I've been looking for a larger razor than my largest, a 6/8 Dovo Bismarck, and wanted to do it on the cheap since I didn't know how I would like it. So off to eBay I went, fully aware of the possible pitfalls that awaited me. With a little education from some of my fellow SR enthusiasts, I got an idea of what to look for in the pictures that would indicate excessive hone wear, chipping, etc.
After several days of browsing, a couple of failed bids, I finally lucked into a Joseph Rodgers & Sons, 7/8 full wedge razor for a really good price:
I had it shipped directly to Doc226 who provided yet another fantastic JNAT edge (but not without a little elbow grease for this one, I am given to understand)! Just received it today and holy cow, what a beast! I've not named any of my razors yet, but I'm thinking about calling this one "Hey Ya'll, Watch This!" For some reason, I have this image in my head of a couple of British good ol' boys working on this razor and daring each other to be the first to use it
As for the actual shave itself - this is the second wedge I've owned, and a much finer example of the species than the previous specimen. Both had Doc's JNAT edge, but this one delivered a far superior shave. The WTG pass may have been the most excellent WTG pass I've ever performed; although it felt as if I was driving a snow plow around my face, I was quite surprised to see how well the neck and chin whiskers were mowed down after that first pass. For the XTG x2 pass, I felt like the solidity of the razor was somewhat of a hindrance compared to my full-hollows. However, further tests and experimentation will be required
At the end though, the razor provided a shave that equalled any of my other razors (full- and half-hollows) in closeness and comfort, and that's the most important result.
Now the question: from another thread here, I know that the tang stamp means that this razor was produced sometime between 1840 and 1901. And there was another thread I saw, but forgot to bookmark, that showed the evolution of the tail through the years - I'm hoping that someone here can look at these pictures and tell me where in the 1840-1901 range that this razor might fall into.
After several days of browsing, a couple of failed bids, I finally lucked into a Joseph Rodgers & Sons, 7/8 full wedge razor for a really good price:
I had it shipped directly to Doc226 who provided yet another fantastic JNAT edge (but not without a little elbow grease for this one, I am given to understand)! Just received it today and holy cow, what a beast! I've not named any of my razors yet, but I'm thinking about calling this one "Hey Ya'll, Watch This!" For some reason, I have this image in my head of a couple of British good ol' boys working on this razor and daring each other to be the first to use it
As for the actual shave itself - this is the second wedge I've owned, and a much finer example of the species than the previous specimen. Both had Doc's JNAT edge, but this one delivered a far superior shave. The WTG pass may have been the most excellent WTG pass I've ever performed; although it felt as if I was driving a snow plow around my face, I was quite surprised to see how well the neck and chin whiskers were mowed down after that first pass. For the XTG x2 pass, I felt like the solidity of the razor was somewhat of a hindrance compared to my full-hollows. However, further tests and experimentation will be required
At the end though, the razor provided a shave that equalled any of my other razors (full- and half-hollows) in closeness and comfort, and that's the most important result.Now the question: from another thread here, I know that the tang stamp means that this razor was produced sometime between 1840 and 1901. And there was another thread I saw, but forgot to bookmark, that showed the evolution of the tail through the years - I'm hoping that someone here can look at these pictures and tell me where in the 1840-1901 range that this razor might fall into.
