Thread: The Untouchables

Originally Posted by Phrank

Another great Saturday afternoon, 1,000km away from the Royal Windsor Hotel in Cairo is Damascus, and since Wade and Butcher were in Cairo, Joseph Elliot took over Damascus I guess....I noticed this blade as it's design seems similar to the W&B, Ottoman and Egyptian Royal Windsor straight razor.

I looked around the web, including in the SRP database, and couldn't really find any information about this blade. The etching on the blade was described as Hebrew, and this was confirmed to me by a friend, however, couldn't quite make a translation from the pics.

Anyhow, here it is, the Joseph Elliot, Damascus Razor.

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Ah, so it was you that got that!

I'd still like to punch whoever ground the original, lovely, smiling edge down to a flat line. Still, I have no doubt it'll shave great.

The blade stamp looks closest to Medieval Hebrew, but I honestly doubt it's anything more than the 'Chinese' razors most companies made. I'd love to be wrong about that though!

I'm also especially taken with the tang stamp, which I've never seen on another Elliot razor. The typeface used is, near as I can tell, unique to that one. I've seen French razors with similar dies, but never a Sheffield razor.

Even with the brutalized edge that's a catch and a half!

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

Ah, so it was you that got that!

I'd still like to punch whoever ground the original, lovely, smiling edge down to a flat line. Still, I have no doubt it'll shave great.

The blade stamp looks closest to Medieval Hebrew, but I honestly doubt it's anything more than the 'Chinese' razors most companies made. I'd love to be wrong about that though!

I'm also especially taken with the tang stamp, which I've never seen on another Elliot razor. The typeface used is, near as I can tell, unique to that one. I've seen French razors with similar dies, but never a Sheffield razor.

Even with the brutalized edge that's a catch and a half!

Thanks VM - this is one of those blades I'm not going to do much with, it purports to come shave ready, so that most I might do is get it honed and cleaned up, but for awhile at least, no mirror polish, just lock it down in it's current state.

When it gets here I'll post some better pics....

Originally Posted by Phrank

Thanks VM - this is one of those blades I'm not going to do much with, it purports to come shave ready, so that most I might do is get it honed and cleaned up, but for awhile at least, no mirror polish, just lock it down in it's current state.

When it gets here I'll post some better pics....

Awesome! I have this sneaky suspicion that the seller is the one who ground the edge down to a straight line in an effort to hone it. They also seem to have done some sort of grinding/sanding on the blade face... But really, it's not like there's any other ones in better condition to choose from! That's the only one I've ever seen, and I don't really expect to see another anytime soon.

(hint, hint, to all you people out there using SRP as a seller's guide)

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

Awesome! I have this sneaky suspicion that the seller is the one who ground the edge down to a straight line in an effort to hone it. They also seem to have done some sort of grinding/sanding on the blade face... But really, it's not like there's any other ones in better condition to choose from! That's the only one I've ever seen, and I don't really expect to see another anytime soon.

(hint, hint, to all you people out there using SRP as a seller's guide)

Interesting point - while I can search the W&B Ottoman and get several results, I got nada with the Damascus, the only pic that showed up was one from the auction, and I was a bit surprised not to find it in the SRP database...guess I'll have to figure out a way to put it in there for the records.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Another great Saturday afternoon, 1,000km away from the Royal Windsor Hotel in Cairo is Damascus, and since Wade and Butcher were in Cairo, Joseph Elliot took over Damascus I guess....I noticed this blade as it's design seems similar to the W&B, Ottoman and Egyptian Royal Windsor straight razor.

I looked around the web, including in the SRP database, and couldn't really find any information about this blade. The etching on the blade was described as Hebrew, and this was confirmed to me by a friend, however, couldn't quite make a translation from the pics.

Anyhow, here it is, the Joseph Elliot, Damascus Razor.

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Beautiful old razor. I showed the writing to someone at work. It is apparently not standard modern Hebrew. She thinks it is either a name, an anagram or older Hebrew. It is not a standard modern phrase. If you want it translated dhe says she can show it to her husband who would know more.

Enjoy!

Update- The Hebrew text reads "he who owns this razor is damned to hell for eternity". I think you need to ship it to me for proper disposal.

Beautiful razors gentlemen.
Added to my want list.. Seems these older mfgr s really took the time to make the subtle features that really stand out, thumb notches, jimp design, and just general craftsmanship..
Thanks for the eye candy..

Beautiful. Too bad someone honed out the smile

I have a similar Joseph Elliot's Damascus Razor with the same style tang stamp and Hebrew writing on the blade. You can see more, high res photos here.

Originally Posted by goldragon

I have a similar Joseph Elliot's Damascus Razor with the same style tang stamp and Hebrew writing on the blade. You can see more, high res photos here.

Wow - thanks!

Interesting, it's somewhat different in the design of the heel?

The second one...I'm going to send this link to Valery at The Gentleman's Den, he will be doing the check-up and honing of mine when it get's here.