Thread: New in Annapolis Maryland (USA)

Originally Posted by spinsheet

I bought my first straight razor when I was about 20 (about 25 years ago), nicked the hell out of my face, put it in a drawer somewhere, have no idea where it is, and now interested in trying it out again. I was browsing in an antique store and saw some straight razors and walked out with two of them. One was made by Joseph Elliott (stopped making them in about 1854) and the other by August Kern (no idea when they stopped).

They are both two very different razors, the Joseph Elliott is much heftier, hollow ground, about 1/2" longer and 1/4" deeper. The August Kern is lighter and "extra" hollow ground. Which is better? I have no idea. As I really love "old" stuff, I would prefer to use one of these rather than buy something new; oh, and since I paid $17.50 and $10.00 for them is also nice.


I guess that my question is this: Are these viable razors for everyday use? They seem sharp (I foolishly cut myself on one of them), and neither have any nicks or other such apparent flaws. I have no idea whether either of them needs to be honed.

Is there someone in the Annapolis, MD area that could look these over and hone (and strop) them if necessary? I know that I will need to be able to strop them myself, but if I could at least get them shave ready that would be great.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

spinsheet,

++1 on the previous advice...Get both of your vintage razors professionally honed before venturing to shave with either of them. There is most likely an SRP member nearby or at least on the east Coast or the Southern U. S. who will be willing to give the blades an inspection and hone both of them for you. In giving a quick look at the pics of the razor you posted, it does not quite appear to be shave ready to me. Nicking your thumb is a far cry from cutting the whiskers off of your face.

You can also check the SRP wiki to find out about your razors as well as the basic equipment you'll need to get optimum shaving performance from both when you do begin to shave with them. I am no expert, but both sound like quality razors, esp. the Joseph Elliott which I have seen in the SRP "Classifieds." The other brand is unfamiliar to me, but as I said before--I am no expert on the history of str8 razor manufacturers. However, an extra hollow ground is supposedly sharper than a hollow ground. The former is commonly referred to as a "singing razor" because it allegedly makes a slight musical sound when being properly stropped.

Let us know how things turn out. BTW...We'd love to see some photos of your antique store str8 razor discoveries in the SRP "Show and Tell" forum.

Take care and happy shaving.

I have no comments on the subject. Just wanted to say I was born and raised in DC and love the Annapolis area.

Welcome to the group.