Thread: Any info on this razor would be appreciated

I can tell you for certain that it is a beauty !!!

Heres what I mean, Ive emphasised the grain in photoshop, its not like any celluloid Ive seen but Im happy to be proved wrong.





Also notice how the tang covers are quite translucent.

It is easy enough to find out. Just heat the tip of a pin to red and touch it to the inside of the scale LIGHTLY. If it is ivory nothing will happen. If it is celuloid or plastic it will sink in slightly and smell like plastic burning.

Originally Posted by mackie

It is easy enough to find out. Just heat the tip of a pin to red and touch it to the inside of the scale LIGHTLY. If it is ivory nothing will happen. If it is celuloid or plastic it will sink in slightly and smell like plastic burning.

True enough.

Horn smell like burning hair
Bakalite just plain stinks but doesnt burn as readily as celluloid
Celluloid smells very chemical and almost pleasant to me though Im sure the fumes are not healthy
Ivory shouldnt react to a hot pin
Bone generally has distinctive vesicles which appear like small dark spots, probably doesnt burn, havent tried it as its usually easy to id

If you do the hot pin test, make sure to do it INSIDE one of the scales, in case it is celluloid and a little pit forms, along with a chemical POOF of smoke. Looks like celluloid to me, but with an interesting grain. If it passes the hot pin test (no smoke and a smell like drilled tooth at the dentists) then I would venture to say that it is not elephant ivory, but sea mammal. The grain looks completely different than elephant ivory, IMO, and I own quite a few ivory scaled razors. One has a similar grain to yours, and the seller described it as walrus ivory.

The more I look at it the less sure I am, probably its celluloid, Im thinking now that the grain is too pronounced for real ivory. Hurry up and do a pin test Viking!

Heres a snap of some of my antique elephant ivory, I was trying unsuccessfully to capture the grain in a non closeup pic, hence the large size (the forum software seems to have resized it, nevermind), I think you can see the patterns in some of em though.

Yea, and two of them are have the barbers notch in them. Wow !! Would I ever love to have one of those. Did you know that John Wayne' gun had ivory grips.

I think if it were ivory, it would require pins at boths ends. I'm going with celluloid. Pin test and let us know.

P.S. as for the info on the maker, check thi wiki

1) It is sharp
2) It is not Electric.

Sorry, I couldn't resist!!!

I've seen scales similar to those resently. I did the Celuloid test on them and found that they were celluloid.


Celluloid/bakelite test:

Lick your finger so you get some saliva on it, then rub the celluloid till it heats up. then you will be able to smell the celluloid. An old antique dealer told me this trick.