Royal Palmer Weekend Set

I won this matched pair of Royal Palmer and Company German razors in neglected but saveable condition.
Attachment 207651
Wanting a weekend set that was small enough to fit in a travel kit or overnight bag and also wanting a bow strop, I was inspired by a razor box kit I saw on ClassicEdge and got busy putting my own spin on it.
Attachment 207652
I used a strip of balsa, sanded, wetted and resanded thrice then coated with .25 micron diamond as the lid under the strop. Measured, turned, and cut the dowels out of balsa as well and ensured they were taller than the height of the space under the strop to guarantee everything stays snug during travel.
Attachment 207653
I used walnut on all ends and 3/8-16 tpi stainless steel rod, as well as stainless socket heads and threaded metal inserts in the walnut. I also used a brass tube in the main body to receive the rod and aid in strength while under tension.
Attachment 207654
I made the strop body out of lighter elm stained walnut and dished out under the wedge end to allow easy removal of the razors.
Attachment 207655Attachment 207656Attachment 207657
Glued green felt in the razor cradles, engraved it with the maker and my own personal name for the creation, and covered it in Varathane.
Attachment 207660
Researching the origin of the maker I presumed they were affiliated with 'The Palmer House' in Chicago, but do not thing that was the case after all. Found this 1908 advertisement.
Attachment 207661
So believe they were a stand alone entity. I liked the ad enough that I decided to seal it to the back of the case forever.
Attachment 207662
They are honed, one finished on a jnat, the other an Escher, polished up and done like dinner.
Cured the leather faithfully to an old Japanese manual I was given, and it turned out very smooth with a nice draw. The diamond on the inner board is a handy feature that will ensure I have a way to refresh an edge while away and provides nice support under the strop while stropping.
Finished dimensions are 2"x16.5" to top of handle with a 14" stropping surface, balsa board has a 12.5" length.
Test shave tomorrow but they both came up sticky, tree topping sharp so I expect to be happy.
Thanks for looking guys. Feedback always welcome.
:chapeau

Nice work! That's a really cool take on a weekend set.

Lovely work and resourceful as well.

Very Nice Mike...I like it! :tu

Completely awesome...love the .25 diamond paste addition!

Very well done! I have wondered why I haven't seen more travel strop set ups like that. I have a few old examples but that is the best example I have seen in quite awhile. Well thought out and executed!

Appreciate the feedback gentlemen.
It came together quite well and is very secure when all tensioned up. Fits in the side pocket of the overnight perfectly with room for the toiletry kit as well. I am still trying to figure a travel brush design I like that I can make myself to complete the set, but for now, an old lipitor container works..
Test shaved tonight and the one was perfect out of the gate, the other a little edgy still.
Love the bellied grinds from Germany for their sound and flex. To me, they feel more like a razor should. Thin, tempered, and tight.
The strop has a nice draw on the top surface. Backside had defects which is why I chose this particular piece of hide.
It is light enough for hand stropping and fits the left hand well while doing do. But works equally well on the counter since it stands 1 3/4" tall.
I wanted a lengthwise handle initially but decided horizontal would save some space. Works great in the hand with just the thumb on the handle for balance.
Like Matt, I have seen some old examples on the web, and a really nice single razor case made for the Bison razor that was really the inspiration for the strop tightening components I used, but I came up with the rest from my own twisted imagination.
I think I'm going to make a couple more sets for some other twins I have and refine the dimensions a bit.
Thanks again.

Very well done Mike.
Thats just awsome.[emoji106]

Yea, nothing like a bellied hollow to let you know you are shaving with a lean mean hungry machine.

Bob

Really nice work, Mike!, As usual! :nj Thinking out loud, here. Perhaps a sleeve or box of sorts to protect the leather during transit?

Damn fine work,,,,:tu

150 years from now it will be sitting in a Space Museum with a curator banging his head on the desk, trying to figure out who the hell "MikeB52" was,,,,:D

Well done and finished perfectly! Both razors and strop fill the bill!
~Richard

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Thinking out loud, here. Perhaps a sleeve or box of sorts to protect the leather during transit?

