I'll show you mine.... Show me yours

This should have been the SOD post, but it got me thinking. This Wade and Butcher in horn is about 150 years old and shaves maybe better than the day it was finished. I'll bet our hones are that much better. That said, this is a perfect edge. I don't sand the old blades to perfection I just clean them up (flitz and dremel) and make them look pretty good, sharpen them and put them in the drawer with the other four vintage W&B blades and other assorted blades

How many 150+ year old blades are still out there. If you have some mid 1800's blades or older, let's see them!

BJ Erie
Attachment 342049

DC Halsted (Rescaled)
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Frederick Fenney
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G. Johnson
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John S. Holler
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Joseph Rodgers & Sons
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Medaille Rover CE
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Wade and Butcher (Rescaled)
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William and John Birks
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William Ryals
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:)

150 years old isn’t that old for a straight razor, so that might be the reason for a less than huge response - 150 year old razors are most of many people’s collections. Here’s a couple of French pairs, made between 1850 and 1860.

Magnificent! Thanks for sharing them with us. :tu

I want them. Beautiful blades.

Sure, I'll play. How about another W&B that is at least that age.

Attachment 342088

Or 2
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Or 3
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This one I know was made between 1853 & 1856
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And this one is circa 1820
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Gosh, I've never seen a Touron that I would not immediately desire.
They are among the finest razors ever made.

Anyway, way to poke a bear...
150 y/o razors are still very, very abundant on flea markets, antique sellers and diverse auction sites. To the point that, mainly, I don't look at them anymore.
One in 50 is about 200 years old, that's the point where I may be ticking :)

That being said, if you know your thing, you can find old and crappy razors.
There's a whole category that I call the "French uggos". They are 200 years old razors which are weird, gimmicky, and crap. I love them :)
Butterfly razors are, for the most, a sub-class of this category.

Here is a family picture of some of my uggos
https://live.staticflickr.com/8275/1...3843b9d5_c.jpg

The leftmost butterfly I still have to restore to satisfaction. It has in common with the second one this groove in the scales.
Now I am pretty sure that they used red wax (there were residudes) to glue some cheap decoration and create the appareance of "high end" razors.
But the blades are pretty thin, their geometry completely wrong.

Attachment 342099

You will not that often time, they did not know how to make a spacer. Here what you have are scales made by sawing the bone in the middle. Sometimes there's no spacer, only a rivet
Attachment 342100

Looks nice though. But oh boy, it's crap lol.

The butterfly on the right I gave to a curious friend. Told him that even if he could hone it to satisfaction, he would shave once perfectly, and then it would become quite blunt. And that's exactly what happened. Most of these butterfly cannot retain their edge for long.

The third razor... Well, it's something else.
It came from a previous collection, whose owner was a H. VILLARD as engraved on the scales, and was blade V of a rotation. I got it with two other blades from the same owner, and still regret to this day that I did not get all of them (I knew too little at the time).

As a contrast, the three blades (the ones above) are from the 1820s and are all pretty good (one of them is a Dumas Ainé, a very well established brand)
Attachment 342101
The Wawick is a beast, the heaviest blade of my collection, reaching 15/16 at the bottom of the smile

200 yr.old razors are much more rare. I think i have 2.

Thanks PaulFLUS for dating one of my older W&B Your 1820's blade. I have a match. Heavy, sharp, and in the drawer.

Bonjour Aggelos, I follow you on Le 3C, but my French is not that good yet!

Touron indeed made some fine razors and I used the second razor in the 5/8 set today. The razors belonged to an Etsy seller’s husband’s family. She originally believed that her father-in-law brought them back in WW2 since they found them in a box of his belongings. Until we began talking about them, she did not realize how old they were and maybe they belonged to her father-in-law’s father, who was a successful lumber mill operator in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. I think the grandfather bought them as these were expensive razors. It isn’t often that we can find the history of razors this old.

The other pair in the dressing case came from Barrington, Rhode Island, so I am beginning to suspect that there was an importer in New England, probably in New York City.

Attachment 342137

Attachment 342138

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aggelos

Gosh, I've never seen a Touron that I would not immediately desire.
They are among the finest razors ever made.

Anyway, way to poke a bear...
150 y/o razors are still very, very abundant on flea markets, antique sellers and diverse auction sites. To the point that, mainly, I don't look at them anymore.
One in 50 is about 200 years old, that's the point where I may be ticking :)

That being said, if you know your thing, you can find old and crappy razors.
There's a whole category that I call the "French uggos". They are 200 years old razors which are weird, gimmicky, and crap. I love them :)
Butterfly razors are, for the most, a sub-class of this category.

