Thread: Thoughts on this one? Joseph Rodgers & Sons Razor..

Interesting! Celluloid didn't come in until around 1870 and you razor is pre-1877 (after this the blade or tang strike on Rodgers' razors was 'cutlers to Her Majesty' - mostly!) so the scales etc could be celluloid but I think not. I have seen ivory-covered tangs that are fully-clad (as your is) that are presumably glued into place, part-clad (sides only) that are pinned and full-clad that are pinned. The blade shape is I believe known as an 'Arris'.

A very nice piece that looks to be cleaning up really well!

Steve, is Arris a reference to the shape of the spine?

I do have a feeling that it was originally glued, because the blade has a very small ( 1/2 of a mm) shift independent of the tang. I imagine the glue isn't doing what it was originally intended to do..after 130+ years

If held up to a light, you can see the metal shaft through the covering, but it ends immediately after the pin...the entire tail has no metal beneath.

I'd love to repin.. clean out the blade under the tang, re-glue the tang...but, there would be no margin of error for my newbieness... the pins are made out of something harder than brass, and there are no washers. I would be afraid to crack the scales.

Maybe in a while as I get better at everything.. if I don't sell it as is (I have spent too much on this hobby already..)


I had no idea this razor was that old -- thank you for the info!

As for the ivory v. celluloid.. I wonder if 1870s celluloid passes a pin test like ivory? All I know is this thing does not melt!! After passing the pin test, I figured I'd go a step further.. I heated up the end of my needle nose plyers and pressed it against the inside of the scales..and still no melt, just a very light brown mark like it burned the surface ever so slightly.. i was able to wipe off the mark immediately after, with a bit of polish.

That's a beautiful razor! I have stopped doing the hot pin test, now that I have more experience with ivory. Never cared for the dentist office odor of burnt tooth you get with ivory, and you get the same smell with bone. I have vaporized a couple of celluloid scales myself, trying to see if they were real tortoise shell. If the material has an extremely fine grain, no pores (that's bone) and feels cool, very smooth and a little slick to the touch, it is ivory. Most of the time the scales are very thin, but not always. I have some walrus ivory scales that are much thicker and don't look like elephant ivory. It also takes a beautiful polish, unlike celluloid. Love ivory razors! Sad how many are cracked, but not all of them are. Thanks for the great pictures. I am frankly a little envious of your good luck!

Wow! Ivory or not, that is a great looking razor. I love those diamond shaped spines. Just the aesthetics are wonderful. Enjoy.

Jordan

I finished it up, and posted it in the Workshop Gallery. Figured I'd post in here, since a few of you wanted to see the final product!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/galle...tml#post335774

Truly gorgeous razor, with excellent polishing work. And thank you for posting the details of your sanding/polishing sequence, I'm trying to learn.

I lean toward believing it's ivory just because of the maker and the period. Joseph Rodgers & Sons certainly had enough ivory to carve their toilet seats out of it during the period your lovely razor was made. Yee-haw, let's go down to the Joseph Rodgers ivory cellar!:

Wow, you're not kidding about the ivory overload in the cellar there!
Beautiful razor though. The finish is really clean and crisp. Did you finish with 600? It looks like a 1500-2000 grit finish at least. Wonderful job, I envy you Rodgers, mine is not in the same league.