Thread: Wostenholm with an odd grind

So this arrived this morning - a 6/8 Wostenholm 'IXL Celebrated Razor' It was a bit of an eBay gamble but it should clean up ok. The damage to the tip is a bit of a bummer but shouldn't be that much of an issue.

What to call that grind, a bit of hollowed wedge?

Really cool looking blade!

Originally Posted by Lemur

What to call that grind, a bit of hollowed wedge?

Really cool looking blade!

Almost looks to me that somebody started to hollow this blade and stopped after doing part of one side?

Originally Posted by Martin103

Almost looks to me that somebody started to hollow this blade and stopped after doing part of one side?

That was my thought as well. I've seen a couple of razors hollowed on both sides like the pic below, but not just one side.

Looks like a blood groove LOL
or a kamisori style blade nearly?

I believe it may be a microtome. Used to cut tissue samples back in the day, before they came up with a more advanced gizmo to do that.

That's certainly possible. Where microtomes normally given the same stamp as straight razors?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I believe it may be a microtome. Used to cut tissue samples back in the day, before they came up with a more advanced gizmo to do that.

"Tissue sample" sound so much better than brain matter!

How clean is it?

I too would think it was reworked. I've a blade with scales of another brand, sloppy work of the previous owner. I think I'll keep it that way, as a reminder of the history of that blade.

It was a style that had a surge of popularity in the 1840's and 1850's, maybe used later too. I don't know a name for it, but I've seen a number of them. It's original, and not a microtome. I know that point-on picture makes it look flat on the pile side, but if you look closely you'll see it's just a little tilted.

This thread has a great example. Putting an etch of some sort into the small concavity was how it was usually done, but I've seen some that pretty clearly didn't originally have anything there.

While it's tempting to say this is the 'doubly concaved' grind, I've also seen that referring to what's also called a rattler, which some people call a faux-frameback. Whatever it was called by the folks who made'em, it's essentially a variation of the long-cut which made shoulderless blades.