Thread: Top-heavy fractions on old razor scales

"Aye Laddie, a mere common blade, but a cherished one never the less. "

Now Boys! . The idea of Barbers doing this to their "workhorses" seems to be the answer. While occasionally seen, these marks are certainly not common. I can say with certainty that the razors I have seen it on were at least 100+ years old.
Made back in the days when a barbershop shave was commonplace. The scratching of names were made by common people. Soldiers razors are seen with their names and regiment/group names on older ones and their number upon the handle from the days when numbers were put upon soldiers. However, when coupled with these numbering systems, or just the numbers themselves, I am convinced that a barber once used this as a tool to make money and valued it as a tool, much as a machinist would scratch or engrave ID into an expensive tool, as Pixelfixed related. I have many old tools with names on them. Unattractive, yes. But quite necessary, I think! I started out thinking it had something to do with honing, but can now see that it truly makes no sense. These old razors were common everywhere back then. Not the collectibles they are today. JMO

another scratched out number to add to the thread... if we get enough maybe we can decipher a code. The tang reads George Wostenholm & Sons / Celebrated IXL Razor / Washington Works / Sheffield. The blade is an 11/16 spanish or wide barbers notch with a wedge/near wedge grind.

Dang! Could that be the 222nd razor owned by old #1? or is it 19?

How about the 19th razor belonging to a barber who chose #222 to identify himself, instead of scratching his entire name on it.

This mystery of the fractions deepens.

Originally Posted by mdarnton

As someone who's been sharpening tools constantly a good portion of every day of the last 30+ years of my life, as any craftsman who works with hand tools does, I hate this "honemeister" stuff. It makes people think that there's some mythological greatness involved in sharpening, which there definitely is not. You put it on the stone and shove it around until it's sharp. The first straight I ever held, I said "Oh, this is going to be SO easy--I've never had a tool that was so well designed just for sharpening", and it is.

A real artisan craftsman never marks his territory like a dog on someone else's work. Even on those watches, I bet it's inside where the customers can't see it. My bet is that this is something that owners did to remind themselves of how they sharpened it, and if there are a lot of examples, I bet you can track it to some instruction sheet somewhere or 1890-vintage shaving blog or forum. I can't imagine that any professional guy sharpening things would need this kind of notation on the side of a customer's razor. If you need notes, or try to make it seem to your customers like it's magic, you're a charlatan.

I don't think anyone who I see to be a "honemeister" makes any attempts to suggest or imply that there is any "mythological greatness" involved in the sharpening of a razor. To me a honemeister is someone who has a wealth of knowledge and skill in regards to sharpening razors and attempts to share that art with others, in turn helping them to also keep the art alive. You may be proficient at sharpening tools and razors but telling a person who is new to straights to "put it on the stone and shove it around till it's sharp" I don't think they will be able to get a shave ready edge using that advice =]

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Dang! Could that be the 222nd razor owned by old #1? or is it 19?

It is quite obviously an early prototype of the Trebl Duck HornEdge, no 19 to be precise. Someone swapped the scales out, probably the english inventor George Bresdickholme (the 'e' was dropped to get the whole name on the tang). As we all know, they decided on just two ducks - Duble Duck - in the end.

Regards,
Neil

I think it could be the markings of either an auction house or an antique store .

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

It is quite obviously an early prototype of the Trebl Duck HornEdge, no 19 to be precise. Someone swapped the scales out, probably the english inventor George Bresdickholme (the 'e' was dropped to get the whole name on the tang). As we all know, they decided on just two ducks - Duble Duck - in the end.

Regards,
Neil

BY Jove!
I think you've got it, Neil!