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I was hoping to use a Crown Royal Velvet bag for it's travel pack Tom. Alas my last clean one was already taken for ski goggle protection by some nervy kid that calls me dad. It turned out short on the length as well so I repurposed a solar fleece wine cozy instead. ;)My wine's never around long enough to get cozy anyway.
Attachment 207821Attachment 207822
Fits well, and adds a slight barrier between it and the elements. Black goes with everything too right?

Perfect! :rock:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

I won this matched pair of Royal Palmer and Company German razors in neglected but saveable condition.

Wanting a weekend set that was small enough to fit in a travel kit or overnight bag and also wanting a bow strop, I was inspired by a razor box kit I saw on ClassicEdge and got busy putting my own spin on it.

I used a strip of balsa, sanded, wetted and resanded thrice then coated with .25 micron diamond as the lid under the strop. Measured, turned, and cut the dowels out of balsa as well and ensured they were taller than the height of the space under the strop to guarantee everything stays snug during travel.

I used walnut on all ends and 3/8-16 tpi stainless steel rod, as well as stainless socket heads and threaded metal inserts in the walnut. I also used a brass tube in the main body to receive the rod and aid in strength while under tension.

I made the strop body out of lighter elm stained walnut and dished out under the wedge end to allow easy removal of the razors.

Glued green felt in the razor cradles, engraved it with the maker and my own personal name for the creation, and covered it in Varathane.

Researching the origin of the maker I presumed they were affiliated with 'The Palmer House' in Chicago, but do not thing that was the case after all. Found this 1908 advertisement.

So believe they were a stand alone entity. I liked the ad enough that I decided to seal it to the back of the case forever.

They are honed, one finished on a jnat, the other an Escher, polished up and done like dinner.
Cured the leather faithfully to an old Japanese manual I was given, and it turned out very smooth with a nice draw. The diamond on the inner board is a handy feature that will ensure I have a way to refresh an edge while away and provides nice support under the strop while stropping.
Finished dimensions are 2"x16.5" to top of handle with a 14" stropping surface, balsa board has a 12.5" length.
Test shave tomorrow but they both came up sticky, tree topping sharp so I expect to be happy.
Thanks for looking guys. Feedback always welcome.
:chapeau

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Mike, that is some excellent craftsmanship! Also it shows how much a postage stamp has gone up from 2 pennies since 1908!

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Completely awesome...love the .25 diamond paste addition!

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I like the .25 micron diamond spray on my fabric part of my strop but I'm sure the paste works great too!

[QUOTE=engine46;1524605]Mike, that is some excellent craftsmanship! Also it shows how much a postage stamp has gone up from 2 pennies since 1908!

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the feedback from the folks that have seen the set.
I had to get my readers to re-read the ad, I thought it said 20 cents not 2 cents. Puts the asking price of $1.75 in perspective too.
Cheers.

That's really amazing work. I'm going on vacation soon and will be packing my strop, as I have no other options at this point. Something like this would really be perfect!

What the hell Mike? How am I ever gonna reach the pedals if you keep raising the seat? You're raising the level of ingenuity and craftsmanship a little too high... tone it down okay?! :D top rate work! Bravo man!

Geez, thanks man. Blushin now. Really appreciate the positive feedback on the set.
I'm like the borg and I try to assimilate all the cool ideas I've seen into something unique and relevant to whatever I'm needing at the time. Worked out really well in this case.
Can't invent squat usually, but I am good at augmenting existing ideas and maintaining things. Never started a crossword or Sudoku puzzle, but I have finished a few already started and left on the table. ;)

The only reason I actually started thinking about this project was because I couldn't find a way to roll up my stop safely for travel and knew palm stropping was an accident waiting to happen, and I suck at it anyway so... this solution was cooked up.

I hope the guy in the space station actually tries to shave with this set in 150 years John. What else would really go with his Clubman 'space cowboy' edt??

Thanks again gents.
:chapeau

Every single idea has parent ideas that had parent ideas that had... and we know that necessity is the mother of invention.. so what is the father? The will?
Augmenting existing ideas, to meet necessity, with a strong will.... I think many here including MikeB52 do a hell of a lot more than just maintain. I love this place! You guys rock! Now I'm going to shave with my pre-sons Wostenholm, then drink some very old scotch while smoking a cigar. Oh yeah! Goodnite gentleman.

