Thread: Any Ideas?

Just got this razor in the mail today. I have no idea who makes it or what the scales are made of . It's hollow ground and the scales don't have a wedge...

Anyone have any ideas?

p.s. I didn't do any of that grinding you see on the blade... pictures are as received.

That is very old and very rough, Hows about a close-up of the tang? Big clue!

I'll shoot a pic in the morning. How old are you thinking? It was my understanding that hollow grinding didn't start until the 1830's? As for the scales it almost looks like they are flaking. Does horn flake or could it be un-polished tortoise?

No it's horn. A very old one, maybe about the second half of XIX century. If a razor is kept in good condition, with grease on the blade and the right humidity, horns remains good for a long time, but if it is not, it flakes. The blade shape makes me think about 1900, it could be younger than the scales. But I'm no expert.

Sorry it took so long. Someone absconded with the camera this morning:

I think, it's impossible to identify this razor.
But for your notice:
"There is no spacer between the handles on either Joseph Wostenholm razor."
From the article in Knife World, November, 1984.

I have a Frederick Reynolds that was made without spacers much like yours.

Originally Posted by Wullie

I have a Frederick Reynolds that was made without spacers much like yours.

that straight line where the wedge should be makes me think that at one point this razor had a wedge.

Assuming that at one point this razor was stamped with a maker's mark... has anyone had any experience in trying to recover the stamps through etching? (the same way that a serial number is recovered off of a firearm that has been filed down):

Forensic Investigation of Stolen-Recovered and Other Crime-Related Vehicles - Éric Stauffer, Monica Bonfanti, Monica S. Bonfanti - Google Books

I have several razors where the horn scales were pressed with a step at the wedge end. Put both scales together and you get a built in wedge so there isn't a need for a separate piece of material to make the spacer/wedge.