Thread: I've never heard of this but I had to get it anyway

Nice razor, great price. I think the scales are blond horn with a tortoiseshell pattern, as I have seen a few other examples just like those - the pattern is painted on the inside but doesn't look like paint, maybe its dye or something similar.

Regards,
Neil

I think you got a great deal. I have one of Mister Higgins wedges and the shave is first rate.

I actually ended up selling this thing at a loss of $5 to me. I just bought too many razors in need of work to get to all or even half of them. So I sold off 4 in need of work, and this was one of them as it was a much heavier grind than I prefer. But it should be arriving at its new home today or tomorrow I think.

Neil have you removed any scales of that type and been able judge the method more closely? I have sent the Masonic symbol message on to my son thank you.

Originally Posted by jreiter22

Neil have you removed any scales of that type and been able judge the method more closely? I have sent the Masonic symbol message on to my son thank you.

I had a pair of scales until quite recently, but donated them to a friend so I can't examine them now. The colouring could be seen through the scales and was definitely on the inner faces. It certainly wasn't a pigment type of paint - nothing was on the surface that could be scratched off, rather it had pentrated the horn a bit.

I came across this short reference:

“Tortois Combs, made of the sea and land Tortoiseshell, the counterfeit combs of this sort are Horn stained with Tortois shell colours” Randle Holme 1688 (Horn its History and its Uses by Adele Schaverien) English 19th Century.

that makes me think a dye was used - the depth of colour could be built-up with repeated applications. Another source says:

To Stain Horn in Imitation of Tortoise-shell. Mix an equal quantity of quicklime and red lead with strong soap lees, lay it on the horn with a small brush, in imitation of the mottle of tortoise-shell; when dry, repeat it two or three times.


Another source cites the use of red lead to stain horn brown: if left on for a short while a brown colour is the result, 24 hours or so gives a fine black. The reason it works is that horn contains sulphur which reacts with the quick-lime to form sulphides and calcium plumbate, which is taken into the fibre of the horn and deposited, resulting in the dye pentrationg below the surface. An undesirable side effect is the formation of a crusty white layer, which slowly reforms even if it has been removed. To circumvent this lead was abandoned in favour of mercury salts.


Mercury was dissolved in concentrated nitric acid and the horn was left in the nitrate of mercury overnight, being found to have a fine reddish colour like tortoiseshell in the morning. If the horn so treated has potassium sulphide applied to it, the area turns black.


All sounds a bit hazardous to me!

Originally Posted by goshawk

Given the apparent age of the razor I'm betting those scales are real tortoise shell.






Nice Score!

goshawk

what apparent age? i.e. what telltale signs do you see (e.g. straight scales, short tail, country stamp, cutler stamp only etc.)?