
Originally Posted by
Voidmonster
I think there's a very good chance those letters stand for 'Iridium & Osmium' and 'Rhodium' which were elements that Stodart and Faraday alloyed with steel.
In their paper to the Royal Society, Stodart and Faraday wrote:
The fact that they specifically mention the use of iridium and osmium together strongly suggests that's exactly what you have.
If that's the case, what you have there are two razors made as part of the metallurgical tests that Stodart and Faraday conducted.
I would recommend that you definitely not disassemble the second one, and if possible, put the first back in its original scales.