Thread: Boots Vintage

A couple of vintage blades.

One of them is a Boots Nonrusta, Sheffield Steel razor.
Never seen these before. Boots is the UK's largest chemist chain with over 2500 stores . They started in 1849 from what I read.

The other is a didi razor for cutting corns. I suppose back then shoes were a bit harsh on feet.

Any idea of the maker of the Boots razor or the scale material?

Bob

Hi Bob,
I have no idea as to the maker.

The tang says, "YSC 423 Sheffield" and the scales are Ivory.

Originally Posted by JOB15

Hi Bob,
I have no idea as to the maker.

The tang says, "YSC 423 Sheffield" and the scales are Ivory.

Thanks for the info. Does the "Nonrusta" on the blade mean the blade is stainless steel? Now that would be curious because the blade is not stamped England and stainless steel production was post 1913 iirc in Sheffield. The only Sheffield made stainless steel razors I have seen were by George Ibberson & Co and marked "Firth Stainless". I am sure, almost, that there were others in Sheffield that made stainless steel razors. It is just that I have not seen any. In any event it looks to be a well made razor and a bit surprising to me that it has ivory scales being sold by Boots. Enjoy.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Thanks for the info. Does the "Nonrusta" on the blade mean the blade is stainless steel? Now that would be curious because the blade is not stamped England and stainless steel production was post 1913 iirc in Sheffield. The only Sheffield made stainless steel razors I have seen were by George Ibberson & Co and marked "Firth Stainless". I am sure, almost, that there were others in Sheffield that made stainless steel razors. It is just that I have not seen any. In any event it looks to be a well made razor and a bit surprising to me that it has ivory scales being sold by Boots. Enjoy.

Bob

That's exactly what I thought concerning the scales but they have the ivory grain and resist a hot needle.
Probably they were not mass produced otherwise we would have seen more of them about. Who knows.

The metal has a whiter type of shine to it , kind of like white gold so I think it is SS .

Originally Posted by JOB15

That's exactly what I thought concerning the scales but they have the ivory grain and resist a hot needle.
Probably they were not mass produced otherwise we would have seen more of them about. Who knows.

The metal has a whiter type of shine to it , kind of like white gold so I think it is SS .

I didn't have much doubt that the scales were ivory but had to ask since they were on a boots razor. Interesting puzzle about the steel and who made it.

Bob

In a strange twist of fate I sold this razor a couple of weeks ago, never seen one before and couldn't find any info about it. It shaved great & I sold it as shave ready with very positive feeback from the buyer. I have over 120 razors in my collection and just wanted to thin some out.
This is the back of the blade, seemed too soft while honing to be stainless.
And has England suggesting post 1891.
Looking at JOB51's pictures the scales seem too thick to be ivory, I have several ivory scaled razors and they are without exception wafer thin, have you checked the 'Shrager' lines, this seems to be a very reliable way to confirm whether they are ivory or 'ivorine'

Originally Posted by migralda

In a strange twist of fate I sold this razor a couple of weeks ago, never seen one before and couldn't find any info about it. It shaved great & I sold it as shave ready with very positive feeback from the buyer. I have over 120 razors in my collection and just wanted to thin some out This is the back of the blade, seemed too soft while honing to be stainlessAnd has England suggesting post 1891.
Looking at JOB51's pictures the scales seem too thick to be ivory, I have several ivory scaled razors and they are without exception wafer thin, have you checked the 'Shrager' lines, this seems to be a very reliable way to confirm whether they are ivory or 'ivorine'

Yes, ivory scales are usually very thin and that is hard to gauge from a photo at times. The OP's scales look to have collarless pinning and that could be a tell on ivory scales. I have a few ivory scaled razors and on some the Sharger lines lines are very visable and on others don't really appear. I always, and maybe wrongly, assumed that the appearance of Sharger lines would depend on where on the tusk the scales were taking from and how they were sawn.

Bob

Re tested the scales and they are faux ivory. I didn't get the needle hot enough first time around and in my defence they were collar less.
I have many ivory scales that are thin but I also have one which is thick , probably because it was carved therefore needed to be thicker . doh

The YSC stand for Yorkshire Steel Company and I guess 423 is some thing to do with them also.

Whether or not its is SS remains to be seen. Until I hone it which could be a long way off. I have a queuing system
Cheers

Thanks for the update.

Bob