Thread: Interesting idea...whaddya think?

Hi, I am going to throw out an idea that I would like to get some feedback on. I have an old J Rodgers coffin style SR box and a JR razor that fits very tightly inside. The box and the razor did not come as a set. The razor fits but a little too tight for my liking. This box seems to have shrunk over time, much like a dry piece of leather would. I wonder if anyone in this community has ever steamed a box in order to breath a little moisture back into it. I am imagining literally holding the box over a steaming pot of water and coercing it to loosen and potentially stretch a bit and help it regain a tiny bit of elasticity (temporarily) to better fit the SR. With the SR back in maybe it would have a structural memory and conform a bit better. Of course this would be done cautiously so as not to critically damage it. On the other hand, maybe this is a quick way to ruin an old razor box.
whaddya think?
Thanks

Razor coffin + moisture x carbon steel = not a good bedmate, leave well alone find another coffin.

The coffin was probably made for a smaller razor.

Jaime is right. The box will probably fall apart.

If you need a coffin box, you can get some nice ones from The Superior Shave. Nicer still are the silicone impregnated sleeves. TSS sells those as well. SRD sells larger/longer ones. My coffins are put away, my razors live in their little burkas...

Coffin box most likely made of cardboard. Steam will loosen glue and may cause it to come apart at the seams.

Depending on the era, the coffin boxes were made in a couple of different ways.

The oldest ones were a wooden frame bound in tooled, boiled leather.

Next, and by far the most common type (especially if it's actually coffin shaped) was simple papier-mâché. If you ever did this as a kid, you've got a real good idea how it was done already. A wooden form was waxed up and wrapped in layers of paper coated in glue (in modern times we use PVA, or 'Elmer's' glue, in the 19th century they more likely would have used whatever mixture was being used in bookbinding, probably made from animal sinew). In the late 1800's and early 1900's you begin to see the rectangular boxes which are, more often than not, simple cardboard, though I have found commercially sold boxes from the 1930's which were made from newspaper (with printing!) and glue.

A new razor in its coffin box fit snugly. It would not easily slide out of the box when the cap was taken off. They were always inserted into the box with the tail of the razor at the narrow end, and if the box had branding, the razor would often be inserted so that the box branding and the tang stamp were on the same side.

Stretching the box isn't likely to be very effective, and really, razor coffins are easy enough to come by there's no reason to.

Thanks for the responses. Alas, I have decided not to embark on this ill fated journey. There is no use ruining a perfectly functional SR Box. I have simply decided that I have given myself a fine reason to find a skinnier JR blade! (I am kidding...kind-of..not really) I always welcome a good excuse to embark on a good SR search. Anyway, in all seriousness, I appreciate your thoughts and knowledge. The resources provided above have steered me toward a few great options in protecting my blades. Cheers!!

If I had a Rodgers box I'd send it to you. I keep them (Boxes/Coffins) in a ziplock bag in a drawer. Don't know what I'll do with them. I don't store my razors in the boxes. Now I don't know if storing in the box is good or bad, I just don't do it. Good luck on your search for a bigger box and a smaller razor. Yep, good reason to buy more.