I love old steel razors! I think it was a better product in many respects - within a certain timeframe, of course.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how other people have treated the razor during it's life. If subjected to a certain amount of heat it could have lost it's tempering. That could be brought about by someone polishing it up on a fast spinning steel wheel, for instance. I've seen people using knives as tools in the flames of a fire, so even the less obvious things can't be ruled out, some of which won't leave much of a tell-tale trace after years of polishing or tarnishing.

Regards,
Neil.