F
ffourteen
I saw that Les Croix and was contemplating it. You saved me, haha.
Straight Razor Acquisition Thread
- Thread starter wilbr11
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Great razors! Thanks for sharing!
Dealer friend of mine who tends to find me stuff had these for me today. A matched pair of F.W. Soderen Swedish Razors. They need work but the brunt of it is away from the edges. Think the scales are leather. Not sure what my plans are for these. Need to have a think.
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It should be an early version of paper micarta, my source for this info is @Polarbeard. Very nice scores!
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F.W. Soderen Straights are almost impossible to find .Great score .
I took a gamble on this one as the pictures on ebay were of very poor quality; I could see though that it was marked as Sheffield, and that the blade appeared to be in decent condition. I won the auction, it was below $20 including shipping from Malta to the US and there were no other bidders.
So here is what I got.
It's a Ford & Medley, Sheffield. I haven't found any mention of this brand on this board or anywhere else. The blade is a near-wedge grind, 5/8". It has fairly heavy and uneven spine wear, especially on the back side. Also a little smile. The geometry doesn't feel too bad though it does have a little wobble - I think that's mainly because of the smile.
I think this razor has had a restoration done before, or an attempt thereof. The scales are probably not original, I think they're a modern-ish plastic. Though I can't say what kind of plastic they are; they feel very flimsy and flexible without too much substance to them. The plastic is porous and feels almost like cork to the touch. The pins are very loose, and rough.
The blade has some pitting though not too bad, and not near the edge. Someone has worked on the bevel in the past as there are several bevel marks on each side (2 on one side and 3 on the other). It does not shave in its current condition; in fact it is quite dull. The bevel angle was difficult to estimate due to the spine wear but it's somewhere around 18 degrees I think.
I can't even figure out if the bevel is set or not. Given the amount of honing that it's had I will start by assuming that it is, and see if a regular honing will bring it into service; if not I will set the bevel and go from there. It will also need a thorough cleaning and rescaling.
So here is what I got.
It's a Ford & Medley, Sheffield. I haven't found any mention of this brand on this board or anywhere else. The blade is a near-wedge grind, 5/8". It has fairly heavy and uneven spine wear, especially on the back side. Also a little smile. The geometry doesn't feel too bad though it does have a little wobble - I think that's mainly because of the smile.
I think this razor has had a restoration done before, or an attempt thereof. The scales are probably not original, I think they're a modern-ish plastic. Though I can't say what kind of plastic they are; they feel very flimsy and flexible without too much substance to them. The plastic is porous and feels almost like cork to the touch. The pins are very loose, and rough.
The blade has some pitting though not too bad, and not near the edge. Someone has worked on the bevel in the past as there are several bevel marks on each side (2 on one side and 3 on the other). It does not shave in its current condition; in fact it is quite dull. The bevel angle was difficult to estimate due to the spine wear but it's somewhere around 18 degrees I think.
I can't even figure out if the bevel is set or not. Given the amount of honing that it's had I will start by assuming that it is, and see if a regular honing will bring it into service; if not I will set the bevel and go from there. It will also need a thorough cleaning and rescaling.
Update on the Ford & Medley razor above: I tried honing it with my usual method (8k stone then coticule), it was actually sticking to the coticule pretty well at the end. But I could not shave with it. One quick examination with the naked eye showed why. The bevel was nicely polished by the coticule, unfortunately it's the wrong bevel. It's the one above the edge, not the edge. I guess this razor has been last honed with tape, or a similar method. At 18 degrees I see no reason to use tape. So it seems that I'll have to set a correct bevel on it. Unless I actually have to use tape because it's a near-wedge. Opinions?
(and one thought I had on the scales, I wonder if they may be gutta-percha. They feel somewhat rubbery to the touch. I haven't actually touched real gutta-percha before so I have nothing to compare with).
(and one thought I had on the scales, I wonder if they may be gutta-percha. They feel somewhat rubbery to the touch. I haven't actually touched real gutta-percha before so I have nothing to compare with).
Yup...generally wedge = tape.
It's not a true wedge though, see the picture above. It has a slight concavity.
If you honed it without and the bevel is to high i would add tape.....the other option is to hone the heck out of it to reset the bevel angle, which in my opinion, is just going to waste steel.
I try to hone wedge/near wedges with tape always....wedge to get the angle, near wedge so as not to kill the spine and make it a wedge.....YMMV. Others may have more insite and opinons.....
OK then tape it is. I think I'll try kapton (which I have lots of for electrical work).
5/8 Lutz
That looks like a nice example!
Looks great!
A Bengal and a couple of ducks followed me home today.
The Bengal was covered in rust but cleaned up pretty well. It's a near wedge and looks like a pretty old one.
The dubl duck is a Satinedge, it has a little bit of a frown, hopefully it can be corrected.
The Bengal was covered in rust but cleaned up pretty well. It's a near wedge and looks like a pretty old one.
The dubl duck is a Satinedge, it has a little bit of a frown, hopefully it can be corrected.
Needs more work but the edge cuts hanging hair after some serious honing.
I also found 2 others below the Hamburg.Will reveal them later...
I also found 2 others below the Hamburg.Will reveal them later...
That's a handsome knife you got there.
Thanks Dan. Will shave with her tomorrow evening when I have some time to carefully get to know her. I have extremely sensitive skin and a bit nervous
The scales are made of micarta, and probably dissolving by now. The razors are made in the 1890's by the best renowned Swedish maker at the time and they are indeed very rare. Congratulations.
This one caught my eye today. EkSel (it took me a minute to figure it out lol), It's made by W. R. Case and Sons in Bradford, PA without Tested XX, so I would think 1912-1914(?). It appears to be in very good condition.
When I first saw it, I thought it had been rescaled.
When I first saw it, I thought it had been rescaled.
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