Thread: What did they use?

I guess my question is...not everyone could afford a really nice hone back in the old days, say late 1800's - to early 1900's. So if they didn't have the better hones to get that super nice fine edge just how did they keep their razors sharp? Did they have to hone more often? Was there a different way to hone? I'm just saying that the average person didn't have the means to have the better equipment but shaved regularly.
Thanks,
Steve

In fact they did and price was so cheap compare to days.

Originally Posted by Razorburn

I guess my question is...not everyone could afford a really nice hone back in the old days, say late 1800's - to early 1900's. So if they didn't have the better hones to get that super nice fine edge just how did they keep their razors sharp? Did they have to hone more often? Was there a different way to hone? I'm just saying that the average person didn't have the means to have the better equipment but shaved regularly.
Thanks,
Steve

quality hones (and inferior ones, too!) were quite widely available - to those who had the money. A barber supply catalogue from 1884 shows the price of yellow belgian hones (coticules) shows 8" long ones from $2.50 - $2.75, and 8.5" green and blue-green german hones for $1.50. Incidentally, razors like a wade & Butcher, Tally-Ho and Reynolds were around $1.25. These were trade prices, so I supose the public would pay a hefty mark-up.

Could the average man afford this though? A study of earnings for 1880 shows that some factory workers only earned $2.00 a week, while others in the same industry but with better employment terms could earn $10 or more a week - so a razor could be said to have cost a days wages for some people, and more than that for others. Teachers for instance, were paid very poorly - around $72 a year for men and $55 for women. The lower paid factory worker coulld not even afford to buy a coticule with a solid weeks earnings - that sounds like a lot of money to me! Higher paid employments could pay up to $42 a week or more, but we are getting out of the range of the common labourer here.

The above figures are only examples, and may not be typical, but they represent the average of more than 20 industries studied, so are good for a rough guide.

In the early 1800s most people did not shave themselves but went to a barber or grew a beard. I guess that it was still cheap enough to visit the barber on a regular basis well into the 20th century, so you didn't really need to buy a hone or a razor. If you did shave yourself I expect you could get by with a cheaper hone and an abrasive for use on a strop - a lot of us still do.

Regards,
Neil

Great info Neil. Thanks for sharing.

Charlie