Thread: Vintage smiling razor?

Greetings, I have a question to pose. The big three; Boker, Dovo, and Thiers Issard, don't seem to manufacture smiling razors. However, today there are numerous small artisan craft type makers that offer smiling razors. Back in the day, there were a lot more makers than today and it seems that each maker had a lot of different models of razors. Did any of them make smiling razors from the factory? Are all vintage smiling razors a product of bad honing technique or were some truly manfucturered with a smile?

Of the top of my head I know of a few. Very rare Case Brothers Springville, NY. One in tortoise, another with striped celluloid. Engstrom Ran-Kan-Tur-Us Red Devil, and some models of Shumate's Tungsteel. I've seen the Shumate tungsteels both ways, smiling and straight.

Jimmy's posted some nice examples of smiling blades with a lot of smile.

However there are many smiling blades out there that are much more 'mellow' such as my 8/8 For Barbers Use W&B made about 160 or so years ago.

I think most of the vintage razors have a little smirk and some a big smile. Honing a razor to a slight smile or a little smirk is good honing as far as I am concerned. Honing a razor to a frown or toe down or heel down is bad honining technique but making a smile or a smirk is a good thing.

RezDog,....now whenever i see a new razor i will be grading the curvature as to "smile" or "smirk".