Originally Posted by
Neil Miller
I'm not sure that is wholly acurate, Mike!
Many early (post 1775 mostly) edged tolmakers makers made both surgical implements and razors. Surgical steel arose as a more enduring form of steel because of the alloys used (nickel was discovered in 1751, moybdenum in 1778, chromium in 1797 and in 1821 Pierre Berthier published his experiments with chromium alloys of steel). If all these sound familiar it is because they are used in stainless steel.
Early stainless tableware got a bad press, as did the first batch or two of razors made from it after Harry Brearley working for Firth Brown labs discovered martensitic chromium stainless steel.
However, the early surgical steel can only be loosely defined as stainless - it was a precursor, if you like. I have been privileged to have had razors from 1850 - 1890 that were made from, and marked as being made from, surgical steel - these were superlative shavers that took and kept a very good edge indeed. I think it's raison d'etre at that time was that it was admirably suited to its task. I would think that nowadays 'surgical steel' is more strictly defined and is none other than true stainless steel.
Regards,
Neil