Thread: John Barber in Sheffield any good?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

You can bet any hollow-grind John Barber razors have been reground at some point. Back then, all were near wedges.

That may also be at least one reason for some of the geometry problems you run into with those old razors. It doesn't account for all but maybe more than you might expect. Like any other business, some regrinders were good at what they did and some not so much. It may also depend on what the regrind was meant to accomplish.

Maybe this is just my perception but I think we believe that restoring old blade is a relatively new practice. In reality people have likely been trying to restore old tattered blades for a long time, not so much as a hobby but out of necessity. Especially since the industrial revolution we live a better standard of life than mankind has ever lived and particularly in the last hundred years. Before that "reduce/reuse/recycle," was not a feel good "save the planet," idea, it was for survival. For a poor man needing a shave who couldn't afford to go to the barber for it repurposing his late granddad's old razor may have been the best option. Since a single razor can last for centuries it may have seen restoration attempts several times over the course of its life. I have often thought about the stories and old razor could tell if it could.