Thread: Honing & shaving with the Puma Microtome

I have sold several of these blades before finding out what they were for.
If I get another I will offer it at cost + shipping

A pair of 13/16” Straight Sectioning Razors. NR

Manufacturers Info.
Flatters & Garnett Ltd
Manchester. C1900
History
http://www.msim.org.uk/media/161951/...%20garnett.pdf

These razors have a 13/16” Hollow ground blade on one side
& flat on the other.
They have a type of Cream plastic scales with an integral spacer.

Engraved on the tang are the words
“Flatters & Garnett Ltd Manchester”

On the reverse is “Made & Ground in Sheffield England”
Mislaid the pictures

Originally Posted by portal5

On the reverse is “Made & Ground in Sheffield England”
Mislaid the pictures

I came across some old notes that had been scanned and put online that referred to this grind as a section grind, which makes more sense to me when you mentioned that these are sectioning razors

Here is a head on shot of mine that is only stamped "Made & Ground in Sheffield England"

If anyone is after a Microtome I have one!
A link to the pictures *Taylors1000 Straight Razor ebay sales

I will place a link to the sale in the auction talk Forum.

if you shave with this one that means steel is good enough to take the edge. i guess sharpening was PITA. Great job getting done JIMMY

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

if you shave with this one that means steel is good enough to take the edge. i guess sharpening was PITA. Great job getting done JIMMY

I have gotten great shaves with it a few times without needing to retouch it Sham. It was a job to hone it but it was also a challenge so it was fun. One of those where I succeeded ...... the thrill of victory rather than the agony of defeat.

You can shave with these things? I was disappointed when my ebay bargain Geo. Wostenholm IXL turned out to be a sectioning razor. I put it back in its coffin as soon as I saw the flat side and sulked. I sulked even more when I lost the auction on a lovely wosty pipe that I was bidding on to cheer myself up with too.

Maybe I could forgive the poor thing? Have I been too harsh on it?

Originally Posted by m0isty

You can shave with these things? I was disappointed when my ebay bargain Geo. Wostenholm IXL turned out to be a sectioning razor. I put it back in its coffin as soon as I saw the flat side and sulked. I sulked even more when I lost the auction on a lovely wosty pipe that I was bidding on to cheer myself up with too.

Maybe I could forgive the poor thing? Have I been too harsh on it?

Well I have honed mine and shaved with it as posted in the OP in this thread. Whether you want to go through the hassle or not is the question. It is an interesting project, at least it was to me. Once honed and shave ready it has the stiffness of a full wedge even on the hollow side. Mine got super sharp with that good Puma Inox steel and 7/8 blade. I had no use for a microtome as I haven't cut up tissue samples lately nor do I foresee the need so it was a case of honing it up and giving it a go or throwing it in a drawer and considering my $50.00 down the drain. Wostenholm didn't make any bad razors so I bet it could be made into a good shaver if you wanted to give it a shot.

What is the tape for?

Originally Posted by rickboone

What is the tape for?

If you look that the microtome from the front of the blade you'll notice that the spine is not as prominent on the flat side.

By using layers of tape you increase the width of the spine to decrease the bevel angle. I used three on that one. If I had it to do over again I would probably have used four. The idea being to create a bevel on the flat side that is symmetrical with the bevel on the hollow ground side.

Funnily enough, I have shaved with an all-metal wedge microtome last night... it's a heavy blade at 85g but it shaves beautifully. The bevel on mine is asymmetrical, by the way