Thread: It's been big week for my stack of razors...

Originally Posted by Magpie

So YOU are the scoundrel that outbid me on those sweeties! Looks like we have similar tastes in old steel. Well, to be honest, I was not trying that hard to win. I have to pare down the collection some before I seriously start looking again. I am in agreement with Martin, not piano keys. I would not be so quick to think them replacements. And I am glad you appreciate that neeto wood fix! We should start a club called "The Repair Room" or some such. I have seen some great cob jobs!

As a general rule, if it's weird and old and you got outbid on it, it was probably me.

I've now shaved with one of the two Magnum Bonum razors. It took about 20 minutes to get it into shape using Nun2Sharp's nice hone progression. I go slow, so if he'd done it himself it probably would've been more like 5 or 10 minutes of work.

It's twin had some corrosion in the bevel so it needed more work done than I had time to do.

Those are aptly named razors. They are great like a sequoia and good like sunshine.

I never liked shaving with the gigantic blades. Turns out, that's just because they weren't old enough! Gimme a 200 year old wedge and I'm happy as a clam with an enormous razor.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Great razors, all of them.
As far as identifying the owners/history of the 2 stubbies, you have a lot to go on, more than you think.
It could take a lot of time, but it can be fun while doing it. I spent my most of my adult life finding things that most people thought could not be found or simply a big waste of time. Yes, it was part of my job, but my success was mainly do to 2 things persistence & I looked at the task as fun, not a burden. If you decide to play, here are a few clues to get you going;
What starts the hunt is their uniqueness; the box included.
Talk to the person who sold them to you, ask where he got them & work it back as far as you can. You might run into a dead end with the name of a person, but might be able to isolate the razor's life to a city.
Try & narrow done the razor manufacturer & possible import/sale city; you may have a clue in the name you mentioned.
The scales are piano keys, how often have we seen this done.
Most owners would have rescaled in a material at hand; I doubt that a person would have stripped from the family piano, but a person who worked on pianos for a living would have this material lying around.
Or a person would have gone to a piano shop to get some,,,point,,, there were not a lot of piano stores in those days.
You would be surprised how well people kept records before this great era of computers & businesses like these were usually passed down through the family

A lot can be done on your computer on a rainy day with a cup of coffee next to you. A phone to reach out & follow leads. Remember when dealing with people on the phone while following leads, make it interesting for them too, tell them why you are doing it and how helpful they can be, put no pressure on them with any deadlines on return information. You will be surprised how many will want to solve the mystery too.

Don't forget the members here, that have spent so many years identifying razor origins.
Just my thoughts.

Coming in way late on this topic but what the hell.. that was great! Thank you, I like to research and consider myself pretty good, but you take it to a Sherlockian level!
Thanks for the input.
M