3/8" unmarked "Midget" Razor, Looking for info/ideas

Now that I have a new obsession...... Here is a surprisingly small 3/8" razor marked only by "Midget" and "6435" on the tail of the tang. The blade is 2-3/4" long and to an inexperienced eye, it doesn't look to be honed to death. It came in a George Wostenholm & Son LTD case that says " The Original & Only True Pipe Razor" and I have doubts if this is the original box. The blade its self has a even a full patina to it with what looks like some active rust near the pin, there is also a small chip right on the cutting edge about 1" from the heal side.

I had no plans for this but due to its size part of me wants to clean it up (if the chip can be honed away) just to have it as a detail razor. opinions/suggestions are welcome, please discuss!
Attachment 97738Attachment 97739Attachment 97740Attachment 97741Attachment 97742

The number on the tang reminds me of a Robeson marking. A while ago I found a site that gave the intelligence behind the Robeson number. You may want to google Robeson and the number.

That is a cool-looking little razor. That chip half-way along the edge in the last pic looks like it would easily hone out and I'd say you'll have a very handy razor on your hands there. I'd think it wouldn't be so small that you couldn't use it for a normal shave now and then if you wanted - the tang looks thick enough that things wouldn't get too unwieldy. Congratulations!

James.

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unmarked "Midget"

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"Midget" is a trademark of well known Solingen company - Böntgen & Sabin.

Sunday...The midget's just been cleaned and honed. It didn't take long as it arrived in good shape. It's balance was exceptional for a blade it's size. Was easy to hone and I was very surprised that it ran well on my pasted strop and on my finish one too!
Tomorrow afternoon or evening we'll see how it shaves. Photos too.

Running late today. Meant to shave earlier but with family and the start of the History Channel 'Hatfield and McCoy' 's series, I didn't start my shave till 11pm.
Ok the Midget. Didn't really do much more than a soak in HYDROCIDE and a Honing and Stropping. In looking it over there's no other mark other than MIDGET. No numbers, no country or origin. Razor is in very good shape only flaw is a small rust spot on the blade.
Photos:
http://img.tapatalk.com/47bcebdd-53bd-cb89.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/47bcebdd-5416-e340.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/47bcebdd-544f-6f37.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/47bcebdd-5470-4792.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/47bcebdd-5492-9922.jpg

Most important! How did it shave. Ok it isn't a one pass razor. Ok, I'm no honemeister but I don't cut myself up either, it's very light. Good balance, the only thing that I would chg is the blade's length. For the size and weight I'd like it to be about .5 inch shorter. buy it again ... Sure! Use it again ...yes!

Funny,

I have similar razor, the same brand in queue to be restored... we will see results when i`m done. I hope it is a good shaver.

Im looking for a project, so I might de-pin it and get to sanding and polishing, however I would have to contact a member in the classifieds to reassemble it, no workshop in an apartment in NYC unfortunately:(

Here is the final result of a few days of hand polishing 400,800,1000,1500,2000,2500 grit and finished off with some Mothers polish, much better I would say!
Now to send it out for a honing and see what this baby can do ! Attachment 98371Attachment 98372Attachment 98373

Very nice job, nice blade!

I've a 3/8 Puma and its a sweet shaver. The blade needs wiping clear of lather a little more frequently than a 4/8 or 5/8 but its still usable.

You don't need any space for repinning, just one of those little anvils, a jeweler's peening hammer, and some wire and little washers.

The best instructions I've seen were Floppyshoes's

We've got a lot of members in your area; hopefully someone nearby can give you a hand. Repinning is pretty easy; it's finding the tiny washers that's hard! And not-cracking the scales is sometimes a challenge.

Good luck and best wishes. Nice blade cleanup, by the way!

Thanks for the suggestions! I contacted a member to send it out ( along with another razor I have) to be honed. Im confident I could do it, but I would need to buy literally everything required to do it and have the learning curve, this time around I will let the member honing them re pin it for me :idea:

Very nice job. I'm really going to have to start reconditioning. May be soon(:-)

Awesome blade - I have a few that size, but love my Swedes the most. Here is a pick of one of my Swedes and a Revisor. The Revisor is a 4/8 with a shorter blade and the Swede is a 3/8 with shorter blade:

Attachment 98519Attachment 98520

I shave with them regularly. Once you get the hang of these little guys you might indeed find a new obsession lol.

Kind of hooked on these small razors. eBay just completed an auction on a Dubl Duck Dwarf. Yes, I went and bought it. We'll see what it's like in a week. Only concern I anticipate is with weight. DD I have are on the light side.

Mine are as light as a feather. It takes some work to get the whole push but no pressure thing going on.

For what it's worth - when I shave with them i look at the spine rather than the edge. It takes nothing to change the angle on these small and light razors. They do whip around my face like no other though and you can hone them on the smallest of rocks - they are my perfect travel companions.

I would love to own a DD Dwarf! I hope you like yours as much as I like mine!

Nice to see such an interest/following in the small razors, I have never used a "heavy" razor so hopefully I can take these tips and adjust to the light weight easily

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Originally Posted by WishinItWas

Nice to see such an interest/following in the small razors, I have never used a "heavy" razor so hopefully I can take these tips and adjust to the light weight easily

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Well I am not sure that there is that large a following of gents who use/seek out these small razors lol. We might be a minority? I do however like my razors on the small side so I have some experience using them. : )

This might help?:

When you get your blade re-pinned. Ask the vendor to make it on the tighter side as it will inevitably loosen any way. But more importantly, a tight fit helps when first getting used to stropping a smaller razor. It's not rocket science, but I remember my first couple of runs were rather awkward and a loose scale complicates matters. Eventually it will not matter as much, but initially I think it'll be very helpful.

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Originally Posted by earcutter

I would love to own a DD Dwarf!

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I may be able to talk my buddy across the aisle into parting with his DD Dwarf; he's not into the smaller blades like you are and finds shaving with the Dwarf too challenging. ;)

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Originally Posted by Speedster

I may be able to talk my buddy across the aisle into parting with his DD Dwarf; he's not into the smaller blades like you are and finds shaving with the Dwarf too challenging. ;)

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That would be awesome!! Thanks so much!

Mark pulled through! Sweet! I am getting a DD quack, quack! ; )

Off topic , kind of, had to compare the midget to a 'new to me' monster that I used for the 1st time today: 7/8 German Hollow by Mallow Ground, Solingen unbelievably different. But it did shave well! Photo:Attachment 99032

DD Dwarf, yes! Honed it tonite. Will be using it tomorrow. Will write and send photos. As of right now there, there does seem to be a difference in balance from the other 2 smaller sized razors. Will see tomorrow!

Great shave this morning. The DD Dwarf is a fantastic razor. My new favorite smaller razor. Nice to hone, strop and shave with.Attachment 99133Attachment 99134Attachment 99135

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Originally Posted by Johnus

DD Dwarf, yes! Honed it tonite. Will be using it tomorrow. Will write and send photos. As of right now there, there does seem to be a difference in balance from the other 2 smaller sized razors. Will see tomorrow!

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Fantastic!! I can't wait to get mine!