This razor is 3200 years old, made of bronze, from the eastern Mediterranean region known as Luristan. Who knows what some Maas, some honing, might do?
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This razor is 3200 years old, made of bronze, from the eastern Mediterranean region known as Luristan. Who knows what some Maas, some honing, might do?
Ya know, you would think that bronze would be waaayyy too soft to ever cut a hair. There have been bronze-aged shaving implements found, I'm just not sure how they would actually use anything of that nature. To me, that looks more like a surgical instrument than a shaving implement....but then Hippocrates was considered the father of medicine at around 350BCE. Surely there must have been doctors before that time period
Not really. Bronze was the main metal in use in the ancient world until about 1000 BC or so. Every razor in existence prior to that time is either made of flint (owie!!) or obsidian, chert, or bronze. Bronze razors have been found in the tombs of the pharaohs. Indeed, a shaving kit was in King Tut's tomb, and some of his razors dumped out into the entry way.
The ancients could do things with bronze that modern metallurgy has had trouble analyzing and duplicating. Battle swords, knives, and armor were all made of bronze. The "Iron Age" began about 1200 B.C. but it was still 200-300 years before iron's advantages were exploited to the point of making bronze obsolete.
Sorry...history professor mode reset to "OFF" position!
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Originally Posted by red96ta
That is astonishing! How ever did you come across that? Looks fairly good condition for it's age. Was that an eBay find?
so old, i'd think it would have been weathered too much for it to be honed, looks brittle, who knows how the metal is underneath all the crud on top.
Cheers
Oh my, I fear I created an inaccurate impression. This razor is most definitely not in my possession! I am a professor of Old Testament, and therefore of necessity, one who travels to the middle east to study history, geography, and archaeology. Any antiquity that I would "discover" in the field, in an excavation, could not be my own property. The purchase of "authentic" antiquities in the middle east remains a very controversial subject, and some scholars believe it to be unethical.Quote:
Originally Posted by komjong
So, this is a picture of a find I came across doing some research. It's definitely not in my possession! I wish I did own something like that, but the only antiquities I have are licensed purchases of some very common pottery pieces for teaching.
Archaeologists, however, are quite familiar with razors and somewhere on SRP I have posted a short historical discussion of razors in the bronze age, including a chart of blade types. I can re-post here if anyone is interested.
As small as this razor is, one wonders if it's a candidate for the "Coochie Razor" on The Thread That Never Dies!:)
Lawson, it's great to have such a learned member here. I'd love to see the chart if you wouldn't mind posting it again.
And please continue on with the lesson, I'm interested to hear all about it.
An interesting hypothetical - if one of us came into possession of such a instrument, would he restore and hone it or not? I would be tempted.
Here's the chart again. There is some text that goes with it that I can't put my hands on right now. Will link to it if I find it.
Here's the file with the discussion of ancient razors. Being OCD about bibliographic references, I have put the book's title page at the start of the file.
Shaving in the bronze age ...... that was when men were men ! :nj
...And the goats knew it:roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
:roflmao:roflmao:roflmao:roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by JMS
.....but... where's the rest?:shrug:
Seriously though; thank you. I love reading about things that interest me.
I'm guessing you've got one heck of a "suggested reading" list.:)
Thank you for the info!
To anyone who has ever pounded upon bronze till it is ready to break, there is no question that it will take a shaving edge and probably hold it for a while. Bronze and, as far as I know, all copper alloys will work harden when hammered upon. The trick is in knowing when to stop.The big definer of quality is the alloying elements that are found within the raw tin and copper ores. Even Coin silver may take a decent edge and cut for a while.
Cheers
~Geezer
Post: All metals that are not iron based are known as non-ferrous and most exhibit the work hardening and annealing by heat with fast cooling.
Thanks so much for the Ultimate Post!!! I have looked for this kind of info for a while and until now, was frustrated!!
Straight Razor Shavers need to know their roots.:tu
Mike
Does anyone else find it interesting that many of those blades had a form of barbar's notch? This is a very interesting thread. Thanks for posting this!
-G
The Egyptians used obsidium for scaples. They probably shaved with it too.
If anyone doubts the edge one can put on bronze or flint or obsidian, here's a self-explanatory image from Bronze-Age Egypt.
yikes!
It appears as if the fellow on the left is being restrained....
Yeah, it's a circumcision. Egyptians circumcised at puberty. Kind of redefines "Coochie Razor" doesn't it!
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Originally Posted by wdwrx
ha haha hah... and here i was thinking they were just being shaved....
I too would need to be restrained... in a big way.:mace:
If my study in anthropology is any guide, likely the experience of circumcision was also the boy's introduction to...alcoholic beverages! "Becoming a man" apparently meant getting ripped, then getting cut!
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Originally Posted by wdwrx
LMAO! That's priceless!Quote:
Originally Posted by LawsonStone
It's pretty obvious that the one should preceed the other! Yikes!Quote:
Originally Posted by LawsonStone
Wonderful thread!!! ~Richard
Who says being an Old Testament professor isn't fun?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdwrx
This is a great thread! Don't know how I missed it the first time around. Prof. Lawson, do yku happen to know the dates of the Danish razor in the chart? I'm interested in what may have been used by the Danes (and the Irish) in Ireland, during the reign of Brian Boru.Quote:
Originally Posted by LawsonStone
If you do manage to get hold of it, send it to Max, he works wonders! lol
There is a PDF also linked in that thread, same as the picture message. It has a few pages discussing the razors in the picture, and so I think the Danish razor is dated generally to "the bronze age." In the classical cultures, that's about 3000-1200 BC. In Europe, the ages run a little later. The Danish is said to be derived from a Mycenean pattern, and Mycenea (pre-Greek Greece!) is about 1400-1200 BC. So I'd put the danish blade maybe at 1000 BC, give or take.
Obviously the development of iron technology made a difference, though initially iron workers had a hard time making iron hold and edge. Just as carbon steel is easier to put an edge on than harder, modern steels, so bronze actually takes an initial edge easily. It's also repaired easily. It took many centuries for ironworkers to figure out how to get the most from iron.
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Originally Posted by leadduck
Uh, perhaps I should have said I'm interested in knowing about the razor, as opposed to acquiring one. I like having skin on my face too much to try to shave with a 9th/10th century razor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scipio
:tameshigiri:
Anyone know where I can pick up one of these Bronze Age blades in NOS condition? Just wondering ... :medvl: