Thread: Ben Franklin's Wedge

OK, probably not, but it is at least that early.

It came in the mail today and I shaved with it this evening, and it gave me a nice shave.

It need a lot of restoration, but it has the original horn scales, and they aren't too bad considering how old they are. The pins appear to be pure rust, but they held together long enough for me to clean, hone, and shave with it.

The biggest difference between this and the more modern style razors is that the tang doesn't have a flat spot going back from the edge to the scales, instead, it is still shaped like a blade, only very dull.

It made stropping it somewhat difficult. You can't apply a lot of pressure or it flips off your thumb.

But it does shave very smoothly. I'd say the steel is comparable to a Wade and Butcher, Sheffield.

It says "Spain" on it, which is interesting, because if it were Spanish, it would say Espana or Espagna.
Spain could be the maker's name, or it could be made in Spain to sell to the English or Dutch.

Maybe Magellan shaved with it as he sailed through his straight into the Pacific Ocean?