Thread: Joseph Elliot's Best Silver Steel

Hi all

I've been given my Great Grandfathers SR and would like to know a bit more about it if possible. It look that he has cleaned it up at some point.

Welcome to SRP. Nice razor, I like the blade profile/point very much. We would call that a wedge, and the point a barber's notch, or a notch point. The razor seems to have been removed from the scales (handles) at some point, and not replaced with the original configuration of washers. The damage at the wedge end (opposite the pivot) is what are known as 'bug bites', and are actually caused by insect larvae eating the horn at some time in the past.

It would be possible for a knowledgeable restorer to put the correct pin/washer setup in the scales, and if it were mine I'd keep them original. That bit of damage is common in razors from that era. It could be pro honed to shave ready and brought back into action. You could check with Steve Dempster, The Invisible Edge in the UK.

For history on the razor see this PDF courtesy of our SRP member 'manah' ; http://strazors.com/uploads/images/a...s/j_elliot.pdf

Nice score. Nothing shaves like your great grandfathers razor. However, as new shavers we tend to be a little hard on equipment, and because of that you may want to consider an alternate razor to learn with. There are quite a few members from the UK on the forum and it should not be hard to find someone to do the restoration.

I'd agree with both the above posts. An heirloom razor like that deserves to be restored to as close to original condition as possible by an expert in restoring. Even those bug bites can be filled in the process of restoring. By all means learn with another razor first. That way you will enjoy and appreciate your great grandfather's razor even more when you do get to it.

Bob

That is a real nice razor. Being your great grandfathers makes it special. I agree with everybody on keeping it original. When you learn to straight shave it will be an outstanding performer. Nothing like a wedge. Congratulations and welcome.

Thank you all for the replays much appreciated, it's something I will get restored at some point to bring it back to its full glory hopefully and once I've learnt the ropes of shaving I'll give it some use