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G'day,
I tried the search engine but couldn't find what I was looking for. This W&B blade width differs. Would this be from poor honing over the years or like this from factory?
I'm interested in restoring it as much as I can and I'm unsure whether or not to grind it to the same width all the way along or keep as is? (I do have a few nicely restored razors with blades that get wider towards the toe)
Attachment 316791
Thanks
My guess is that it was made that way. If it was from poor honing there would be heavy hone wear on the spine at the heel. It appears to have pretty even hone wear along the length of the spine from the photo. The razor looks to be in very good condition and should restore nicely.
Bob
I presumed that nearly all razors had an even blade width with from spine to edge and that only ones which have a differing width are from peoples personal preference when doing restoration and/or fixing previous honingQuote:
Originally Posted by BobH
Thanks
Would it be frowned upon to straighten it?
Undecided if I like it how it is or not :)
Basically it is your razor to with what you want. All I know is that I have seen blades that taper in either direction and people do shave with them. Is there a reason for you indecision?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimli
Bob
Blades were factory made with tapers that went in either direction.
Just another thought to consider. If you modify the blade from it's factory taper then you are no longer restoring a razor as you've now changed the factory form.
Bob
I agree with Bob on this on. Looks to me to be the original shape and nothing wrong with it. Just another style they had. Ive seen plenty that way.
It's true for post 1900 razors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimli
And at the same time it's almost always wrong with 1800-1810 razors.
You also have to consider that almost all 19th century razors are forged with a smile.
It's your razor indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimli
But well, why would you invest in such a nice piece in such a fine condition and then thing "meh, that's not how I like it".
If you want a different shape, better consider trading this one for one with a geometry you like.
And a last thing to take into account : you know for sure that the blade has been tempered and worked so that the current edge works fine, grinding it could bring some nasty surprises. I've had some cases when I could not produce and edge anymore on a razor because its original design had been tampered with
This is not something I had considered. Thanks for your input :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggelos
I agree with Bob and Aggelos.
Shine it up, hone and shave!
Seems like the further you go back, the more dramatic the blade taper. I think the more modern razors were straight because it was more efficient to manufacture.
Appears to be original and I wouldn't do anything more than shining it up as others have suggested.
Here is an older razor with a more exaggerated taper towards the tang. Not mine, unfortunately.
Attachment 316798
Yes, that's the early 1800s kind of blade I was refering to.
To provide an example of seemingly the same period as your W&B, there's this one for example
Attachment 316800
Attachment 316801
Thanks for the replies
Would anyone hazard a guess as to the period when this W&B may have been made?
Here's another, it tapers to the toe, and was made that way.
Attachment 316803
Leave yours alone, you'll definitely ruin the geometry of the blade, as it was intended to be.
That's a nice razor, BTW
That was a popular style of blades in the 19th century. Here's one made in the 1850s with the same general shape.
Attachment 316805
Many of them had elaborate etchings. One word of warning about that. Even very light sanding can remove the etching. A metal polish like 3M Marine Metal Restorer and Polish works well and won't remove the etching.
I wouldn't change the shape of it were me.
I'd venture second quarter of the 19th centuryQuote:
Originally Posted by Gimli
I'd agree with that. The one I posted pics of I know from the etching to be from between 1854 and 1856. Yours looks contemporaneous with it so I'd say somewhere in that time period is probably pretty close
I looked on strazors.com at both W&B and G Wostenholm. There were razors produced wider at tip than at heel. I would leave it.
If it were mine, I would go with a light cleaning on the blade and a deep clean with some minor repairs on the scales, hone it and be happy. The nice even grey on the steel comes from a century of care, I would be careful to preserve that, it’s not easy to create.
Just do a light restore, if you don’t like the way it feels or shaves trade it or sell it for one you like the geometry better on. Making it straight will most likely screw up the geometry as well as the value taking a large hit. If your razor was in poor shape my opinion might differ but yours looks to be in fairly solid condition.
Post a pic of the other side.
Judging by the excessive spine wear at the heel, it may be that the edge was straight at one time and excessive pressure or low git stone, may have caused the profile. A look at the other side may tell the story.
You could easily make the edge smile, matching the toe and heel width, if that was the case, There is not that much difference in width between the heel and toe, so very little steel would be removed.
Not seeing much for spine wear, Marty.
Take a look at the bevel a little closer, its even throughout the blade.
I believe I have a very similar razor if not the exact same model and close to the same year although mine has plastic scales. Very similar in the taper here are some photos of it. I believe this razor was not used that much or it was nicely restored. The blade is just about spotless but the photos were taken when it had ballistol on it so ignore the smudges.
(I recommend at least getting it shave ready and using it a bit before deciding whether or not you are going to straighten it out, I suggest keeping it the same as well)
https://imgur.com/TNEA7Bm
https://imgur.com/i8O44SX
Yes...very clean, Christian.
Many blade of that era / area have that profile. You will typically notice that the spine thickness and spine curvature are set in a way that allow such razors to be honed naturally without requiring a straight edge. If you make that edge straight, it will look wonky, and likely require you to fudge things on the spine as well because that razor was not made to be straight.
Many sheffield blades are not straight. The 'straight' edge only came to dominance with the advent of German double hollow grinding which makes it very efficient to mass produce razors, provided they are straight so that they can be shoved back and forth between the wheels.
Yeah, leave it as it is, shape-wise. Looks made that way. Anyway, you would be grinding off an awful lot of steel to make it straight and even. And it wouldn't make it shave any better. If you like straight and even blades, you could probably trade that razor for three or four nice mass produced early-mid 20th century hollowgrounds.
Looks like nearly a full wedge. Not a casual project to restore or even to hone. Spend some time examining the razor and thinking about how you intend to go about it.
Does the spine thickness taper, proportionally to the taper of the blade width? In other words, is the natural bevel angle the same all along the blade? That would make honing a lot simpler, if it is so.
You will almost certainly be using tape at some point, if not the whole process. And a rolling X stroke. Be careful to not exaggerate the roll. I see that a lot, and it does no favor to the razor.
You might want to farm this out to someone with a lot of experience with this sort of razor, just to get an appropriately set bevel on it, and only have to concern yourself with refreshing the edge as needed. Looks like a fun razor to shave with. I have always thought about making a razor with an exaggerated taper, but hollowground. It presents some problems that I am not in a hurry to fully resolve. But anyway I would think that the narrow heel end would be nice for under the nose, while the big toe would give it a satisfying heft and stability.
