Thread: Joseph Elliot In Vintage Bone

Growing up in a large family, hand me downs were a fact of life as well as making do with what you had.

I acquired, in a lot, an Imperial Razor from the Columbia Exposition (1892-93) with a big chip in the middle of it. It sat in my what-to-do-with-it pile until I realized that the blade was trash but the scales were a nice set of bone, colored for the period and uncracked. Then went to my other pile of blades waiting for scales and found a Joseph Elliot "Best Silver Steel" "Hollow Ground" 6/8" shoulderless round nose, shivering in the cold. All it needed was some Mother's care as it had no rust or pits but with an interesting scratch pattern. The scales got the same Mother's treatment and now both are, after honing, in the rotation.

In reading up about bone scales, it seemed that a crack by the hinge was a pretty common occurrence so I made some bearing washers and CA'd them into place. Should help to relieve some of the strain on the bone and reinforce the area.

I think my mother would be pleased making do with things but she probably would have fussed a bit about the quality of the peening.

Happy Mother's Day!