Mid-1700s long-tail razor

This one goes to show that single characteristics are often not good enough for rough dating (curved scales, shorter tails, etc), granted this is rather uncommon: a mid-1700s razor with a tail longer than most 1800s pieces. I have yet to identify the maker so give a date for this one cautiously, but it is definitely OLD. Some interesting blade features that are nearly identical to this one http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...e-rayskin.html are the dip in the spine at the toe and the spine cutout behind the tang. This one is in surprisingly good condition given its age, and I will be honing it soon. (please excuse the poor pictures while I am away from my camera)

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Beautiful.

The blade reminds me of a knife blade that was repurposed. I think it was always meant to be a razor, but that top grind line looks like the start of a "bowie" style blade.

Good catch!

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Originally Posted by Wullie

Beautiful.

The blade reminds me of a knife blade that was repurposed. I think it was always meant to be a razor, but that top grind line looks like the start of a "bowie" style blade.

Good catch!

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I've got another old Sheffield razor with the same strange spine decorations (this one was made before 1787 by Ann Rowland, who was possibly related to a man listed only as Sleigh, a maker of cockfighting weapons).

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I have seen few razors of that age, but the uniform taper from the widest at peak of the spine to the very thin monkey tail when viewed from above seems unique.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I have seen few razors of that age, but the uniform taper from the widest at peak of the spine to the very thin monkey tail when viewed from above seems unique.

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I go out of my way to find razors of similar age, and I've never seen one quite like that either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wullie

Beautiful.

The blade reminds me of a knife blade that was repurposed. I think it was always meant to be a razor, but that top grind line looks like the start of a "bowie" style blade.

Good catch!

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What Wullie said above intrigued me. I didn't see it until he pointed it out. Reminded me of Bruno's latest project, fashioning a razor from a Japanese Tamaghane (sp?) sword. Not saying that was a knife turned into a razor, only that it is an interesting blade profile. Unique.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wullie

Beautiful.

The blade reminds me of a knife blade that was repurposed. I think it was always meant to be a razor, but that top grind line looks like the start of a "bowie" style blade.

Good catch!

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Good point Wullie! I had to go back & look after i read your comment. It DOES look like that even if it wasn't made from a knife blade! Who knows though..........if only it could talk.:shrug:

Nice score!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by engine46

Good point Wullie! I had to go back & look after i read your comment. It DOES look like that even if it wasn't made from a knife blade! Who knows though..........if only it could talk.:shrug:

Nice score!!!!!!

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The dip in the toe is actually quite common when you get to that age, it seems. Here's an excerpt from Perret's 1769 book. Note the razor in the bottom:

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Originally Posted by Voidmonster

I go out of my way to find razors of similar age, and I've never seen one quite like that either.

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i go out of my way to find something pre-1800 and i havnt even saw one in person ..lol...

LOVELY razor !!!

Like Wullie I saw knife but thought maybe when they blew it on the anvil or something they just went on to make a razor. Then again, early on they may have just been more artistic or knife minded.

Very nice piece.

From the evidence so far it looks as though that's the original design. Nice purchase. Very interesting.

As usual, a strong and deeply enjoyable slap in the face after reading one of your threads Scienceguy.

Thanks for sharing :chapeau