Thread: John Barber

I picked up a couple of real nice finds on Ebay reciently, - a Joseph Elliot & a John Barber, both were NOS! I haven't gotten to the Joseph Elliot, yet. I cleaned up the John Barber and honed it. I had a bit of trouble getting the edge where I wanted it, but after several pyramids between the Blue Belgium and the Thuringen, the edge looked really good under the microscope + it was popping arm hairs. 60 or so laps on the strop and away we went........

....and, OMG, I could not believe what a great experience shaving with this razor was. Not only was the shave close, but comforitable and smooth. Usually for me to get a shave this close, I will always have a bit of heat on my skin that needs to be cooled down. Not this! I went right to the A/S with no sting. Incredable!

It's a 5/8 with the name John Barber right on the edge of the spine, and a Masonic symbol on the neck. The other side of the neck says Patented Tempered Steel. The razor seems rather heafty for a 5/8.

I have shaved twice with this beauty; not only is the shave great, but 8 to 10 hous after the shave, my face still feels smooth. I could have skipped this morning's shave after yesterday's, but I couldn't resist shaving again with this razor.

Am I just lucky in finding this "Holy Grail" (for me), or have any of you experienced a John Barber like this?

I guess I am unable to post a picture. It's about 1.6MB, which puts me over the allowed amount of memory I can use to post a picture. I guess

(email me the pict, and I'll post it for you: taztu at hotmail)

NO, no no....
John Barber razors are horrible shavers!

SO, just be quiet about how good you thought it shaved.
You were mistaken.
Period.
End of story.

NOW, No one else buy these razors....

Better yet, just send them to me



C utz

I believe these are the razors he bought . . . I know because I was an under-bidder on them!

Nice grab!

WOW! Those are two great blades....

WELL, here she is, with a new pair of pants.

C utz

I'm going to buy a couple of those classic new scales that Gary (Traveller) has offered, and switch them. They should be really nice!

Those John barbers are nice. I have one myself which I bought for 99ct, covered in rust. The pictures are in the restoration forum.
The other one I had was a NOS 6/8 that I sold to one of our members here.

My JB is longer than a normal razor. instead of 3" it is 3,25" and I really have to be careful when shaving my cheeks or I'll cut my ear.

Originally Posted by zepplin

I'm going to buy a couple of those classic new scales that Gary (Traveller) has offered, and switch them. They should be really nice!

Really?! I love the original scales . . . their shape is unique and they suit the blade. It seems a shame to dismantle a NOS razor.

Originally Posted by SteveS

Really?! I love the original scales . . . their shape is unique and they suit the blade. It seems a shame to dismantle a NOS razor.

I was removing the scales to do a re-pin job on the John Barber and the horn scales snapped. What's on there now is temporary, so that was was "no choice". The Joseph Elliot's scales are just plain bakelite(sp?). I figure they will look super great with Gary's scales; so why not! If a great NOS razor had the name of the blade on the scales, i.e., Puma, Dble Duck, C-Mon, etc., that would be a much different story, but in this case with just plain generic scales, it's no brainer for me.