Thread: a tortoise pressed scales razor

What a beautiful razor. So much has been lost in modern day in the art of anything. Old buildings of deco period, Fancy engraving on guns just because, Movie theaters that were very fancy, Cars on and on. You would not find anything made today with art like this and they didn't think to much about it when it was done. It was they way it should be.. Same with the standards of steel old compared to new. Thanks for the pics. Beautiful
Ben

Those are amazing scales.

What amounts of pressure, temperature(?) and humidity(?) did it take to allow the imprint to stay almost perfect?

Dave

Originally Posted by rolodave

Those are amazing scales.

What amounts of pressure, temperature(?) and humidity(?) did it take to allow the imprint to stay almost perfect?

Dave

makes me wonder if they may have been hand carved

I´m agree with you , Walt, the eagle is the personal simbol of the Zar, used with the maps just after 1699, the St. Andrew cross with the greec cross is anothe Zar sinbol, the Cossacks were in the end of the 18th century the more important army of the russian imperor and we have na traditional siverian scene with the center one, the letter of the artist are TW provabli the scales are only an russian spirit decoration scales, exotic I think, in that times, the material I´m not sure, with dark ligth the carey and the horn bring the same ligth, the same with a sea Shell without the color part. I think it could be tortule but I´m not sure.....the axel is quite used but not repinned, I think....is an quarter holow or an wedge, more provabli an not real wetge but quite near, two or three photos more, thank to all for your comentaries

regards

Originally Posted by Walt

There seems to be a Russian connection to this razor with the double-headed eagle and the word cossack imprinted on the scales. I thought perhaps the razor might have been intended for export to Russia, but why would the English word cossack be used and not the Russian Казак? Maybe the pressed scales were just to give the razor a Russian mystique for domestic sales.

Regards - Walt

Roberto, thanks for sharing that beautiful razor, the scales tell a story, an amazing piece!

I would have grabbed that one if the blade was shot just for the scales.
Great looking find.

Originally Posted by Bengrussell

So much has been lost in modern day in the art of anything
...

Actually it's not a matter of workmanship but of cost. There was a forum member John Cole who made fantastic scales like Straight Razor Place - Sun October 28th - Sat November 03rd, or http://jpcolestudios.weebly.com/prev...-projects.html

Then we have several members who make amazing custom razors - I'm not talking about the half-arsed stuff that looks I may have attempted grinding, or the stuff that looks like it belongs to a toolbox, but the ones taking everything from the couple of centuries of razor craft and and adding new artistic touch to it.

The problem is that you could spend two hundred dollars for old razor with pressed horn scales and it would have somewhat unique design, but re-creating similar scales for a small run is a fairly expensive enterprise. I'm sure if you have the money it could be done, but we're addicted to cheap vintage razors.

I don't think back in the days these razors were cheap.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

makes me wonder if they may have been hand carved

No Bill - heated and pressed in a heated cast iron die-set that was cramped tightly together. Both horn and turtle are natural thermo-plastics. A long, long time ago, Brownell's even offered rifle fittings made from pressed horn:




The art has been around for a very long time. there are several known 17th century / early 18th century practitioners: John Osborn, Samuel Lamberlet and John Obrisset.



Plus a couple of my old ones:



Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Plus a couple of my old ones:



Regards,
Neil

Those are rusty Neil, I'm shocked ! Shocked !

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

No Bill - heated and pressed in a heated cast iron die-set that was cramped tightly together. Both horn and turtle are natural thermo-plastics. A long, long time ago, Brownell's even offered rifle fittings made from pressed horn:




The art has been around for a very long time. there are several known 17th century / early 18th century practitioners: John Osborn, Samuel Lamberlet and John Obrisset.



Plus a couple of my old ones:



Regards,
Neil

Am certain You are correct Neil,With the tech of the time it must have been a huge undertaking to make the dies.
Were they carved in some sort of clay media and than cast in steel?