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Hi folks!
I am currently working on my first major cleaning/honing project. This Frederick Reynolds razor that I recently got on ebay.
Do you know the age of this thing? I do have an older FR from before 1890, but that's a wedge. This one is full hollow.
Attachment 263509
Check strazors.com which has info on different manufacturer.
Thanks for the tip. The worn-out case that it came in says "Gell Street".
According to strazors.com "In about 1860, he moved to Gell Street and, according to the Census, employed fifteen men. He continued to trade into the 1870s, when the address was Monmouth Lane. His son, Richard Reynolds continued to manufacture razors in Monmouth Lane and Gell Street into the 20th century. In the early 1920s, the firm adopted limited liability status."
So it seems like there was a time in between when the address was Manmouth Lane, and then back to Gell Street. This razor definitely looks more modern than my wedge though, so I am going to guess around 1900?
EDIT: Interestingly the case also says "Price $3".
I think you are correct in your assumption.
Nice blade, let's see the blade etch?
some closeups
Attachment 263578Attachment 263579
Sweet looking razor, my humble opinion I would agree that your dating is pretty correct. Isn't amazing that new these razors for the most part were $3! I understand money or value has changed a lot since then but still today there is really not one thing I can buy for $3 and have it last 100 yrs or more. Nice score.
I got rid of the rust, and have been honing this one over a few days. First test shave was promising, but it skipped here and there. Took it back to my fine Chinese stone.
Second test shave and wow. This one is a keeper. My impression is that the steel is slightly softer than most of my other razors. This has some good effects and (for some) bad effects. It reacts quickly to stropping. It also lies very nicely on the strop (not sure how to explain, some blades just strop easily). The shave started VERY smooth (as in smoother than most razors). After the first pass I thought it might be getting somewhat rougher, so I did my standard thing between passes: I ran the blade between my soapy fingers a couple of times, and the edge went straight back to super smooth (this could be either because if the soft-ish steel, or maybe because I removed particles stuck to the edge). I am glad I didn't have to re-strop it in the middle.
OK, now this is the very first blade that I have taken through bevel-setting and all (I have previously failed at setting bevels, and just sent it in to SRD), so this is pretty interesting to me. I am pretty picky about my razor edge, and I frequently have to do a lot of stropping on leather and fabric even after getting a sharp razor back from SRD, just to get it to agree with my face. This one is now a very nice shaver.
