Thread: Concave Razors in 1786?

From the British Evening Post 1786, ran into this while searching for something else, interesting that its possible to have a concave (hollow) razor from this period.





Also an advertisement from 1756.

Your ability to retrieve information is amazing. You must have an impressive library, both physical and digital. Thanks for sharing.

I would dearly love to see pictures of these razors! I suspect it's referring to that lipped-grind that later was called a rattler. A couple of the very early razors I've got have it.

Either way, I turned up some more hits on that. There's an advertisement in the November 7, 1772 Pennsylvania Chronicle advertising 'cast steel concave razors':



And then another in the Pennsylvania Packet, August 16th, 1788 (Mr. Sharp's?)



Interesting also because it mentions the silver escutcheon plate on the scales that can be engraved.

And for about ten years there are a lot of newspaper ads for concave razors of the best kind, unlike those OTHER stores that sell only the mediocre ones.

Then, in the August 29th, 1801 edition of the Columbian Centinel (yes, that's how it's spelled) out of Boston, there's this intriguing ad:



Under cutlery he lists best convex and concave razors. CONVEX razors? I would REALLY like to see one of those!

And lest you think that's some kind of mistake or fanciful thing on the part of one guy running a hair-dressing salon, 6 years later comes this.

September 15th, 1807, the Republican Spy from Northampton, MA.



How very curious!

I couldn't help myself. I kept looking.

February 22nd, 1825. The New York Daily Advertiser



The name is a missprint, the next day they ran it properly. It's John Barber. And he's trash-talking Greaves and their locking-back razor. It also provides a little more information about this whole concave business as well as some useful detail on period manufacturing techniques.

A few years prior to this:

May 25th, 1819, New York Daily Advertiser

Concave is as concave do!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Concave is as concave do!

You keep that up and you're gonna need some ODORIFEROUS HONEY WATER!

Good old Johnny B, almost as much fun to read as to shave with
What can I say, every one of his razors that I've had has been better than any of the Greaves', even though Greaves was apparently no slouch either.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

You keep that up and you're gonna need some ODORIFEROUS HONEY WATER!

He might reply with some SHOE DO.........

but not the SHINING FIVE BALL; HEEL DO..


I'd be inclined to think the latter would be OVER DO!

Originally Posted by gugi

Good old Johnny B, almost as much fun to read as to shave with
What can I say, every one of his razors that I've had has been better than any of the Greaves', even though Greaves was apparently no slouch either.

My one John Barber razor is from a couple years after that ad. It's one of my favorites! The claim that he personally boxed every razor sold is made in a couple different places. It might even be true!

Wostenholm one-upped him though, and supposedly hit every blade he sold with a hammer to make sure it wouldn't break.

Originally Posted by Wullie

He might reply with some SHOE DO.........

but not the SHINING FIVE BALL; HEEL DO..


I'd be inclined to think the latter would be OVER DO!

I have it on good authority that those Spanish cigarrs and sheeroots will give you a mighty catarrh.