Here is a family picture of some of my uggos
https://live.staticflickr.com/8275/1...3843b9d5_c.jpg

The leftmost butterfly I still have to restore to satisfaction. It has in common with the second one this groove in the scales.
Now I am pretty sure that they used red wax (there were residudes) to glue some cheap decoration and create the appareance of "high end" razors.
But the blades are pretty thin, their geometry completely wrong.

Attachment 342099

You will not that often time, they did not know how to make a spacer. Here what you have are scales made by sawing the bone in the middle. Sometimes there's no spacer, only a rivet
Attachment 342100

Looks nice though. But oh boy, it's crap lol.

The butterfly on the right I gave to a curious friend. Told him that even if he could hone it to satisfaction, he would shave once perfectly, and then it would become quite blunt. And that's exactly what happened. Most of these butterfly cannot retain their edge for long.

The third razor... Well, it's something else.
It came from a previous collection, whose owner was a H. VILLARD as engraved on the scales, and was blade V of a rotation. I got it with two other blades from the same owner, and still regret to this day that I did not get all of them (I knew too little at the time).

As a contrast, the three blades (the ones above) are from the 1820s and are all pretty good (one of them is a Dumas Ainé, a very well established brand)
Attachment 342101
The Wawick is a beast, the heaviest blade of my collection, reaching 15/16 at the bottom of the smile

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I have several from that period, and older. More than I'd care to post. But I figured you'd like this one.

Chassig

Attachment 342140

Quote:

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Originally Posted by outback

I have several from that period, and older. More than I'd care to post. But I figured you'd like this one.

Chassig

Attachment 342140

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What is that? I really like the shape of it.

A French make. The stamp says..Chassig.

That's all I know about it. An ol' member gifted it to me, for repairs I made on others he owns.

My bad...

It says, Chassaign. With what looks to be a top hat.

Attachment 342143

A few for your viewing pleasure. We'll start in the late 1700s and wander through the ages, and grind styles.

And no...none are for sale.

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I am one jelous bastard right now. Thanks Mike :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tathra11

I am one jelous bastard right now. Thanks Mike :D

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You and me both!

Wow! Fantastic blades. Thanks for posting all these old blades. It proves if the old timey guys can do it, so can we!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Firebox

Wow! Fantastic blades. Thanks for posting all these old blades. It proves if the old timey guys can do it, so can we!

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I prefer the old stuff. The cast steel from the late 1700s, and early crucible steel from the 1800s, are my favorite to shave with.

But I shave with all the razors I've restored for myself, and others. I'll be honest... I had a real hard time sending this one back to the owner. Wanted it real bad for my collection.

Attachment 342152

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve56

You and me both!

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Me three! :dropjaw:

Nice collection Mike. Man, I've got to get some stuff finished. I have a bunch of nice razors but not that many in that kind of condition.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by outback

I prefer the old stuff. The cast steel from the late 1700s, and early crucible steel from the 1800s, are my favorite to shave with.

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Here's one you'd like then Mike.

Attachment 342181

I think it's a wosty that's been reground as I saw a wedge similar to it and the name was engraved on the blade face but the tang stamp was the same. This is another one I need to just spend the time and finish it. Problem is it's a fabulous shaver. I shouldn't have shaved with it until it was done. That's the best way in the world to keep from finishing it.

@steve56 : I'm being followed now ? lol

Indeed, it's not that often that one can get even a tidbit of history behind a razor. Besides, there are a lot of "false attributions".

Thanks for sharing !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by outback

My bad...

It says, Chassaign. With what looks to be a top hat.

Attachment 342143

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So, by the look it's a circa 1870 model made in Thiers.
I have at least one (Chabrol), maybe two similar ones gathering dust for now in my back inventory, waiting to be properly restored. (*)

It follows that the brand might well be "Chassaigne" but there are a few of them in Thiers during the 19th century (and the 20th). Might be the same Chassaigne as Chassaigne l'Eglise, but I can't find a brand with the matching stamp.
But be my guest and try for yourself using this wonderful website

(*) yes, if anyone is interested, I'm willing to part with these. Well, truth be told, if anyone want to try old French razors, I have far more that what I can deal with, so feel free to ask.