Thread: How do I hone this late 18th early 19th century stubby?

Originally Posted by johnmrson

Why would you want to own a razor that you're not going to shave with?

yea yea lol i really don't want to be "that guy" but this beauty is really fragile.. it doesnt really feel as sturdy as say the Fred Reynolds that i have pictured w/ it (photos coming up in a few min.) its REALLY THIN, and i feel that i wouldnt be able to keep my hands stable enough to shave with it.. i really wouldn't want to drop it.

alright here are the pix..
this is the tip, true wedge.

top view of the blade showing how thin it is.

here it is compared with my Fredrick Reynolds.

here is the split that the seller was talking about..doesnt seem like its splitting anymore..its sturdy.

here is the tang compared to the tang of the FR. the entire razor itself is not as thick as the tang of the FR..


This is a BEAUTIFUL razor.. i wouldn't want to ruin it by dropping it..

Fantastic find Ya the grinds on those early blades was haphazzard at best. Both my razors of that age show wildly different grind patterns. Study the grinds well before touching the stones.

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

Fantastic find Ya the grinds on those early blades was haphazzard at best. Both my razors of that age show wildly different grind patterns. Study the grinds well before touching the stones.

Yea i know! do you think it will even keep an edge?

Originally Posted by vvti713

Yea i know! do you think it will even keep an edge?

Yes it will, it can be honed quite easily, I have several similar to that.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Yes it will, it can be honed quite easily, I have several similar to that.

awesome, can you explain how to go about honing this one? is it any different than honing a normal blade?

Originally Posted by mattluthier

How do we know for sure that's a George Johnson rather than Wostenholm? I have a similar razor with the same markings that I have thought to be a Wostenholm. In the book "Standard Guide To Razors" by Roy Ritchie & Ron Stewart there's a picture of what is claimed to be the earliest known pair of George Wostenholm razors, circa 1750. They say documentation supports the claim and the razors were displayed in the factory museum. Is there any historical record that will help to clear this up? Beautiful razor btw! Sorry if this is off topic.

Historical record is of Johnson mark including an arrow. I dont recall ever seeing an arrow included with the Wostenholm pipe logo. Wost logo also has a curve to it, where as the logo on the razor in question is dead straight.

Originally Posted by vvti713

awesome, can you explain how to go about honing this one? is it any different than honing a normal blade?

It is a normal blade, what is it that you think is abnormal?

All jokes aside, it is simply an old wedge blade with some curvature to it, like a smiling blade with only half a smile. Maybe a sneer.

Are you thinking about doing this yourself?

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

It is a normal blade, what is it that you think is abnormal?

All jokes aside, it is simply an old wedge blade with some curvature to it, like a smiling blade with only half a smile. Maybe a sneer.

lol..It just seems like it would be awkward to hone because the cutting edge is actual lower than the tang..

Not awkward just different. BTW as old as this design is it is still very functional.