Thread: This guy just gave me these two razors ...

... can anyone provide more detailed information on these?

The white one info as follows :

Looks like pearl scales, guy told me he paid 50 bucks for it 25 years ago or so and just wanted it out of his basement.. The blade says the following :

"The Americans Give The Right Hand of Fellowship To All Nations And Own An Universal Brotherhood" In the tang? area it says Japan on the back, and Parker Cut. Co Surgical Steel on the decorated side.. Is this some weird gimic razor?

The Orange one says nothing much except Whistle Cut. Co from New York, USA.. Odd scales.. plastic? Who knows.. guy said he collected razors many years ago - gave me two broken ones I tossed in the trash, one from Germany that would have been awesome if i wasn't mutilated and broken.. and he gave me an old Mass School of Barbering, Boston, Mass strop thats cool that I put some yellow strop paste on in hopes it'd be useable..

Jeff

The MOP razor is a very nice score. Doesn't require much cleanup and is ready for honing. The other one should make a nice shaver (I had great experiences with US-made razors), but would require a bit more dremel lovin' or elbow grease.

I like the scales on both razors, especially the orange one (beside the damage).

As for the etched blade, I don't think I'd call it a weird gimmick thing. Many manufacturers did special editions. You can see razors with masonic symbols, razors made for specific events and so on.

Well.. I bought a new Norton Waterstsone, 4k/8k and a DOVO strop, and tried Lynns Pyramid for heavy used blades and then tried to strop 30 or so.. and they're not sharp at all .. apparently I suck at this.. lol .. Better get better before the new DOVO I bought and sent to Lynn to sharpen up gets mailed back to me... or I'll destroy it..

What is a MOP razor?

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

The MOP razor is a very nice score. Doesn't require much cleanup and is ready for honing. The other one should make a nice shaver (I had great experiences with US-made razors), but would require a bit more dremel lovin' or elbow grease.

MOP = Mother Of Pearl

I've seen this kind of etching/plating before... I believe these were Wostenholm razors. C utz may be able to elaborate. The MOP indeed looks nice - restrained enough to my liking.

As far as honing goes - don't despair - looks like almost everybody here can do it eventually. Also these may serve as a nice stropping practice before you go to the dovo.

Originally Posted by BostonJeff

.. apparently I suck at this.. lol ...

Don't feel special mate... you're far from alone

Greg Frazer

Well.. I'm 100% inexperienced.. but if I was to offer up the Mother of Pearl etched blade/razor.. what should I ask for it ya'll think ?? And why is it so much heavier than the orange one and my DOVO? Scales feel quite heavy.

Jeff

Eh.........
Well, for free there are no complains right?

The first one looks to have MOP scales, which is great for the scales! As for the blade, that might be from China, perhaps Paki. Either way, it's a knock-off of the earlier style etched blades (almost an exact replica!). It looks very similar to the "Collector Razor" that has the replicated Mason-work etched on the blade (these are useless as shavers, but as advertised can be collected ). I have a G.Wostenholm & Sons Razor (two actually, but the second one has a different etched face; GEORGE WOSTENHOLM & SON Successors to George Wostenholm in 1823 ("Old Sheffield Razors" by Lummus. Antiques, December 1922 p.261-267) Rockingham Works ca. 1694 - 1847 Washington Works, Sheffield ca. 1847 - at least 1991) which I was going to post here for sale (if I ever get off my lazy a$$ to do it!), that has the etched face of the (suspected) chinese-MOP blade (see attached). With all that said though, I have no idea how the MOP one will hone up. As for the cost....well, I wouldn't bite. But that's me

The second razor looks to have quite a bit of 'patena' or well, uniform rust pitting on the blade. While this might be able to be ground (or hand sanded...MUCH sanding) out, I'd be concerned that the pitting would be too close to the edge (much like trying to cut through swiss cheese and getting a clean edge with no hole...however with the razor, you only have one dimension to work with).

The strop looks old. That does not mean it will not work. If there are no cuts or nicks in the leather, there might be hope. It does look rather wavy though...Those might be difficult to work out if they are long term folds....I'd consult Tony Miller, or more of your strop guru's on this.

BUT....that's just my $0.02

C utz