Thread: Surprise Razor

Fished this beauty from the 'Bay. Smith Bros., Boston "Surprise" brand straight, made in Germany. I believe the beautiful bone-coloured celluloid scales are not original, as the tang seems too thick and the blade a bit too long for them. The blade is undamaged apart from the outmost spike of the blade, which has chipped off. It is very blunt though, as it doesn't even shave arm hair. I'm looking forward to getting it fully restored.

The Smith Bros. cutlery company was in business from 1860 to 1910, and with the stamp displaying the country of manufacture it can be pretty safely dated to the turn of the century.

Good grab, I do love the scales.

Gotta agree with you that the scales are probably not original. The pivot pin looks pretty amateurish. And the toe looks to have been worked down by a previous owner who was probably wary of that sharp point. Not necessarily a chip. This is a common fix.

Regards - Walt

Originally Posted by Walt

Gotta agree with you that the scales are probably not original. The pivot pin looks pretty amateurish. And the toe looks to have been worked down by a previous owner who was probably wary of that sharp point. Not necessarily a chip. This is a common fix.

Regards - Walt

It's definitely a chip, it doesn't show well in the picture but the piece missing has left a concave hole with nasty corners. I think the blade has made repeated contact with the scales at the tip due to the blade being loose.