Thread: 4 Razors (and a strop) found on a road trip

Originally Posted by crazyengineer

could it be ivory? (how would i tell if it is? though, i doubt it, though if it is, i got it cheap, but that is beside the point)

By the looks of it, I think that is exactly what it is. The only way to answer your question is in close examination.

Here is a lot of ivory identification knowledge.

There is also a test you can do yourself to determine if it indeed is ivory, originally posted in a previous thread. I'd only do this if all else method fails.

Good luck

In addition to above, often ivory is assembled with silver pins, no washers/collars. Along with metal wedge. Not a hard a fast rule, but a solid general observation.

i read this in the thread that that str8fencer posted a link to
the razor does have a a metal wedge, but only one pin ha not washers/collars, i dont know about silver pins though (dont know how to identify)

The Spanish razor has what I believe is called a smiling edge. Not a defect, though. I understand it was a design-feature of various 19th century razors. The other, light-scaled razor I think MAY be ivory. But I wouldn't make book on that. The lighting is a bit dull so it's hard for me to tell. Ivory has a smooth, grainy touch and is usually quite thin. It also has a slight, off-white/light cream colour. This looks to be significantly more yellow (or it may be the light), so I can't really tell.

here are some pictures that have better lighting, the first of the suspected ivory ones had reflections coming from the wood behind it