Thanks! Already scored a single blade from England for $5 and two whole boxes w 6 blades? each for $25 ! Thank you for posting this ....
Dan
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Attention Darwin Razor Owners
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Dan
I think a NOS snap would be nearly impossible to find that isn't attached to a case but here's a what it looks like.
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Here are a couple of pictures of the blade cases. As far as what they're made out of, I don't know. They are glued up out of three pieces and the only thing they smell like is "old".
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Thanks so much for posting those ! I have a hunch I may be able to find a "Made in England" NOS snap somewhere, there is a lot of that stuff floating around, maybe not Brown, but something that would work to repair the leather tang. I forgot to iinclude the fact those blade holders may actually be real tortoise shell..... that is a possibility ! I think the Celluloid for the guitar pick guards will work quite well.... I thought they were three piece, I saw a separation in another small picture I had seen.
Appreciate the post Connie , you're great ...have to be , that's my Mom's name too...lol.
Dan
I lean toward the blade holders being made out of tortoise shell myself, but it's not something I'd be willing to make bets on.
I know nothing of tortoise shell as far as how bendable it is in small strips. Not sure if you have a digital Micrometer Connie, if you do and are up to it would love to know how thick that material is as you can get the celluloid in various thin sheets all in MM's. As far as dimensions , are they meant for individual blades or the whole box of 6 with the small outside box included. If you feel like measuring , that too would be great . If not , I can wing it ....obviously wont fit in the case if it's too big, and has to be big enough inside to fit the blades one way or another ....As I am fond of joking with my neighbor the retired Lockheed Hubble Telescope Engineer, "Its not Brain Science or Rocket Surgery"......lol....As I make a lot of things ( you name it ) and my Dad does HOn3 scale logging railroad , I have a lot of small specialized equipment to try and make those .
Snaps are interesting... the "Male" side is certainly more complex looking than what you see these days , I may take a trip down to my local leather Guru, he has more different kind of snaps in that shop and he's been doing it a very long time. "English Make" and "B Ld" if I am reading those right "B? Limited" I would think, English make being "Made in England" possibly , could be a brand. Lots of old snaps on Etsy, but the sew on kind.
Turns out it was one box of 10 and one box of 5 and a bonus blade, all 3 hole round end.... Happy to get them.
I think a NOS snap would be nearly impossible to find that isn't attached to a case but here's a what it looks like.
View attachment 1440362
View attachment 1440360
View attachment 1440363
Here are a couple of pictures of the blade cases. As far as what they're made out of, I don't know. They are glued up out of three pieces and the only thing they smell like is "old".
View attachment 1440366View attachment 1440367
If I may further ask, how many MM is the brown outside part of the snap, and how many MM is the actual hole that the male part of the snap goes in ? I measured the male post as 5.56MM on the outside widest part. Again, if you do not have a Micrometer I understand. Here's a couple pics of the ebay blades.... Box says "used" but if they were used it doesn't show much ... certainly good enough for display purposes.
The material varies a little in thickness, but averages about 1.4mm
The blade case itself measures 47.3 L by 29mm W by 7.5mm D, the curved recess at the opening is 9.525mm at its lowest point. The bottom of the case has rounded corners. The blade case holds 5 individualy wrapped blades but a box of blades will not fit.
The brown outside of the snap is about 13mm and the inside hole is about 5.5 to 6mm.
Thanks so much Connie for that very detailed description .....
Took my Darwin for it's maiden shave today ( for me at least) and was not disappointed. Moderately aggressive, could definitely hear that blade , and got a BBS with only a couple of weepers on the neck. I could use this every day , but I won't . I did find the handle screw to be oddly long with blade in but I see it varies in many of these . Did not bother per say during the shave , but "back in the day" had I purchased one of these brand new , that screw would have been taken down a few threads for sure . All in all, very happy with the razor and the price, I can say I will never pay that much for a razor again , unless it is another Darwin.....
By now everyone has seen the latest Ebay listing , possibly a member here ? I cannot blame anyone for taking advantage of the market and going rate , at that price it would have been way out of my comfort zone......but that's just me on my budget at 60 and retired .
By now everyone has seen the latest Ebay listing , possibly a member here ? I cannot blame anyone for taking advantage of the market and going rate , at that price it would have been way out of my comfort zone......but that's just me on my budget at 60 and retired .
I have 3 different Darwin Bijou with 2 different sized blade cases and two different blades, only one has Darwin on the blade. Personally I think they are made out of some type of plastic, not tortoiseshell
also a different full size Darwin Blade, I sure others have this blade, but just thought I would share
R
romsitsa
The glued together blade case looks like real tortoise, the other is more likely to be acetate.
I think those snaps are no longer made, so your best option to buy anything form the 10-30ies with a brown snap on it.
It is rather easy to remove and reinstall without damaging it, the tough part is replicating the leather tab.
I think those snaps are no longer made, so your best option to buy anything form the 10-30ies with a brown snap on it.
It is rather easy to remove and reinstall without damaging it, the tough part is replicating the leather tab.
My guess would be acetate (or other kind of plastic) for all, and not genuine tortoise shell. I don't think the latter was used in the twentieth century for "mass" produced items. Different materials were already developed in the late 1800s to replace tortoise shell (acetate being one of the main ones), so by the 1920s/1930s there was no need for the real thing, which was mainly used for one-of-a-kind artisan made items.
Lookie what I found and bought ! Perseverance ! It's all out there to be found ! $30 from England
I have not yet got around to replacing the leather or even seeing how these are pressed... I have a lot of old rivet presses, eyelet presses, snap sets, I imagine I can do it ! It may be a while ....lots going on .....we may be moving my 86 year old Mom to a new care facility ...sadly , for three years she has been going down hill, it's pretty much a given she has Lewy Body Disease, not Alzheimer.... I have seen the last three years what actor Robin Williams was heading for had he not ended it in a moment of clarity..... not pretty.
My check on Ebay tonight shows the Darwin Deluxe listed for $2200 as sold ......wow....new high sold price ???? Beyond what I could have afforded. Nice razor and case though ...congrads to whoever purchased !
New listing on Da'Bay for a Darwin Deluxe at $2500.....nice razor, new high asking price ???? Out of my league, glad I got mine when I did , and I thought I was at the high of what they would be selling for .....guess I was wrong ! Need to find a chest of these and sit on them for 10 years , then I can put my kid through Medical school...lol...
Yeah, I saw it. I'll hold onto my three (3) Darwin Standards (two cased), my Darwin Deluxe, my ladies' Darwin, and my cased Darwin Adjustable.
You can get one for 1500 EUR. Candidly, I wouldn’t enjoy it more than a copper Darwin from Wolfman.
I saw that one. A copper Darwin, hmmmm. That's something to behold
One for $1,699 on the bay and they still want you to pay for shipping.
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