Thread: Westor Bros. Razors

I purchased a Westor Bros. razor that has manganese steel on the other side of the tang and while many people say they give nice shaves my question is about the durability of the blade. I have never seen a blade so thin as it feels as though its gonna crumble right between my fingers and am wondering if this is what is referred to as a extra-hollow ground razor. I am also curious if there are any special techniques to use while honing the blade and was also curious as to how well they hold an edge once sharp.

I've got a few of them. They are full hollow grind and tough to hone IME. Manganese steel is used in dragline buckets, and other applications that require abrasion resistance. Why they used it in straight razors is unknown to me. It is also, IIRC, a steel that gets harder as it is worked. So for applications where the steel is hit, impacted it would get harder rather than deteriorate. Anyway. for whatever reason, IME , it took more to hone the Wester manganese than your average Solingen. Oddly enough I have a few Bartmann manganese and they weren't that tough to hone.

I have one that i brought NOS - Quite surprised to read that they may very well be 'Manganese Steel' and not just your standard high carbon with a catchy moniker added.

I have one and absolutely love it. I've never honed it, bought it at a flea market looking almost brand new, sent it out to be sharpened and never looked back. It's kept its edge beautifully and shaves extremely well. It's my go to of my small handful of razors.

The going price is going to be going up with every positive post. If this keeps up they'll be up there with wonderedges and reapers .....

I have Westor Bros too and they are really good. Hard to hone, but pay off after when they are done.