Thread: Odd spine, or made this way?

Hello again, and thank you Lynn and gents, for making this place possible.
1st of I want to state, I as some of you are new, and I don't want to offend any of the seasoned veterans here. So if I Wade & "Butcher" the terminology, please forgive me.


As of late I have been running across razors that appear to have sections of the spine removed. At first I thought these were modifications done to frameback razors (see below), but this didn't make any sense, because of the design. Then I noticed this being preformed on razors that I knew to have a spine.

So, what is the purpose of removing sections of the spine? Weight, balance, decay (pitting), design?


Erik Anton Berg (No.62) Swedish razor



The one on the right is a Henckels Twinworks (No.060) Solingen Germeny


UPDATE: 3/8/15
It was mentioned to me that these examples are considered "Guarded" razor, dating back to near Civil War era.

Any additional remarks or examples are appreciated. Even a track on where to locate lost guards ( I know, near impossible, without a time machine)