Thread: Metal-scaled razors other than Wapis?

I cannot say for sure . . . body fluids are saline and corrosive to most metals. Corrosion of medical equipment would allow breeding areas for such nasties as tetanus. Even now tetanus alone causes system wide disease.
It's mostly contracted by cuts from rusty metal.
Other scales of aluminum were hi buck bling before WWI when smelting processes were improved by the war efforts.
Precious metals were often used for razors of folks having their own servants.

JMHO
-Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

I cannot say for sure . . . body fluids are saline and corrosive to most metals. Corrosion of medical equipment would allow breeding areas for such nasties as tetanus. Even now tetanus alone causes system wide disease.
It's mostly contracted by cuts from rusty metal.
Other scales of aluminum were hi buck bling before WWI when smelting processes were improved by the war efforts.
Precious metals were often used for razors of folks having their own servants.

JMHO
-Richard

Many thanks!

I think the point about the stainless steel scales is that they would allow a razor to go in the autoclave and be sterilised with all the other surgical instruments, which other scale materials would not allow. Given that razors would certainly be used in a surgical context, it makes sense that the best scale material would have been stainless steel, as with other surgical instruments. I'm going to assume this to be the case until some information to the contrary comes up.

The corollary to this question is the one I'm currently still concerned with, which is to what extent stainless steel scales were used outside the medical context.

At the time that most of these razors were made/used, autoclaves were probably not in widespread use, particularly in military field Hospitals and rural villages. My guess is that the intent was that you could give them a trip through boiling water before the next patient/victim.

Originally Posted by Steve56

At the time that most of these razors were made/used, autoclaves were probably not in widespread use, particularly in military field Hospitals and rural villages. My guess is that the intent was that you could give them a trip through boiling water before the next patient/victim.

Interesting! What rough period are we referring to here? I would guess that my razors date to the immediate pre WWII period, but I am no expert.

Simple answer, SS was invented during 1913. Used for various purposes. Available as razors/ scales during WWI.
Probably surpluses after the war. Where and when would you have used them?
Let the thread drop and do some of your own research.
JMHO
-Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

Simple answer, SS was invented during 1913. Used for various purposes. Available as razors/ scales during WWI.
Probably surpluses after the war. Where and when would you have used them?
Let the thread drop and do some of your own research.
JMHO
-Richard

Yes, stainless steel was invented in 1913 but I believe one of the first straight razors with a stainless steel blade was made post WWI by George Ibberson and marked Firth Stainless on the blade. Go to post #87 and 88 for info on that https://sharprazorpalace.com/razors/...-razors-9.html . No idea when stainless steel was first used as scales for straight razors.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Yes, stainless steel was invented in 1913 but I believe one of the first straight razors with a stainless steel blade was made post WWI by George Ibberson and marked Firth Stainless on the blade. Go to post #87 and 88 for info on that https://sharprazorpalace.com/razors/...-razors-9.html . No idea when stainless steel was first used as scales for straight razors.

Bob

As we are talking about razors in a surgical context, it is reasonable to assume that stainless (or surgical) steel scales were first used on razors at the same time that other surgical instruments began to be be manufactured in stainless steel. It seems that this took place in the 1920s:

"The thermal sterilisation of instruments, established between 1885 and 1910, proved destructive to equipment handled in ebony, ivory, and tortoiseshell and necessitated the manufacture of all-metal instruments which initially were nickel- or chrome-plated. After 1925 stainless steel gradually superseded all other metals except silver for tracheostomy tubes and various alloys and titanium for prostheses retained in the body."
(J R Kirkup FRCS, “The history and evolution of surgical instruments,” Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Vol. 63 (1981): 279-285, 284. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...01507-0048.pdf)

So it seems that surgical razors with stainless steel scales will essentially be post-1925.

Originally Posted by Steve56

At the time that most of these razors were made/used, autoclaves were probably not in widespread use, particularly in military field Hospitals and rural villages. My guess is that the intent was that you could give them a trip through boiling water before the next patient/victim.

This is not a heavyweight source, but it dates the beginning of steam sterilisation in medical contexts to the late c19th: https://brnskll.com/shares/a-brief-h...sterilization/

The page also makes the point that when heat sterilisation became common, the design of medical instruments changed to make this possible. This is precisely what makes me think of the connection between stainless steel scales on razors and medical sterilisation.

I have perhaps been using the term 'autoclave' less than precisely, to include more general kinds of heat sterilisation, such as boiling water and later steam.

Found this one today. Joseph Rodgers ..HMG screams prison to me

Originally Posted by JOB15

Found this one today. Joseph Rodgers ..HMG screams prison to me

I've been thinking about this, and have done a few quick searches, but haven't found anything else with the 'HM Govt' mark. As we know, anything for the MOD would be marked with the broad arrow, which leaves prisons and... what else? I might expect that anything prison related would be marked 'HM Prisons'.

An interesting question, I will keep my eyes and ears open for any clues.