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Originally Posted by MikeT

Every single idea has parent ideas that had parent ideas that had... and we know that necessity is the mother of invention.. so what is the father? The will?
Augmenting existing ideas, to meet necessity, with a strong will.... I think many here including MikeB52 do a hell of a lot more than just maintain. I love this place! You guys rock! Now I'm going to shave with my pre-sons Wostenholm, then drink some very old scotch while smoking a cigar. Oh yeah! Goodnite gentleman.

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G'Nite, MikeT! :beer2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikeT

Every single idea has parent ideas that had parent ideas that had... and we know that necessity is the mother of invention.. so what is the father? The will?
Augmenting existing ideas, to meet necessity, with a strong will.... I think many here including MikeB52 do a hell of a lot more than just maintain. I love this place! You guys rock! Now I'm going to shave with my pre-sons Wostenholm, then drink some very old scotch while smoking a cigar. Oh yeah! Goodnite gentleman.

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Hope it's a Havana! And........G-nite!

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Originally Posted by engine46

Mike, that is some excellent craftsmanship! Also it shows how much a postage stamp has gone up from 2 pennies since 1908!



I like the .25 micron diamond spray on my fabric part of my strop but I'm sure the paste works great too!

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Sorry, diamond spray, that's actually what I meant, ordered a bottle from Classic Edge myself, sprayed it on a felt balsa board, really puts a keen edge on...needs lots of stropping afterwards IMO.

Just came off a honing session, just finished a Belgian blade I grabbed off eBay for practice, going to give it a try tomorow.

Love the set again by the way...really classy addition, and something if you take away, can be a nice break to have a nice shaving session with.;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Sorry, diamond spray, that's actually what I meant, ordered a bottle from Classic Edge myself, sprayed it on a felt balsa board, really puts a keen edge on...needs lots of stropping afterwards IMO.

Just came off a honing session, just finished a Belgian blade I grabbed off eBay for practice, going to give it a try tomorow.

Love the set again by the way...really classy addition, and something if you take away, can be a nice break to have a nice shaving session with.;)

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Diamond spray is to balsa as sex wax is to skis. I have made a number of balsa board strops now and prefer diamond on them to crox. IMO crox is better on the felt or cloth.
Diamond on balsa makes the edges crisp and demand a lighter touch than you would think I found, maybe cause the balsa is so soft it's easier to bear down without noticing??
But yes, lots of leather love after the balsa and you get a great shave.
The trick to season a balsa board properly I was told is start with sanding it with 400 grit, then spritzing it with water. Let it dry and the grains open up and then repeat, sand, spritz, let dry, repeat. three sand and spritzes then after it dries you apply the diamond and it gets into the board better. Let dry overnight and you have a lovely tuner.
Good luck with the Belgian..
Cheers.

So "The Palmer" razors may very well have nothing to do with the hotel! Very interesting. Mine is probably newer as it has faux turtle shell scales. Thanks for the info! Great work on the strop I have a vintage one I need to put new leather on. I would love to find a small piece of vintage shell to use on it.

Slawman

Oh how I love weekend sets!
First time getting on here in a couple years and to see you are still making these...
Great work! So glad to see :)

Oh my lord I must be seriously losing it lol
I didn't look at the time stamp on the original set.
It's 3 years old!

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Originally Posted by MykeT

Oh my lord I must be seriously losing it lol
I didn't look at the time stamp on the original set.
It's 3 years old!

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Oh great.....Necroposting by necromembers! :roflmao

Glad to see you found your way back Mike!

:rofl2:
OMG That WAS funny! Necromembers!
Everybody run I have returned from the depths!
I forgot about your uncanny wit and sense of humor Tom.
:mace:

I thought the Kraken got you Mike

Definitely feeling weathered! That's for sure.
I'll see what I can do about maybe putting something together to contribute to the forum, though I'm working long hours and have no shop.
But Geezer is an inspiration as he would do great things in limited space with limited tools and his ingenuity. Gonna have to read some old posts...

Ya, Mike...You have some catching-up to do!