"Civil War Era" straight Razor??? :-/
Hi all, I'm pretty new to the forums. I've searched on the website for previous posts regarding civil war era razors and have found many a thread. I came across this item for auction eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices that the seller claims is civil war era. Being an astute law student, I naturally thought "How do you know?" So I sent the seller a message and asked what evidence connects the razor to the civil war?
The response was: "It is civil war era because it is hand forged so a blacksmith made it. There are no markings such as a name because a blacksmith made it. You can tell its civil war era from the way it was made as well as the aging condition of the wood handle and metal"
Naturally, my next question (although I haven't asked the seller) was "how do you know it was hand forged" and "Did they make hand forged razors at other times other than the civil war?" Bottom line is, I'm not convinced. Plus, Civil War ear could be misleading because most American's probably think that "Civil War Era" means the item was actually used during the civil war by someone associated with either the North or the South. On the other hand, "Civil War Era" could be used to describe a razor made in the 1860's that was used/owner by someone in Europe.
So I put the question to the forum: does anyone have tips to properly identify a straight razor as being used in the United States during the civil war? I would think this is especially hard if there are no marks on the razor. And, how can one tell whether a blade is hand forged? I'm affraid some people apply the label "civil war era" in order to attract more bidders and thus a higher purchase price.
Thanks everyone!