Thread: Darwin straight razor

I own this straight razor and would like to know more about it. It is manufactured by Darwin in Sheffield, England. It also says "Made from Darwin patent cobalt steel".
I know that Darwin safety razors are in high demand and sought after. Do not see any offerings for Darwin straights on Ebay, how rare it could be?

Nice looking blade, reminds me of a Henckels, but double jimps.
Never heard of him till now.

From what I find Darwin manufactured DE razors also.

Very nice find and the first Darwin straight razor that I have seen or heard of. I have seen Darwin Patented Cobalt Steel referred to as stainless steel in a thread on the much sought after Darwin DE razors. If it is a stainless steel alloy then your razor would be one of the earliest stainless steel straight razors. Even if Darwin Patented Cobalt Steel does not qualify as a stainless steel alloy you have, likely, a rare straight razor. Thank you for posting it.

Bob

Yes I have seen a couple Des Sell, I would have too say they sold rather Large,, Last one hit 4 Digits,, Never seen that particular razor,, Nice Score,, Ty

I've seen a couple of these straights, not very common. Darwins are more known for their safety razors, the DE's sell for what I consider lottery numbers these days... another maker to add to my wanted list

Thank you very much for your comments, gents. Indeed, there is quite a lot of information available on different Darwin DE models, but nothing at all on their straights. Like how prominent was their straights production compared to DEs? Was it done throughout 1932 to 1950' or at certain part of this period only (early or late)? Maybe it was only a limited edition production? How many of these straights actually came into existence?
I do not see why cobalt steel should not be considered stainless steel, too. It achieves the same goal as chromium-nickel alloys - does not rust. But probably was not the best choice for mass market products due to economic reasons compared to chromium-nickel. But these manufacturers experimented with different options during first decades of 20th century and one of the places was Sheffield. There were different patents for "stainless" steels and cobalt steel was one of them.
So this is a really interesting question - which straight razor could be considered a first "true" stainless steel razor?

Originally Posted by Rigensis

Thank you very much for your comments, gents. Indeed, there is quite a lot of information available on different Darwin DE models, but nothing at all on their straights. Like how prominent was their straights production compared to DEs? Was it done throughout 1932 to 1950' or at certain part of this period only (early or late)? Maybe it was only a limited edition production? How many of these straights actually came into existence?
I do not see why cobalt steel should not be considered stainless steel, too. It achieves the same goal as chromium-nickel alloys - does not rust. But probably was not the best choice for mass market products due to economic reasons compared to chromium-nickel. But these manufacturers experimented with different options during first decades of 20th century and one of the places was Sheffield. There were different patents for "stainless" steels and cobalt steel was one of them.
So this is a really interesting question - which straight razor could be considered a first "true" stainless steel razor?

That might be the Ibbertson "Firth Stainless Steel" razor, I had one many moons ago and BobH who replied earlier has one currently.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...berson-co.html

Originally Posted by Rigensis

Thank you very much for your comments, gents. Indeed, there is quite a lot of information available on different Darwin DE models, but nothing at all on their straights. Like how prominent was their straights production compared to DEs? Was it done throughout 1932 to 1950' or at certain part of this period only (early or late)? Maybe it was only a limited edition production? How many of these straights actually came into existence?
I do not see why cobalt steel should not be considered stainless steel, too. It achieves the same goal as chromium-nickel alloys - does not rust. But probably was not the best choice for mass market products due to economic reasons compared to chromium-nickel. But these manufacturers experimented with different options during first decades of 20th century and one of the places was Sheffield. There were different patents for "stainless" steels and cobalt steel was one of them.
So this is a really interesting question - which straight razor could be considered a first "true" stainless steel razor?

According to this article https://www.quora.com/What-is-cobalt-steel cobalt was "added to one grade of austenitic stainless steel". It would be interesting to find out if Darwin Patent Cobalt Steel refers to that particular austenitic stainless steel alloy or a tool steel alloy also containing cobalt.

If the Darwin Patent Steel does refer to the austenitic stainless steel alloy and the straight razor was produced beginning in 1932 it could be in the running as one of the first stainless steel straight razors.

It all makes for an interesting and not too common a straight razor if nothing else.

Bob

Originally Posted by Phrank

That might be the Ibbertson "Firth Stainless Steel" razor, I had one many moons ago and BobH who replied earlier has one currently.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...berson-co.html

Make that two, I am working on a 7 day set.

Bob