Thread: 1879 article on microscope and razors, and direction of use and hone.

A perfect razor is a perfect saw!

My poor eyes... do you have any better/sharper picture of the article?

Just for you, blew it up and darkened.

Another interesting read. I have to see if I can feel the difference and wonder if anybody would .

Point to heel??!!! Blasphemy!!!

It took me 9 months to get heel to point right..geez! I'm not sure if I'm ready for this challenge.

Great read.

Martin103, just becourse you were so nice trying to improving the picture I just had to write down the text;

WONDERS OF THE MICROSCOPE.

It is among the startling revelations
of this wonderful instrument that it en-
tirely changes the aspect of common
things around us, and reveales features
and properties in them the very opposite
of what we have always supposed to ex-
ist.
Take, for instance, the edge of a razor.
Now all our ideas of this object have
been -- until otherwise taught by the mi-
croscope -- that it was a perfectly smooth
edge, without a single depression or pro-
jection, or "nick," as commonly termed,
along its whole line, and hence the great
aim of the barber is to remove all such
indentations or "nick"s from the edge of
his instrument supposing that this is in-
dispensable to its usefulness, But the
very opposite of this is the fact.
When a first-class razor is in most per-
fect order, and is placed under the mi-
croscope, we find to our amazeement that
it is from heel to point a complete and
most perfect saw, and if there is any-
where along its edge a space where these
saw teeth are not seen, there the razor
will be found to be dull and nofit for --------------- "nofit"?
use.
The most perfect razor, then, is the
most perfect saw, Now from this fact
a very valuable lesson may be learned by
those who make any use of this instru-
ment, either for shaving, or as some-
times is necessary, for surgical purposes
where the keenest edge is required, The
lesson is this; that just as a common saw
operates most effectively by having the
teeth leaning in the direction in which
the saw is propelled so these minute
teeth of the razor should incline in the
same way, in order to do its work most
satisfactorily, But how shall this proper
inclination of these invisible teth be
obtained?
The metod is very simple and can
easily and successfully be adopted by all.
First, to act inteligently here, it will
be remembered that, in the act of shav-
ing, the razor is drawn from heel to
point, Further, as in using a common
saw, we could not propel it most affect-
ivly with the inclination of the teeth
reversed -- that is, leaning toward the
heel -- so in the use of the razor we must
have an inclination of these minute teeth
to secure the best results -- that is, they
too must incline in the direction in which
the instrument is propelled, that is, from
point to heel, the opposite direction of
those in the carpenter's saw.
This direction of these infinitisimal
teeth is obtained by the simple act in
sharpening, of propelling the razor on
hone or tablet from point to heel and
never reversing the motion, Any one
trying this will be suprised to find how
much improved is his razor's edge.
For this discovery we are indebted
wholly to the microscope.
The writer, until learning from this
wonder revealing instrument the real
character of the razor's edge, was accus-
tomed to do as commonly practiced --
draw the instrument over hone or tablet
from heel to point; but a little reflection
convinced him that this was not the best
method, and the first experiment satis-
fied him that his reasoning was correct.

Originally Posted by Lemur

will be found to be dull and nofit for --------------- "nofit"?
use.

I think it's ... "unfit for use"

I was proven wrong. Today I put a post that stated I bought a digital microscope which I thought was ridiculous since they sharpened razors a long time ago without them. Great article