Thread: primitive razors. thoughts?

Hey there guys. I've been looking at some of these primitive razors, and just wanted some feed back on them. Are they garbage? Decent shavers, valuable, collectable? I often see them for the 30$ mark so I figure they are not overly valuable. I just like them as the collectible aspect to hang on the wall to show. Kinda neat and old looking to me. Let me know what you think guys.
1800's Barber Straight Razor Antique Knife Civil War Era Lancet Bloodletting #H2

There is evidence to show that some of these are razors from long long ago, however I think that a lot of them are something else from somewhere else, perhaps for scraping pigs or other things. I don't really know how to tell the difference between a tool from Asia and a Roman razor so I stay away from them.

Originally Posted by Wightman

Hey there guys. I've been looking at some of these primitive razors, and just wanted some feed back on them. Are they garbage? Decent shavers, valuable, collectable? I often see them for the 30$ mark so I figure they are not overly valuable. I just like them as the collectible aspect to hang on the wall to show. Kinda neat and old looking to me. Let me know what you think guys.
1800's Barber Straight Razor Antique Knife Civil War Era Lancet Bloodletting #H2

You'll see that razor being sold as an old Ottoman Empire razor, and Roman era razor, and a few other iterations including Chinese....as far as I know...it's bogus and they appear from time to time...caveat emptor!

They are a dime a dozen on eBay like Kreiger razor knives.

I reserve final judgement until I have one in my hands, but all indications point to mass-produced in China and sold in bulk. Think of them as decorations rather than tools.

Yea, I had even seen some red handled ones with a bit narrower of a blade being called "India" razors. And also called weapons rather than shaving razors. And that's my main concern is if they are true antiques or just reproductions, because they truly don't seem too hard for myself to just make one. But wouldn't mind adding one to the collection if they are true antiques, especially at that price. Very reasonable. But that's what makes me question their authenticity, is the price.

Yea maybe I'll just try my hand at creating one when I find the time. Narrowed dowel, sliced on the end, with an end cap and a sligĥ slice for the blade to fit in. A basic blade (chunk of steel with and edge.lol) and pin them together. Quite simple. The only thing I could see an issue with is making an end cap. Do not have the capabilities or tools for this yet.

They are everywhere, like dog feathers. If you look at the number of razors available from the 1700's and then look at how many of those things are available it should indicate that it is not possible that they are all antiques. In fact it should indicate that very few can be antiques with the remainder being modern productions being sold as antiques, or fake junk. Worth about as much as dog feathers.

I sometimes wonder if these aren't Chinese antiques. The queue hairstyle was popular in China for hundreds of years. I believe it was even imposed on the population at times. As I understand it had to be cut(or shaved) every ten days. They had to be shaving with something. What was it? As I understand, this hairstyle dates back to the 17th century.

But could there still be thousands and thousands of those razor around in seemingly decent condition?
I believe that some of them are antique razors. I just do not believe that they all are.
Most seem like they don't look old enough.
Maybe I'm just a skeptic.