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Found this auction and couldn't work out what looked wrong on the blades.
Then I noticed the shoulders and the smile... Am I right in think these look to have seen a belt sander. Or is it a trick of the light?
Antique Pair of Cut Throat Straight Razors by Drew & Sons Piccadily Circus | eBay
Attachment 161678
Attachment 161679
Considering the wide flats on the spine seem co-planar with the shoulder and the bevel and fairly coarse in finish, I could come to that conclusion...But why would someone do that?
Simple - they didn't know what they were doing lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by Splashone
Edit - or they were trying something new in the hopes of revolutionizing the way we do things!!
Or you know... Buddy never did get into straights but needed a box cutter.
It's a crying shame as the set is pretty nice. Pains me a little to think people are bidding on them.
They were jealous of all the shoulderless blades out there? On the other hand I do like those ivory scales
At first it looks like just regrinding, but that wear is rough and very weirdly shaped, like it goes thick around the perimeter of the blade. Something strange going on there. One possibility is that a regrind was attempted (could even be years / decades / century ago) on a wheel that was much too large for the grind of the razors, giving wear to those parts that stick up. Probably will take an edge fine, just ugly.
My guess is that the edges of the razor were chipping or chipped, so to remove them in a fast, careless manner, the seller laid the blade flat on a rough Carborundum & worked it until the stone removed the chips. This to me, at least , might account for the rough perimeter of the blade, being a hollow , the center of the blade did not tough the stone.
Just my guess,,,,
I wouldn't be too quick to blame the seller. To me it looks like it is from a grinder in a poor attempt at a regrind. These razors were originally reground on a small-ish diameter wheel, maybe this other grind was done years and years ago, it's hard to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
I tend to agree with Hirlau's theory.
Anyway, Bummer!!
The good thing is you probably got them for less account of the defects.
knife guys...
:shrug:
don't be offended, you remember before you knew--
you didn't know. :D
Placing blame was not the intent of that post, it was to give an educated "Guess", as you did, on the cause of the damage.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScienceGuy
But,,,
As far as how razors were ground in their day,,I concede the facts to you, as you have studied this far more than I have, or will. This could be the source of the damage.
However,,,,
I do hold a seller responsible for the product he lists for sale, regardless of who may have owned it before & damaged the product in years past. I don't see that as hard, only fair. :shrug:
Quote:
Originally Posted by WadePatton
The irony is we probably all sharpened other tools long before we touched a razor. :)
Looks to me like a regrind.
After looking at the auction pics, the shoulders of the blades appear to have a finish that matches the edge and the spine.
The shoulders look OK to me - it certainly is not 'shoulderless' as the stabiliser (single) is clearly visible.
The blade probably has a double hollow grind, ie a thicker 'belly' just above the top of the bevel line, say 1/3 - 1/4 the way up the razor from the cutting edge.
The running lines of tarnish show that the blades have been kept in an ill regulated place that got cold enough in winter to deposit condensation on the blades, giving the 'bromide drag' (old photographers term) effect to the tarnish. Perhaps someone made an attempt to clean off the tarnish along the belly at some time.
Could just be an effect of the double hollow grind, though - the reflection shown on it would come from another plane to the rest of the blade, so it might just be showing a lined (artexed) ceiling or something like that.
Regards,
Neil
Don't be too big-hearted, Hirlau - Drew & Sons are not that old and they certainly were not reground like some of the oldies were - they were hollow ground from the start, on a couple of wheels, not just one. IN fact the company only moved from Piccadilly Circus (where they had been since a few years before 1890) circa 1914 - we are talking about comparatively modern razors here, not re-ground 1700s wedges...Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
Regards,
Neil
