do both handles look to be nickel plated steel? And if so, should these be cleaned differently than the heads. What about gently using a firearms cleaning style brass brush on the knurling?

Any advice, particularly with the 1914, will be much appreciated.

Thanks to Dave in KY for giving his opinion on the listing prior to making the buy as this was my first Ebay razor purchase.

PS...Hey Tony'schin, your postimage tip worked perfectly for these images. So much easier than what I was previously doing. Thank you!

Do what you said.

[Jayaruh]

That's two fine razors. Sounds like you got a good plan already. If you are going to be doing a lot of this sort of thing in the future, I would suggest getting a small sonic cleaner. I use mine with hot water and Dawn detergent.

[Old Sarge]

That's two fine razors. Sounds like you got a good plan already. If you are going to be doing a lot of this sort of thing in the future, I would suggest getting a small sonic cleaner. I use mine with hot water and Dawn detergent.

Good Morning, Jim!

Thanks for the suggestion of a sonic cleaner. I've seen on some videos how effective they can be.

Do you think I should use the same cleaning technique for the two handles?

Thanks and have a great day!

[Jayaruh]

I have a little brass brush that works great on those types of handles. It gets down in the grooves.

[Old Sarge]

Today I'm going to order some Flitz polish from Home Depot.

I was wondering what everyone else prefers to use for polishing razors? And since Flitz comes in both a paste and a liquid, which style do you prefer?

Thanks!

[TobyC]

Today I'm going to order some Flitz polish from Home Depot.

I was wondering what everyone else prefers to use for polishing razors? And since Flitz comes in both a paste and a liquid, which style do you prefer?

Thanks!

I got the liquid, never used the paste, so I can't compare the two.

[GAW9576]

The few times I've polished a razor I've used this. I use it more for the brass, acrylic and finishes in my wood and acrylic turnings.

https://www.amazon.com/Maas-Internationa...8046&psc=1

[Old Sarge]

The few times I've polished a razor I've used this. I use it more for the brass, acrylic and finishes in my wood and acrylic turnings.

https://www.amazon.com/Maas-Internationa...8046&psc=1

Yeah, I've read that Maas is good too. Wow, French lavender...if that's the smell then you must be careful to not accidentally use as a shaving cream, probably won't lather worth a darn! 

I guess by you saying the few times you've polished a razor that means you mostly just use soap and hot water to clean and leave the natural patina?

[GAW9576]

The few times I've polished a razor I've used this. I use it more for the brass, acrylic and finishes in my wood and acrylic turnings.

https://www.amazon.com/Maas-Internationa...8046&psc=1

Yeah, I've read that Maas is good too. Wow, French lavender...if that's the smell then you must be careful to not accidentally use as a shaving cream, probably won't lather worth a darn! 

I guess by you saying the few times you've polished a razor that means you mostly just use soap and hot water to clean and leave the natural patina?

Absolutely on sanitize but leave patina for most of my razors. They have worked hard for many years to earn their beautiful patinas. Although I do like the look of a perfectly polished razor most of my collection are good user grade razors with enough character that I don't see the point of trying to polish them to perfection. Obviously this is purely personal preference.