Thread: Mythical Vintage Steel

Originally Posted by sharptonn

My favorite razors are from the late 1800's through the late 30's. Hexe machines became common and steel had gained considerably by then.
Still, the hand-crafted element and pride of product was there. Geometry was near perfect. Thinner grinds were most common.
Easy to hone and maintain. The pinnacle of blades, IMO.

Thank you for your opinion. Just to be clear my original post was not meant to pit this against that or to put down technology or other era razors. To each their own and YMMV. There are great razors from all periods and I have some great custom examples also. My original post was to highlight the skill that went into making that particular razor and the musing in my head at the time. I only referenced the technology and steel of today to show the great skill the maker(s) had and how proud I am of to own it.

Originally Posted by Steel

Thank you for your opinion. Just to be clear my original post was not meant to pit this against that or to put down technology or other era razors. To each their own and YMMV. There are great razors from all periods and I have some great custom examples also. My original post was to highlight the skill that went into making that particular razor and the musing in my head at the time. I only referenced the technology and steel of today to show the great skill the maker(s) had and how proud I am of to own it.

Looks like I missed the point by 100 years or so. Post deleted. I have some oldies as well. They shave now as they shaved then.
Carry-on.

Like all of you I also have great razors from every time period. One of them is also one of my earliest acquisitions.

Someone in our community remembered that I had mentioned I were wishing for an old razor with ivory scales and he just had this one sent out for restoration by another member. He told me once it comes back I can have it and refused to take anymore money than what he had bought it for (virtually nothing).

It's such a great razor and only has what seems to be a name of a London retailer. I was looking at it this morning and I will close out 2019 with it on tomorrow's shave

The whole concept of craftsmen and artisans is a fascinating one.

My great grandfather was a German cabinet maker who came to the US in the 1880s and set up shop very near where he got off the boat in Baltimore. I am fortunate to have a cane seat chair he made, that is still sturdy enough to hold my fat butt without wobbling (or groaning), although the seat was re-caned in the 1950s. When I look at the joinery and precision of the carvings, it is hard to imagine them being done with no electric tools. My father inherited his love of tools and precise workmanship and built many things with a few great vintage hand tools. My brother, who is an electrician, does woodworking as his hooby and has built some beautiful pieces, but has a workshop full of precision woodworking machinery.

Some time back, someone on SRP asked what an "artisan" soap was. When I considered that question I realized that the word floods me with memories of the many lasting things I've seen, touched and used that were created by people who were truly artisans.

I think that 200 years ago, people understood a lot. They certainly did not have such modern devices as they are now. But I do not think that people were no less literate in the manufacture of various crafts. If we take an earlier period and say for the Egyptian pyramids or Indian temples, then we still need to grow those technologies. Not so simple. I think so.