Thread: A few questions on Frameback razors.

Flexible? My John Watts true frameback is certainly not flexible. It gives a very odd sensation when shaving of the thinness of an half hollow and the stiffness of a wedge. Somewhat annoying to strop but otherwise it is a joy to shave with.

I had to hone out some small chips on mine but it was easy due to the thinness of the blade. Severe pitting would be an issue; although I'm not sure about cracking, since unlike the full hollow the blade itself isn't actually as thin as you might imagine.

I have read somewhere that they were produced in answer to concerns vis costs or material and labour. Once material and labour costs were lowered, their manufacture faded out, although it is possible that the rattler grind addressed an audience who sought the style and shave characteristics of the true frameback. Many of them were not intended to have removable blades, the design simply allowing a thin piece of steel to be used as the blade and the frame stiffening it - as opposed to a chunk of steel that requires more metal and more skilled labour to produce. Some framebacks do use replaceable blades but these were far from the rule.

I'm unsure whether they used pattern welded steel for framebacks, certainly mine doesn't appear to show any signs of this - the frame seems to be a mild steel.