Swank a dank (warning may be distasteful)

Distasteful?

yeah
people don't seem to like patina

sure it's 100 years old, but I like Kentucky Mint :soapbox:
everything has to shine like a new penny


:rant:Well I LIKE OLD !!!! :rant:
things take a long time to get that way

$15
not a high end razor, but probably the nicest (or hi-mid grade) razor in the small town hardware store
I'm sure it laid under a piece of glass while men came into the store and lusted after it like their favorite pin up girl.

there is an old article here
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...659C946797D6CF

so how was the shave???

harsh

how did it hone?

well it's a very hard bit of steel

it honed to hair popping sharp in a few minutes, but took a while longer to really coax it along
this is in the same hardness range I have been fighting

my new shapton 1k pro, 2k pro, and 8k glass should be here this week (already have a 4k)
maybe I can get it sorted better then

even though the grind is pretty thick through most of the blade, the edge is quite thin
it should provide a very sharp edge when done properly
it has the feel of that really wicked sharp German stuff (if you can get it there)

That is a beauty IMO. Many of my razors have patina and other than a wipe off with Semichrome and of course a trip to the hones I leave them as is.

Obviously you guys have more will power than I do...

That one would already be on the buffers and gleaming Muhahahahaha

Nice razor either way...

That my friend would be an easy 15$ to spend!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Obviously you guys have more will power than I do...

That one would already be on the buffers and gleaming Muhahahahaha

Nice razor either way...

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some steel just doesn't like to be shiny Glen

(in case you are reading this and aren't aware, steel tends to blacken after I've handled it)

Uh.......

Yeah, very nice tarnished or patina'd razor. I like the shape and style as well as that hardness in some of the old german blades.

I'm with Glen on the buffer........:)

Enjoy,

Lynn

Patina is good as long as it's fairly uniform across the blade IMHO.I love a patinaed old blade with a nice shiny bevel.I've got some I would have liked to leave alone,but they look splotchy and uneven.This one is nice and even and I'd leave it alone.

wouldn't think twice about buying it, Its a beauty

What a beauty! And I understand the patina thing... I like a big, black-blue old W&B.

Very nice! The worked back is fancier than usual. I tried to find out about the Swank company, but it is listed in Goins' as just Swank, no further info. Did you try to tame the harshness with CrOx, or are you going to do it all with the hones?

Nice razor!
By the way, that blotchy blue and white stone in the background looks mighty familiar;) You should tell all the good ladies and gentlemen of SRP about it.

I'm thinking the harshness was due to incomplete honing on low grit stones

the 4k glass was cutting it, but very slowly and I might have rushed just a little to finish

I'm thinking that if I remove about half a bevels worth performance will improve.

opened in 1862
http://books.google.com/books?id=G0w...%2C1308&edge=0

closed in 73
Johnstown, Pennsylvania: A History ... - Google Books

anyone care to guess at the age? :confused:
they seem to have done the most business between 1880-1930

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JMS

Nice razor!
By the way, that blotchy blue and white stone in the background looks mighty familiar;) You should tell all the good ladies and gentlemen of SRP about it.

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LOL well it seems to be all the rage to pick up the odd rock and try to hone with it lately
been there
done that


this one is sodalite and quartz and it actually hones fairly well

of course the escher is better, but this is so damn pretty

the purple one is a slab of agate
all the talk of jasper sent me to the mineral store to buy the most uniform piece they had
since jasper and agate are basically the same thing
(and this is already thin and flat and only $8)

I haven't really tested it, only one shave that was really harsh.
it was a real mother to lap, makes Arkansas look like a joke