Thread: The Truth About The Barber's Notch

My idea that the small notches may have been there to hold one end of the blade in a fixture for some step in the manufacturing process comes from my limited experience with milling machines and lathes when building tattoo machines. As anyone who has messed with mills/lathes knows, you frequently have to fashion jigs/fixtures to hold work securely.

Looking at the evolution of the straight razor blade and scales it seems to me that the notch evolved along with the distinct tang, longer monkey tail, slight curve to the scales. IOW, they found a purpose for it. Whether it was to more easily get around the nostrils when trimming a mustache, as I believe, or to allow the razor to be opened with one hand is something we'll probably never know.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

My idea that the small notches may have been there to hold one end of the blade in a fixture for some step in the manufacturing process comes from my limited experience with milling machines and lathes when building tattoo machines. As anyone who has messed with mills/lathes knows, you frequently have to fashion jigs/fixtures to hold work securely.

Looking at the evolution of the straight razor blade and scales it seems to me that the notch evolved along with the distinct tang, longer monkey tail, slight curve to the scales. IOW, they found a purpose for it. Whether it was to more easily get around the nostrils when trimming a mustache, as I believe, or to allow the razor to be opened with one hand is something we'll probably never know.

I have tried to research the jig thing, but have never found anything like it with the exception of slats of wood that encased the tang (and were possibly fixed in place with something going through the pivot hole) which were used to apply extra pressure during grinding. I think the term was 'flat stick' (such complicated jargon!) and it extended to cover the blade.

All the pictures I have seen, including very old ones, drawings, photos from the 1950s, a german razor makers book of shop processes from the 1930s, etc, show nothing that would explain the notch. Even polishing the razors, commonly done by ladies in Sheffield in the old days, was done by hand, reversing the razor for finishing the tang, so no jig of any kind was employed. I have seen cutlery machines that did the work, but even then the jig was adapted to suit the knife, fork or spoon and not the other way round.

The evolution of the tip is quite evident, from the full hollow to various so-called notch types to round tip and other types that include no hollow, and seem to follow a progression that was in line with the tail as you point out Jimmy, making allowances for fashion blips and so on.

Like you say Jimmy, we will probably never know.

One thing that might have (or might not have!) had some bearing on it was a remark by an old Sheffield grinder when referring to razor with a hollow point and a 'grob' (slanted) tip as being finished "quick and dirty" - almost as if he saw no merit in it and it was easier to finish the razor like that than to fashion a round tip. Who knows.

Regards,
Neil

OK, here are other theories I have been investigating: balance, alien razor mutilations, boredom, fashion, aerodynamics, marketing, love razors.

The most interesting of these to me so far has been love razors. The matching piece taken from the barber's notch (or B-N as we in this area like to call it) is given to one's beloved, who hangs it around her neck as a symbol of ownership, like a yoke if you will. When the two pieces were reunited, the entire razor was said to be imbued with a mystical power, a little like how the Power Rangers can join up to make a more powerful defender of all that is right. There is anecdotal evidence that the Chronik is one such razor, but this cannot be confirmed as yet.

James.

I do not remember where I read it but I read somewhere that it was used by a barber to mark moles, warts, ect on a customers face in order to avoid nicking them while shaving as some moles protrude quite a bit from the face. That is probably only one of its uses but a plausible one.

Regards
Louis.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

The matching piece taken from the barber's notch (or B-N as we in this area like to call it) is given to one's beloved, who hangs it around her neck as a symbol of ownership, like a yoke if you will.

I will, and I wonder if that is how the lancet edge came to be

I offered to give one of my B-Ns to my wife to hang around her neck as a symbol of my owning her, but she said she could think of a much better place for me to put it. Does anyone have any Astroglide?

Originally Posted by Jimbo

OK, here are other theories I have been investigating: balance, alien razor mutilations, boredom, fashion, aerodynamics, marketing, love razors.

The most interesting of these to me so far has been love razors. The matching piece taken from the barber's notch (or B-N as we in this area like to call it) is given to one's beloved, who hangs it around her neck as a symbol of ownership, like a yoke if you will. When the two pieces were reunited, the entire razor was said to be imbued with a mystical power, a little like how the Power Rangers can join up to make a more powerful defender of all that is right. There is anecdotal evidence that the Chronik is one such razor, but this cannot be confirmed as yet.

James.

This is a fascinating speculation, and opens up a whole new line of inquiry: Is it mushroom-hunting season Down Under, and are you using a good field guide?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

My idea that the small notches may have been there to hold one end of the blade in a fixture for some step in the manufacturing process comes from my limited experience with milling machines and lathes when building tattoo machines. As anyone who has messed with mills/lathes knows, you frequently have to fashion jigs/fixtures to hold work securely.

Looking at the evolution of the straight razor blade and scales it seems to me that the notch evolved along with the distinct tang, longer monkey tail, slight curve to the scales. IOW, they found a purpose for it. Whether it was to more easily get around the nostrils when trimming a mustache, as I believe, or to allow the razor to be opened with one hand is something we'll probably never know.

Of all the serious answers in this thread I like this one.

If I watch the videos of Dovo or TI modern shops they now use heavy
powered hammer to forge the shape in one or two blows. In some
cases two blades at a time followed by a cutter step to remove
the razor from the raw stock.

If I was building tools to hammer out a blade I would like to be able
to have an index mark to push the object into so that the blade
would line up for the next tool after reheating...

That index notch would have evolved and been styled to
what we see today... Or it would have been ground off.

While we chart the progression of the notch over time
we might also track the availability of heavy forge hammers.
Of value in tracking the forge hammer tools might be
a bit of info on how well the razor shaves. My emotions
want steel that has been hammered a lot and has almost
a shot peening effect including the time that it is necessary
to remove scale and decarborized steel in the finishing
steps.l

Nifty,

I'm with you on the peening. I have an old Greaves Sheafworks that looks like it might have been peened. I'm more familiar with peening my European scythe blade. The beauty of those blades (as opposed to the stamped-out American blades) is that the whole depth of the blade is a reservoir of steel for the edge. You draw the new steel foward by peening, work-hardening it at the same time. Did a small tree put a nick in your scythe? No problem, round off the damage with a file then peen some new steel out to fill the gap. I wish we could do that with our razors.

Originally Posted by roughkype

Nifty,

I'm with you on the peening. I have an old Greaves Sheafworks that looks like it might have been peened. I'm more familiar with peening my European scythe blade. The beauty of those blades (as opposed to the stamped-out American blades) is that the whole depth of the blade is a reservoir of steel for the edge. You draw the new steel foward by peening, work-hardening it at the same time. Did a small tree put a nick in your scythe? No problem, round off the damage with a file then peen some new steel out to fill the gap. I wish we could do that with our razors.

Well I do not make razors so take my bias with a grain of salt.
But bias is what lets me bid $4.00 on an old rusty junker then after
sanding and fiddling on the hones I permit myself to imagine
that I can feel the heat of the forge as I shave and then the tempering
chill of a cold splash of well water when done. Sometimes I get
a good shave as a bonus.