Thread: Mint Joseph Allen and Sons non-xxl 5/8 barber notch

I went ahead and gave the blade a buff with a compound/chrome ox mix that I like to buff down some of the factory grinding and clean the steel a little more. Then it got a run on white rogue and the scales got a very low speed pass on the rogue to polish them up. A couple of light taps on the pivot and it is as tight as new.

I really don’t think this blade has seen a hone besides the factory bevel cutting. I took a closeup of the spine, looks like a new old stock blade to me. I am going to tape the spine and hone it to make it shave worthy. It would be a shame not to use the razor. It will spend the rest of its life in my possession, or rather I will retain the razor for the remainder of my life, then it will go onto someone else for another lifetime of use.

That's fantastic... nice find !

Greg Frazer

Hello, Im new here. Just looking for info on value of this razor. I just got one of these with the exact same markings still in the box. The guy I got it from said he thinks he may have a box of them in his attic. I know alot of factors go into value,but just looking for a ballpark. The blade is still sharp just needs a good cleaning,which I wont attempt till I know what Im doing. Thanks

Originally Posted by Maximilian

Sweet looking razor. I had the exact same razor/blade but a W&B. 'BeBerlin' owns it now.

Negative, Max, Paul now owns it. I think. It's a travelling razor, methinks. Still a gorgeous blade. Congrats, cannonfodder.

It is worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it and not a dollar more.

Still in my case, still gets used every month, 30 razors in my rotation but now and then I will grab it out of rotation just because I like it.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Negative, Max, Paul now owns it. I think. It's a travelling razor, methinks. Still a gorgeous blade. Congrats, cannonfodder.

I have the same W&B you guys had, I believe. It's in my album in the signature.. The scales are not original on mine -- somebody went and re-scaled it in W&B "Special" scales.

The etching is exactly the same.

Gorgeous razor ~ you've done it justice keeping it original.
Two thumbs up

I just bought one that looks exactly like this, a little more care-worn but still beautiful, what can you tell me about this maker, and about this model specificly? I would also like to buff mine up a little just like you did but I havent a clue where to begin...I am frightened of damaging it, and it is such a gorgous fat buttery blade, could you PM me sometime and give me a few pointers?

Gee, I might have not even buffed it! What a sweet razor! Great aquisition and surely a fine shaver!
I hope it is easy to hone up in it's fine state. I have resolved never to hone another(probably will). It takes DAYS! (hard steel!) Once sharp, they are most strop-friendly!

I promised some photos, and here they are...Like I said I am just starting out learning about this so I could be mistaken, it also might be a little bias but the marks that I wanted to buff out I think I will leave, they do not look like rust pits or like it was mishandled they look like manufacturing marks, they are not directly on the blade itself, save one, it is also completely smooth, just 'darker' then the rest of the surrounding metal. I think I will leave them as a testament to its age, it has no hone marks on it. I asked the woman who I bought it from if she could tell me anything of the history of the specific peice which I usually find either to be lies to up the suspected value of something or unknown or truthful. It the case of this particular peice the history is as such, and as I am so excited I shall share it. It belonged to a german imigrant who was a barber by trade. He immigrated to the US and died at the age of 95. She purchased it as part of a lot of other stuff in an estate auction. I purchased it for $61, so I do not disbelieve her story. I wish I could have had a little more information on the man, a name would at least have been nice but under the circumstances I can understand it not being given. With some digging on the internet I agree with one of the previous posters that since JAAS only produced between 1860 and 1920, and the age of the previous owner for a 92 year old blade, it has been well loved and cared for...I certainly have fallen in love with it. Any opinions?