Thread: 1812 era Razor

Last week, I was visiting Niagara Falls, Canada and visiting Fort George near Niagara on the Lake. There were a lot of knowledgeable volunteers playing the part of British soldiers of that time period and while I was in the soldiers barracks, I asked about what provisions the British soldiers carried in their black box which acted as a modern day "Backpak" and he pointed to a display case with all the provision spread out. As I looked it all over, I saw a straight razor, wooden bowl, soap puck, and a shaving brush that looked exactly like what we use today. Although the blade was closed, the aged scales of the razor looked nice and similar in style to the Dovo Renaissance. The "historian" did verify that everthing in the case was original and genuine of the British soldiers provisions in 1812.

The soldiers were required to shave on Wednesdays and Sundays. For stropping and honing, I think the soldiers used a common strop and honing stones shared by all soldiers in the barracks house.

I thought many of us would find this interesting and worthy of sharing. Sorry I didn't think enough at the time to get a picture for SRP.

Pabster

A pic of the kit would have been very, very nice!

good info and agreed a pic would have been the topper

Pabster,

As a history buff, I would love to have seen that 1812 British soldier shaving kit you saw.

Some things don't change all that much. No, I take that back. When I was in the army in Vietnam, I was cursed with a plastic guillotine and a can of vile foamy substance as standard issue.

Regards,

Obie