Thread: The London Journal, October 21, 1727.

This is actually an advertisement for Dallard's newly invented Royal green strop for razors, but it does contain quite a few Razor makers of this time period.



And another one, George Lenis, Razor Maker.

Cool, Martin!
I wonder if the 'green' was not with a bit of CroOx?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Cool, Martin!
I wonder if the 'green' was not with a bit of CroOx?

Thats what i was thinking as well...

Chromium wasn't "discovered" until around 1780 or 90 or that is when the guy who isolated it is given the credit for. (actually 2 guys).

I don't know a thing about Chromium Oxide, to be certain. There may have been another form of it.
Certainly red and green strop pastes go back before when, which must have been somewhat lightly abrasive.

I figure at some point, most things green had some of it involved. Much as things red had Ferric Oxide involved.
Perhaps some plant-based dye?

So... in 1727, what, pray Spendur, would have been used to make the strop green?
Would there have been a benefit from the green substance used to color it?

So a layman's search concludes that CroOx, in a form, occurs naturally!
I expect that was quite prized back in the olden days!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium(III)_oxide

It's possible they had some material containing Chrome but didn't know what it was though I doubt it because the first known Chrome Oxide wasn't produced until almost 1800 and that was in the lab. Also I'm not aware of any Chrome Minerals in the UK. Most come from Korea, China and Russia, South Africa, India, Afghanistan, with very small amounts in California being the Mineral Chromite. Of course there are other minerals containing Chromium which are not of sufficient concentration to be commercially viable. Actually, the guy who first discovered Chrome used another mineral to do it. In that case the mineral was easier to work with besides Chromite wasn't discovered until the early 1800s.

Who knows what the green stuff was. Maybe something from the London Sewers.

Oh sorry, Spendur. As to making it, I think you are correct.
As in the Wiki-links article I quoted above, it WAS naturally-occurring well before then!
Just by a different name!

Well, you know some guy gets the stuff and analyzes it and describes it and writes it up in a journal and he gets the credit but that doesn't mean some yahoo years before didn't figure it all out.

Yeah! Someone may also have found a magical cave of chalky-green miracle stuff.
Sold it, but never said anything about where it came from!
Har!

Another interesting advertisement from way back.