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I found these 4 razors and strop on a road strip from East Tennessee to Southwest Louisiana
I can post more pics of any if anyone would be interested in them
i would also be interested in any information anyone can give me on these, especially information on the spanish point blade, is this a blade that is supposed to have a slight curve on it?
Yes, the first razor, the one with the Spanish point, is supposed to have a curved blade. This is clear because the spine is also curved. Cleaning up that one will be the greatest challenge as there is a lot of pitting on it. Is that dark spot on the edge right in the middle as corroded as it looks? If so, that will make it a lot more work to get it sharp. It could be so bad that it might require a regrind to make it right. The others look like they have a lot of potential. The Larkin can be shortened. Is there any sort of maker's mark on the bottom one?
the spanish has "william england's celebrated razor" actually looks worse in the pictures to me, here are some more pictures
the yellow handle has no marks whatsoever, it appears to be barely used, if it was used at all. the handle is very thin, and i think it is bone. The scales seem as though they are yellowed bone, and they have a crack near the pin, like some natural material i see in knives sometimes
It will take some work, but even that first one can be rescued. It is encouraging (slightly) that the corrosion only appears mainly on one side. Honing, and likely grinding, will have to be done to remove the edge up past the top of that bad spot. Taking it that far up may get you into too thick of a region of the blade, requiring a re-grind to further hollow out the blade.
The bone scaled one is pretty nice and the scales could be rescued with an inner liner to stabilize the bone's crack.
the yellowish scales on the unmarked razor seem to be bone as i said, but they are very very light, and very thin.
could they be something else?
i see a grain of some sort in it
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)
i think the spot on the blade is actually that, just a spot, though it looks as though someone sharpened it as a knife (it is a full wedge i believe)
i plan on browsing the workshop and trying to get all of them fixed up, i have a cheap razor that i will try restoring first
the bone scales (assuming i IDed them right), seem to be strong around the crack so far, i wont be using the razor much, i have a couple torreys that i like a lot and will learn on one of them
I love the french point blade with the monkey tail. Who is the manufacturer?
+1 A great looking razor hopefully it can be cleaned up and honed into working condition.Quote:
Originally Posted by Qatsats
Dang it, I knew the trunk lid didn't close right!
Thank you so much for finding these :)
my precioussss.....
really though that is a great find
the french point with the long tail is a joseph rodgers and sons, check this thread out for more info on it
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...led-razor.html
By the looks of it, I think that is exactly what it is. The only way to answer your question is in close examination.Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyengineer
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