Thread: Was great-grandad a cheapskate?

Every once in a while, I pull out great-grandad's razor for my afternoon shave. Every time I do, it's almost always a completely mediocre shave at best. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the blade other than 'Pippin' and the line in the box says that it was made of 'the finest Sheffield steel'. I know how to hone and it has a good edge on it, but I can rarely get past DFS without spending excessive amounts of time fretting over going back over areas that should have been taken care of the second time around

So the question is...does anybody else have razors that offer a mediocre shave, or was great-granddad a cheapskate and opted for a no-name razor instead of springing for the .50 better model, or do you think that he was sucked into the blade because it was one of those blades that had the smile forged from the beginning?

Here's a pic before I cleaned the thing up:



There was some rust on the edge, but I honed it all out until I got a good clean edge.

Well where's the pic after clean up!?

In any event, your very lucky to have an heirloom razor so to speak, especially from 3 generations ago

There were hundreds or maybe more razor manufacturers throughout the world back in the day. Many made razors for stores or for other manufacturers so the name often times means nothing. You know it's a sheffield steel so you know its a great razor. That's all you need to know and its a family heirlom so clean it up and hone it we expect a report.

I believe I have had one of those pippins before or I honed one, I can't remember which, but it shaved quite nicely.

Well there's your problem, you're trying to shave with a fountain pen

Originally Posted by red96ta

Every once in a while, I pull out great-grandad's razor for my afternoon shave. Every time I do, it's almost always a completely mediocre shave at best. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the blade other than 'Pippin' and the line in the box says that it was made of 'the finest Sheffield steel'. I know how to hone and it has a good edge on it, but I can rarely get past DFS without spending excessive amounts of time fretting over going back over areas that should have been taken care of the second time around

So the question is...does anybody else have razors that offer a mediocre shave, or was great-granddad a cheapskate and opted for a no-name razor instead of springing for the .50 better model, or do you think that he was sucked into the blade because it was one of those blades that had the smile forged from the beginning?

Here's a pic before I cleaned the thing up:



There was some rust on the edge, but I honed it all out until I got a good clean edge.

Show off! Now you have a beautiful Schatt and Morgan Congress!

Originally Posted by red96ta

Every once in a while, I pull out great-grandad's razor for my afternoon shave. Every time I do, it's almost always a completely mediocre shave at best. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the blade other than 'Pippin' and the line in the box says that it was made of 'the finest Sheffield steel'. I know how to hone and it has a good edge on it, but I can rarely get past DFS without spending excessive amounts of time fretting over going back over areas that should have been taken care of the second time around

So the question is...does anybody else have razors that offer a mediocre shave, or was great-granddad a cheapskate and opted for a no-name razor instead of springing for the .50 better model, or do you think that he was sucked into the blade because it was one of those blades that had the smile forged from the beginning?

Here's a pic before I cleaned the thing up:

<pic deleted>

There was some rust on the edge, but I honed it all out until I got a good clean edge.

Cheapskate?? Maybe, but he did buy a sheffield blade and it apparently worked for him. Different blades require different techniques. Sometimes a subtle tweak of blade angle or pressure and you've suddenly got a beautiful, effortless shave. It could also be that your beard is a bit more challenging than his. Try shaving with it for an entire week and see what your shaves are like after a few days. I know for me, it takes a few shaves to adjust to a new blade.

Also, if those 3 items in the pic were your grandad's... he didn't skimp on the knife or the fountain pen. Why would he with the razor?

You may not have sufficiently re-honed it.

Go back to square one, and hone it up again.

Originally Posted by rupert87

Well there's your problem, you're trying to shave with a fountain pen

Good pen though, looks like a Parker 51.

The paper in the coffin only mentions that it's Sheffield steel, nowhere on the paperwork or the blade is it mentioned that it was actually manufactured in Sheffield. Heck, even a generic Sheffield blade would have 'Sheffield England' marked on it, no? My own personal opinion is that the manufacturer imported the steel and created the razor in the US...but like a tootsie roll, perhaps the world will never know.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

Good pen though, looks like a Parker 51.

yep, it's a 1947 Parker 51 I've never tried shaving with it, but it should give a reasonable shave since it is mightier than the razor...er...sword.