Thread: Sheffield Surgical Steel, can this be stainless?

Hello, I have this razor, is a Marples and Co, Sheffield England. On the blade is etched
Bee Hive , and Fine Surgical Steel. Can be this a early stainless steel? I don't know about any Stainless Sheffield razors. The blade is in very good condition, not even a water stain.Thank you

I don't know much at all about types of steel, but she's a nice looking razor.

livio,

IIRC, the Sheffield 'Surgical Steel' was a highly refined carbon-steel capable of taking a very fine and keen edge.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Thank you very much , Russ do you know when this steel was used? 1920? Earlier?
I din not honed yet, I will let you know how is shortly.

Today, if you say 'surgical steel' then 'surgical stainless steel' is implied.

Stainless steel was first produced in the Brown-Firth research lab in Princes Street, Sheffield by Harry Brearly in 1913. However WW1 effectively put a stop to development and the new product was not promoted properly until the mid 1920s.

Prior to the development of what we recognise today as stainless steel, 'surgical steel' was steel in which the steel alloy had been juggled to give a steel that was well suited to hospital theatres, etc. Usually this meant keeping a good keen edge, so the steel is often harder than normal low carbon razor steels, but some were made by adding elements that resisted corrosion and staining too. Technically, we can't call the earlier surgical steel stainless, even though it may have had many of the alloying elements in common with modern stainless steel.

In fact the properties of stainless steel were known well before 1913, even Stodart and Faraday experimented with an alloy that could be regarded a precursor of modern stainless steel and by the late 1800s several steels had been developed that could well have been called stainless if it wasn't for the criteria laid down in the Brown-Firth Laboratories.

Regards,
Neil

I dig that one. Deserves nice scales.

Thank you all , such a piece of history. I din not see any around, why Sheffield makers don't use it at a large scale? I did not see any W&B or other big guys yet, maybe they exist, I feel the steel was different from the older W&B and the Special models.

It looks like a Dick Cheney blade... not quite smiling, but sort of a half smirk. Very good shape for shaving, unusual to find on such a straight spine. There really isn't a lot of hone wear to match that smiley toe. Looks like a great shaver.