Yours reminds me of this Haywood minus the dip toe. Attachment 324927
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Yours reminds me of this Haywood minus the dip toe. Attachment 324927
Sadly, the formulations of the strop pastes aren't something I've ever come across. Emery powder and crocus (iron oxide) are likely suspects, and considering the inventive spirit and relaxed concept of testing methodology, you can bet other things were used too.
Strop paste is what made George Packwood famous. He sold it in little yellow balls packaged up to look like a goldfinch's nest. One of the older razors I have came to me with a faint yellow tinge that wiped off which I assume was something like his paste.
In the 1820's Ebenezer Rhodes wrote an essay (which I'm having no luck finding anything but quotes from at the moment) where he said in no uncertain terms that the use of padded strops and strop pastes were the main reasons people's razors became unusable and had to be reground, because they unevenly wore down the blade.
My finished stub tail 1700's replica.
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What radius wheel did you use in grinding? You have a nice small bevel on that razor. I've been using a 10 inch contact wheel on my machine and I get a somewhat wider bevel.
Early 1700s Henry Birks. One of the nicer razors I have ever come across..
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I particularly like those with the maker's mark stamped on the spine. The molded patterns in the horn would have originally contained a brass inlay:
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