Thread: What makes a razor a "rattler"?

What makes a razor a rattler?

I've seen this term all over this forum since I've started reading it, and I haven't quite figured it out yet. Time to consult the SRP collective mind. Please forgive me if it's in a FAQ or sticky somewhere.

Is it the grind? Is it the blade profile? Is it the sound it makes while stropping (or shaving)? Is it just because someone etched "R-A-T-T-L-E-R" on it??

Is a Barber's rattler different from a "plain old rattler"?

A short explanation or a point to a thread that talks about it is appreciated - thanks!

I've heard a few stories, but many are etched "Rattler" I have a few. I've also heard it as a term for loose scales, "It rattels around". Other than that I'm out of answers

Well, this is a stretch, but I have a Thomas Butler erazor tched: "Sharper than a Serpents Tooth". A rattler is a serpent.........used incorrectly, a razor will certainly bite you like a rattler!

From Ken Hawley's notes, it is a grind:

But I have seen razors of different grinds marked rattler too so I don't know

Often times when I look for answers like this I look to other industries that have been around a long time...

Cars and guns are always good ones...

Look at the term GT as you look through the years that definition sure has been tossed onto the sides of many different types of vehicles, looking at it 100 years from now, you would have a hard time defining what the term meant...

More recently look at the term "Guide Gun" and with it's quick popularity look at how many types of rifles and even handguns now have the designator on them...
Again the original definition has been blurred....

What it might have meant when it was first used might have nothing to do with many of the subsequent razors....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Often times when I look for answers like this I look to other industries that have been around a long time...

Cars and guns are always good ones...

Look at the term GT as you look through the years that definition sure has been tossed onto the sides of many different types of vehicles, looking at it 100 years from now, you would have a hard time defining what the term meant...

More recently look at the term "Guide Gun" and with it's quick popularity look at how many types of rifles and even handguns now have the designator on them...
Again the original definition has been blurred....

What it might have meant when it was first used might have nothing to do with many of the subsequent razors....

+1

I have often thought about why these razors were so-called, but as glen points out, the original reason is probably lost to us.

I doubt if it was called a rattler after the snake, 'rattler' being a bit of a colloquialism for rattle snake and the creature not being encountered in the UK.

To "rattle" in one sense means to do something easily and effortlessly - like a salesman rattling off his list of wares.

To "rattle through" something means to do it quickly.

It can also mean inane or mindless chatter - I've known a lot of barbers who rattle-on about nothing in particular!

It might have something to do with any of those meanings - or nothing at all!

Regards,
Neil

For the heck of it I went to a dictionary here and looked 'rattler' up. If you scroll down there are a variety of examples. The only one that seems to resemble a man manipulating a razor is a baby shaking his rattle. Unlikely that they would want to use that image as a marketing ploy. Lee's post above with the different grinds named is interesting. What we call the faux frameback seems to be the 'rattler' according to that chart.

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

I've heard a few stories, but many are etched "Rattler" I have a few. I've also heard it as a term for loose scales, "It rattels around". Other than that I'm out of answers

Thanks DwarvenChef, I was thinking along those lines too after beating my brains out last night trying to figure it out. I see one of your "rattlers" here and it seems to support the evidence Mr Hoglahoo has presented.

Originally Posted by Croaker

Well, this is a stretch, but I have a Thomas Butler erazor tched: "Sharper than a Serpents Tooth". A rattler is a serpent.........used incorrectly, a razor will certainly bite you like a rattler!

Croaker, I was wondering if it was something like that too, and looking at the grind picture, the rattler grind profile sort of looks like a serpents tooth!

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

From Ken Hawley's notes, it is a grind:

But I have seen razors of different grinds marked rattler too so I don't know

Well, that looks like good evidence, and this razor, as well as this one seem to bear that out, but then you see things like this and this that seem to support the "it's a rattler because I wrote it on there" theory.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Often times when I look for answers like this I look to other industries that have been around a long time...

Cars and guns are always good ones...

Look at the term GT as you look through the years that definition sure has been tossed onto the sides of many different types of vehicles, looking at it 100 years from now, you would have a hard time defining what the term meant...

More recently look at the term "Guide Gun" and with it's quick popularity look at how many types of rifles and even handguns now have the designator on them...
Again the original definition has been blurred....

What it might have meant when it was first used might have nothing to do with many of the subsequent razors....

Glen, this is probably the best answer for me to keep from going crazy thinking about it. I'd sure like to figure out when the name first started getting used.

Thanks for all the replies - keep them coming, I'd sure like to get this one nailed down a little more.

PS: Sorry for the excessive linkage instead of providing the "razor porn" photos to go along with this thread. I tried to upload the supporting photos, but the auto-resizing feature didn't work and it would have taken all day to manually resize them.

"Rattlers", originally were thin blades that gave a lot of feedback or "rattled" when they shaved. The "rattlers" in all the lines like Wade and Butchers were the most hollow ground and it's the thin "rattling" grind that distinguished the "Barber's rattler" from "Barber's Use".

Originally Posted by PapaBull

"Rattlers", originally were thin blades that gave a lot of feedback or "rattled" when they shaved.

Jimmy, you should have caught that when you were reading the definition of "rattle" in your dictionary

edit: oh, I guess you looked up 'rattler'