Thread: Is this a razor made from a file?

Originally Posted by manah

Wostenholm eraser/desk knife.

Thank you for this post. I have now learned something today! I saw one of these in a shop last week and they said it was for blood letting. It didn't make sense but now I know what it was.

Originally Posted by 32t

Thank you for this post. I have now learned something today! I saw one of these in a shop last week and they said it was for blood letting. It didn't make sense but now I know what it was.

People are easily confused between fleams and erasers.

The blade on the right of this knife is a fleam for bleeding


There is a similarity but not much. Most all fleams had the same basic shape but varied in size as to whether they were used on people or livestock. The one pictured is for livestock.

There is such an incredible wealth of knowledge here regarding straight razors and more! I just wish my pockets were this full.

Originally Posted by hloyallen

There is such an incredible wealth of knowledge here regarding straight razors and more! I just wish my pockets were this full.

The VAST assortment of wildly varied knowledge of just about everything on the planet that comes out in places like this simply amazing. I've spent pretty much my whole life gathering mostly useless tidbits of information about pretty much useless stuff. However the search for knowledge has been the driver that made me keep going much more so than the find.

I guess it's a good thing I wasn't born rich..

The one picture of the spine does make it look as if it was cut from a file. I have a number of knives that are file reruns. Cutting edges are great but they seem to have difficulty going to a sharply pointed tip.

Great now every time I go to use my half round bastard I'm going to be preoccupied with wondering how it would shave

I am here to report that it is unequivocally made from a file.

With a 5 and a quarter inch long cutting surface, even if it holds an edge, I don't think I'll be doing a lot of shaving with it.

(Also, the GR stamped ink eraser is George V, not George IV)

This thread has convinced me I just "needed" an eraser!

I got the one that I mentioned earlier at a local shop.

The other side from the picture is.

J. RODJERS
&SONS
6NORTHFOLKST
SHEFFIELD

No Royalty, Georges, etc. Any Idea of the vintage? It is far from perfect and I want to try to use it. How are they honed? Like a wedge?

Thanks, Tim

I don't recall seeing any of those that were really "sharp" like a razor. That looks like a "desk knife" which is a combination "pen knife" and eraser. It probably had a cover for the blade end at one point in time.

As to vintage? I've no real idea, but I'm gonna make a "SWAG" (scientific wild assed guess) and say turn of the century plus or minus 20.

Originally Posted by Wullie

I don't recall seeing any of those that were really "sharp" like a razor. That looks like a "desk knife" which is a combination "pen knife" and eraser. It probably had a cover for the blade end at one point in time.

As to vintage? I've no real idea, but I'm gonna make a "SWAG" (scientific wild assed guess) and say turn of the century plus or minus 20.

Thanks for the input. I agree with the desk knife term. This one has been "sharpened" with a rounded, [would oblique be the right term?] bevel. To scrape away a thin layer it would have to be sharp . If it would be sharpened like a true wedge along the whole side it would still have a much higher included angle than a razor. I have not found many pictures and the few covers have not looked original to me. One looked like a Wade and Butcher coffin. A sheath would make more sense to me.

You are covering your SWAG with that guess! I read somewhere they made them into the 1930's. There is no country of origin on it so that would put it into the lower end of your dates. J Rodgers & Sons were cutlers to royalty and a lot of their stuff has marks in reference to the British crown that can help estimate the date. This has none.

If I had an answer I wouldn't ask!

Thanks, Tim