Thread: Seldom seen John Elliot's Best Silver Steel tapered blade.

Everyone is familiar with Joseph Elliot & Sons but John Elliot is not seen very often. There is speculation that he was related to Joseph Elliot but that has not been confirmed. According to Tweedale’s Directory he was in partnership with Joseph Elliot until 1850 but there is no start date of the partnership. The royal cipher is not clear. The first letter was ground off during manufacturing. It could be a ‘W’ or a ‘V’. I suspect it was a 'V'. John Elliot displayed his own razors at the 1851 Great Exhibition which could help date the razor. He died in 1858 at the age of 63.
So this is a work in progress and the first tapered blade I have attempted to restore. Pretty rusty to start with and plenty of hone wear. I was unable to tell what the original finish was like so I went with a glazed finish since the razor seemed like the no frills all business type. In the after pictures the bevel has been set on a 1K Chosera. A long gentle smile from 7/8 tapering to 11/16. I’m expecting a very comfortable shave. Duplicating the original scales in black horn is next.

Question...is the blade tapered like that originally? Forgive my ignorance as im not familiar with the make.

Very nice, I have never used a blade of that shape, but I would think it would shave very comfortably.

Originally Posted by 6cuda6

Question...is the blade tapered like that originally? Forgive my ignorance as im not familiar with the make.

Yes I believe the blade was originally ground this way. The spine also tapers from the heel to toe although you cannot tell that from the pictures. I'll post some more pictures once I finish the scales and take a shot looking down on the spine. There has been a good discussion about this type of grind. Here is a link. http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...ed-blades.html

Originally Posted by karlej

Yes I believe the blade was originally ground this way. The spine also tapers from the heel to toe although you cannot tell that from the pictures. I post some more pictures once I finish the scales and take a shot looking down on the spine. There has been a good discussion about this type of grind. Here is a link. http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...ed-blades.html

Nice work Karl, at some point in time somebody will convince me that these tapered blades were ground that way.

Here is the completed razor with copies of the original scales. I have another tapered blade by Marshes & Shepherd but the taper of the of the quill spine from heel to toe is not near as pronounced. This blade tapers from 1/4" at the tang down to 1/8" at the end of the toe. Quite long too at 3 1/2' from shoulder to toe.That tapered spine seems to be a positive indication that the razor was originally ground like this at the factory. It behaved beautifully on the hones. Test shave tomorrow.

Haha so it was you that won this razor. I was bidding on that too and if I won, I was thinking about asking you to restore it. The pictures was very bad but I could see hone wear and if it needed a regrind I knew you would be the man to ask. Glad you got it tho


Daniel

karlej - I thank you for once again reminding me what RAD feels like, and the RAD burn is so, so nice...

Great to see a seldom seen, vintage masterpiece that just gooses the RAD and turns it into a gulp and a lump in the throat.

Beauty!

Stunning work sir!
Such a cool shape, let us know how it shaves.
Really top shelf work Karl.

Originally Posted by karlej

Yes I believe the blade was originally ground this way. The spine also tapers from the heel to toe although you cannot tell that from the pictures. I'll post some more pictures once I finish the scales and take a shot looking down on the spine. There has been a good discussion about this type of grind. Here is a link. http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...ed-blades.html

Thanks for the info....i like it and cant wait for a shave report