First two razors

Hey all, I'm new to straight razors like everyone else here and have a question. I'm a history buff and got caught up in the history of these and really enjoy learning about them. My grandpa gave me these two razors.

The first is a Morris Red Imp 133 that he bought when he started barber school back in the early 70's for some part time work. He said he got in in his barber's kit. I saw that Morris quit making the razors in 1950 and they switched to Case. Can anyone tell me more about it? I am probably going to have it honed by somebody in the services section and am excited about using it for the first time. He said it was very rarely used so it is very good shape still

The 2nd is the one I'm most curious about. It is a Blue Diamond by S.R. Droescher. Blade width is 9/16. I saw that Droescher only manufactured razors from 1916-1924 so I'm assuming it is fairly rare? He actually bought this one from his barber teacher so I'm assuming it has been used quite a bit. As you can tell from the pictures there is rust on both sides and the blade is in rough shape. The scales look very good but on other Blue Diamonds I have seen the acutal Blue Diamond logo is colored in. Mine is not. Is that normal? I would like to get this restored so if anyone can check it out and let me know if it would be worth the cost to do it I'd be appreciative. (last few attachments)

Sorry for the novel and the giant pictures, I haven't figured out how to shrink them down on our program yet. If any of you guys can help me with the razors it'd be appreciated.

bcw716,

Those are some nice looking razors you have there. I don't know much about the Blue Diamond, but I have a Red Imp just like that in my shaving rotation and it does a nice job.

As for your questions...There is an SRP database that contains a lot of information about straight razors. I believe that it is located in the SRP wiki. Check it out. I know that both brands of razors are well-respected in the straight razor shaving community.

Welcome to SRP. I dont have any first hand experience with using either razor. I will say though that those look to be some very serviceable razors. From the pics that you sent, i think that it would be a good idea to send it to a person in the classifieds and see what they think. Good luck to you.

Red Imp's a beauty, but get rid of the Droescher, or at the very least, quarantine it. I'm sorry to say, but it appears to have cell rot. If you have other celluloid scaled razors it could cause them to go the same way.

The Imp looks to be in great shape except there looks to be some scratchings (numbers?) on one of the scales. I'm sure that would make an exceptional shaver with little work.

The S.R. Droescher (SRD) looks questionable as all that rust is near the edge and could be a sign of celluloid rot. If that's the case then the scales would be shot and the razor might be salvageable depending upon how that rust affects the steel near the edge. I'd definitely wait for the opinion of someone with more experience cleaning those things up, though.

Check out our razor database for similar razors -- there's a Blue Diamond in there (here) as well.

The Red Imp looks like it just needs to be honed.

The Blue Diamond needs some work. It has the look
of celluloid rot as all the rust is under the scales. If
the rust is minor a light sanding and buffing followed
by honing will do it. If the acid vapors released by the
decomposing celluloid caused deep pitting recovery
and restoration is catch as catch can....

Both are well made razors with good steel so
you have a good pair of shavers from the better
years in the production of of open razors.

Celluloid rot is trouble and cause for rescaling.
If the blade sands, buffs, hones and saves well then
the expense of replacing the scales is justified.
For now apply a little bit of mineral oil to the
razor (and even the scales) and do not keep in
an airtight container (or with other fine razors!).

Neither is exceedingly rare but they do have a following
as they make for good shavers and seem to hold
their value.

Nice razors

That Blue Diamond may be suffering from cell rot so keep it away from the other razor or in a wented area untill you can determine

Well we all learn something new. I know i just did.

Yep that's a classic case of celluloid rot. Keep the razor open and away from any other razors. If it was mine I would trash those scales like yesterday. Depending on how bad the rust or pitting is the razor might be salvageable.

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I'm going to have to just keep the Droescher for sentimental value. The numbers are etched into both blades and I THINK it may be my Grandpa's TX barber's license number. He couldn't remember doing it but that was his best guess.

I'm going to send off to get the Red Imp honed and can't wait to shave with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcw716

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I'm going to have to just keep the Droescher for sentimental value. The numbers are etched into both blades and I THINK it may be my Grandpa's TX barber's license number. He couldn't remember doing it but that was his best guess.

I'm going to send off to get the Red Imp honed and can't wait to shave with it.

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If those scales are affected by rot then they will continue to deteriorate over time. It has been suggested that the gas produced by rotting celluloid also affects other celluloid nearby. It's not definitive from what I've read (which, admittedly, isn't much) but also something that I wouldn't take a chance with so you might want to store that Droescher in a Ziploc by itself to contain it.

The good news is that the Imp should serve you well for decades. :) Keep us posted!