BIG iron

[Owd Wullie]

Three Masonic etched razors from Sheffield. 1850'-1860's The top one is an 8/8. the other two are 9/8's.
The middle one is Edward Leon and Co. most all the razors you see made by him were BIG Masonic etched blades.

[jerryd6818]

Don't know what the hell you're talking about Willie but sure glad you're talking about it here.

[Colonel26]

Wow Willie! Now thise are some heavy shavers. Very cool. You gonna dress em up and whittle your whiskers with em?

I'm still shaving with those two you fixed up for me. I couldn't even think of going back to a safety razor now!

[FRJ]

WOW!!!
All that etching is impressive, Willie. Very handsome razors.

[Dinadan]

Owd Wullie - nice stuff. I am a bit of a sucker for arcane symbols: I could really go for one of those razors if I did not have a full beard!

[Owd Wullie]

Don't know what the hell you're talking about Willie but sure glad you're talking about it here.

LOL Jerry, 8/8=1" blade width measuring from the spine to the edge. 9/8=1 1/8". In other words, those are big old heavy razors. By the turn of the 20th century, the most common razor size was 5/8.

The top razor was made by George Savage & Sons. The middle by Edward Leon & Co, the bottom by Wm Greaves and Sons. The etch on the Savage is pretty weak compared to the other two.

They're all honed and great shavers. The big ones like that are fun to shave with. They don't fool around. They're heavy compared to later full hollow ground razors and they require a deft hand. They will shave as close as one of those 5 blade plastic POS's.

Since I've learned to shave with a straight, I've actually bled less than I did with the plastic crap. I've got a couple of small permanent reminders of my stupidity, but I really enjoy shaving with the old stuff.

It's interesting to ponder just who bought the razors to start with and what their life was like. Same with old pocket knives, if only they could talk.

Here's what the Savage looked like when I got it.
http://s658.photobucket.com/user/Wullie ... t=9&page=1
I've since installed a set of period scales on it, cleaned it up, and honed it. It's the smallest of the three but it weighs within grams of the two larger ones. The Taylor's "eye witness" in that folder came with the Savage. It's a 7/8 and sweet shaving razor as well. I've got several Taylor's razors of varying ages, grinds, and sizes. They're all great shavers. It's hard to beat old Sheffield cutlery.

The American razors of the late 19th/early 20th Century have some of the hardest steel of any razors I've found. You rarely see them in grinds other than full hollow and you rarely encounter them in sizes above 6/8. As most of them were made alongside knives, the tang stamp collectors run the prices of US stuff up to more than I'm interested in paying. Most of them are well used which speaks highly of their utility. Pretty much all of them made after 1880 are full hollow ground ( a German development ) and I really don't care for that grind as it is noisy when you shave. The blade flexes a lot as well. They shave great, but I like the heavier grinds such as the quarter and half hollow.

[jerryd6818]

Don't know what the hell you're talking about Willie but sure glad you're talking about it here.

LOL Jerry, 8/8=1" blade width measuring from the spine to the edge. 9/8=1 1/8". In other words, those are big old heavy razors. By the turn of the 20th century, the most common razor size was 5/8.

Gottcha. Like raw lumber comes in four quarter, five quarter, six quarter, etc thicknesses. Thanks Willie.

[Colonel26]

Oh Willie! I bet those do shave good! And I'm with ya, I don't knick myself, have razor burn near hardly as bad with a straight razor as I did with a safety razor.

[knife7knut]

Here's one that is unmarked.At least an 8/8 with very little concave grind.Looks to be all original and the filework on the tang appears to be hand done.Not sure what type of wood the scales are but it looks almost like red oak but smooth.

[Owd Wullie]

Interesting. And BIG. May have been a shop made by a local smith or cutler or it may have been reground and re-scaled at some point.

Neat old blade for sure.

[Umcknifeguy]

Dang Willie thats some fine lookin heavy steel!!!! I tried out my Joseph Rodgers 8/8 shaves decent but im gonna send it out for a professional honing. I didnt get it just right and im not gonna play around with that one. Make me jealous every time you post a razor!

Travis

[Owd Wullie]

Dang Willie thats some fine lookin heavy steel!!!! I tried out my Joseph Rodgers 8/8 shaves decent but im gonna send it out for a professional honing. I didnt get it just right and im not gonna play around with that one. Make me jealous every time you post a razor!

Travis

Did you hone it to start with? Sometimes a layer or two of electrical tape along the spine will raise the blade enough to get a smaller bevel. A lot of those big one have some pretty heavy spine wear. Uneven wear makes even MORE interesting to try to hone.

Once you get her honed up, you'll love it I'm thinking. Shoot me a PM as to where you're gonna send it for honing. I know several guys that do great work and will be glad to recommend one if you're interested.

[robinetn]

More "big iron" .

[JWheeler331]

Very nice.

[Colonel26]

Here's one that is unmarked.At least an 8/8 with very little concave grind.Looks to be all original and the filework on the tang appears to be hand done.Not sure what type of wood the scales are but it looks almost like red oak but smooth.

I bet that one would do the job!

Excellent razors all! I can't imagine shaving any other way now.