Thread: Bones and wings

I really love butterfly razors.

One of my first shavers is a butterfly, and well, while I didn't think I would ever have another one, a particular one appeared on a well known auction site, and I went straight for it.
Because it was "impossible"

Broadly, and from what I have read/heard about these particular razors
- Bulky razors, made by French prisonners in England at the start of the 19th century
- Made for sailors, which is why they often come with a technique developped by sailors : the scrimshaw
- Henceforth, not by any means "luxury" razors.

Most of the times, butterflys are on the heavy side, having two heavy blades.

And now, here comes the "strange" (actually beautiful) one, on the right (standard butterfly for comparison)



And now, for the "trick"

There is something I saw in the auction, that some may have missed. Something I guessed because I already have a similar blade

Second one from the left, an old French blade circa 1810

The third razor is a Wawick (15/16 at its largest), circa 1820, which is what I had closer to the other butterfly.

Here is the trick illustrated

Old French on the left, Wawick on the right


Classic butterfly on the left, "impossible" butterfly on the right

There you go. The back is almost inexistant, allowing for finer blades (keep in mind that at that time razors where sharpened with a wheel, the geometry of the back is not that important).

And therefore, keeping in mind that an average 5/8 razor is about 50g
Single blade :
- Old French : 33g
- Wawick : 75g

Butterfly :
- Standard : 85g
- "impossible" : 42g

Hence "impossible" :
- A butterfly lighter than the average razor
- A butterfly with a helmet and small thin blades which would make it a high end item

I love it, and will take the utmost care while bringing it back to life

Originally Posted by Aggelos

I really love butterfly razors.

One of my first shavers is a butterfly, and well, while I didn't think I would ever have another one, a particular one appeared on a well known auction site, and I went straight for it.
Because it was "impossible"

Broadly, and from what I have read/heard about these particular razors
- Bulky razors, made by French prisonners in England at the start of the 19th century
- Made for sailors, which is why they often come with a technique developped by sailors : the scrimshaw
- Henceforth, not by any means "luxury" razors.

Most of the times, butterflys are on the heavy side, having two heavy blades.

And now, here comes the "strange" (actually beautiful) one, on the right (standard butterfly for comparison)



And now, for the "trick"

There is something I saw in the auction, that some may have missed. Something I guessed because I already have a similar blade

Second one from the left, an old French blade circa 1810

The third razor is a Wawick (15/16 at its largest), circa 1820, which is what I had closer to the other butterfly.

Here is the trick illustrated

Old French on the left, Wawick on the right


Classic butterfly on the left, "impossible" butterfly on the right

There you go. The back is almost inexistant, allowing for finer blades (keep in mind that at that time razors where sharpened with a wheel, the geometry of the back is not that important).

And therefore, keeping in mind that an average 5/8 razor is about 50g
Single blade :
- Old French : 33g
- Wawick : 75g

Butterfly :
- Standard : 85g
- "impossible" : 42g

Hence "impossible" :
- A butterfly lighter than the average razor
- A butterfly with a helmet and small thin blades which would make it a high end item

I love it, and will take the utmost care while bringing it back to life

I just saw one on eBay a few weeks ago & it went for a little over $100. It had broken scales. I have one I got off ebay & one scale is cracked but I'm not going to do anything with it because of it being a double bladed razor. I was going to make new scales for it but decided to keep it original.

That's one of the nicer models I have seen.
The blades are etched aren't they ?

I was going to make new scales for it but decided to keep it original

Well, such a piece would merit it.
Or at least a pasted piece of bone to complete

Originally Posted by Aggelos

That's one of the nicer models I have seen.
The blades are etched aren't they ?

Well, such a piece would merit it.
Or at least a pasted piece of bone to complete

Yes the blades are etched. I may have to take a pic of a blade for the club I started.