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I just saw a nice looking Joseph Elliot Fine India Steel at a local antique store. Looks like it was in pretty good condition with a little bit of pitting.
I checked out the search, and found a couple of images of various Joseph Elliot razors, but wasn't able to find much about Fine India Steel. Anyone care to describe the shaving qualities of this type of steel? Better yet, how easy is it to hone and how well does it hold an edge?
I'm just reaching here but I would say its like everything else from an era devoid of consumer protection. People could call a product anything they wanted and make all kinds of claims. I would say there was no such thing as "India Steel". No different than Pumaster Steel and other similar examples.Probably just run of the mill stuff. Its still a quality razor and should shave great and hone like most others.
I would agree - I recently had in an Elliott 'Fine India Steel' razor - great blade no doubt about it. On the desk in front of me now I have a W. Taylor 'Fine India Steel' of the same period. Know what? The etched words are exactly the same design on both blades. Maybe some graphic artist did the original 'etch-master' or whatever they were called and then working copies were sold to various makers so they could make the blades look good! I've seen this sort of thing a few times. I would also agree that this phrase, along with stuff like 'radium steel', 'magnetic steel' etc. are just so much marketing guff. Good razor though!
I think if I ever make razors I'm going to come up with cool terms like bomb-a** steel, laser razor, deathslip, I really like deathslip. seems like a good name for one of philadelphias razors with the carbon fiber handle.
Red
My first India Steel razor was a 6/8 smiling Wade&Butcher 1/4 hollow-almost worn out from bad honing over the 100+ years. It could take an almost scary sharp edge and shave like a miracle. I made the mistake of selling it at a gun show. I now have another India Steel- Wostenholm IXL 6/8 smiling 1/4 hollow. It too takes the good edge. I used it this morning for a perfectly smooth shave without any after effects like razor burn, scrape, etc. Do keep the blade stropped after use, dry well, and apply some oil to keep the rust away. India Steel seems to rust faster, but it is worth the extra effort. I do not know what the process was of making it. You have a good razor there.