Thread: John Mossop Faux Tortoise pair

I got this nice pair from a seller in the UK. They're stained horn, but the scales are stunning in person. The blades need a little cleaning, and the box needs some repair. I haven't researched the maker yet (assuming I read the name right, the tang stamping wasn't fully clear). I love the touch of the marbled paper on the bottom of the case.

Nice Scales. Blades Should Clean Up Nice!

Lovely! Are you certain that is Faux? How can one tell?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Lovely! Are you certain that is Faux? How can one tell?

Once you handle it enough you can tell. Some things to look for on this one:

-the patterns are fairly regular. Most tortoise has more irregular patterns usually
-these dark spots have some splotchy and drip areas; you can tell where the stain was applied, and the boundaries are very defined and sharp (the real stuff is more 'blurry')
-the stain is only on the surface; tortoise has a 3-d effect where the mottled patterns are more diffuse and penetrate the whole scale. You can especially see it where there are bug bites
-the horn has a linear hair like grain, especially visible where it delaminates
-there's collars on the pins. Most tortoise is collarless (there are exceptions)
-more abstract, but tortoise has a certain inner glow or shimmer that's hard to describe

I picked these up specifically because they were such a nice looking faux tortoise and I didn't have one yet (I actually have more tortoise razors now than faux...)

edit: while I'm on the subject. A misconception about tortoise is that it darkens over time to the point that older pieces will turn completely brown and obscure the light parts. This is not true - there are many many examples of very starkly light-colored tortoise from the 16 and 1700s. It may darken slightly, but it's nowhere near as pronounced as some people say. There is, however, a lot of variation in the material - some pieces are almost completely in the brown part and have some tiny light streaks. I think this might be part of where the idea comes from that it darkens to an extreme extent.