Thread: How old might this 'Joseph Elliots' razor be?

Originally Posted by Joed

I have several Frederick Reynolds razors and I wouldn't call them junk. In general they do appear to be made of a harder steel which makes them difficult to hone for most people. A semi wedge blade made of hard steel and a smiling edge compounds the honing issues. All of the Frederick Reynolds razors I have are great shavers and hold an edge very well.

Joed-It seems like everything is subjective with str8's. The Reynolds I have is so soft that even a few ultralight circles on my Norton 4/8 takes the edge very close to shave-ready. If I try to push the edge the least bit too far, much less than my others, I lose it and have to start again. The least little bit of rolling-x strokes, and poof, edge gone. Very strange, and probably just my inexperience. Still, I managed to put a pretty wicked edge on it with about 25 whisper-light strokes on a lathered dragon's tongue, and 10 on CrOx linen.
You do what it takes.

It sounds like the razor did not get hardened or that it was restored and softened during the process by overheating. My guess would be that the heat treatment was lost during a restoration attempt because it happens a lot by people that are unaware or inexperienced. How long does this razor hold an edge? I have also found that the hardness of razors varies even from the same manufacturer but this one sounds like it is dead soft steel.