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Frameback Friday (+Faux and Rattler)

Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Framebacks, faux framebacks and rattlers don’t seem to have a well defined place other than an older gallery thread, so let’s make a thread for these special razors, and tips related to maintenance and use. I’ve always been fond of them, especially the French and Swedish models.

Starting off, Le Grelot Fleur d’Acier Lame Rechange (exchangeable blade), soap and AS were Floris Elite, and the brush was a TOBS.

Tip 1: Always dry that spine joint with a piece of tissue after shaving or honing, Water can normally get into it, and I’ve seen staining below this joint where water drops came out of the joint after use. I doubt that this would ever compromise a blade since there are so many old ones form 150 years ago that are still useable.

Tip 2: You can also use bicycle chain wax on the joint and/or partially seal it with Rennaisance Wax, which is mostly carnuba wax. I suspect that good automotive carnuba wax would work equally well.

I am looking forward to seeing some nice examples!

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Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
totorlekiller said:
It so happens that I used my Gelle Freres rattler today
I do have plenty of Framebacks, however I tend to keep my rotation random, so I am not sure how often I'll get to post here.
Click to expand...

Just post one that you used during the week - ‘Frameback Friday‘ is just a catchy thread title! Otherwise I’ll have to come to France every week to make sure you’re being honest - eh, I might as well just stay there. :laugh:

Nice Gelle Freres!
 
Polarbeard

Polarbeard

Where do you draw the line between rattler and shoulderless? I love my Swedish ultrathin shoulderless razors. I've never felt an urge to try a rattler. To me they are very different razor types.

The very thought of shaving with my thin frameback razors, that have a tube for a spine, makes my palms sweat. Occasionally I pick one up, hold it and gently put it back in the cabinet with a feeling of relief like a man that has just avoided a serious accident.

True frameback razors where mostly luxury items, like Steve's above. I have a few but I find them to be too beautiful to shave with.
 
2

2bit_collie

Polarbeard said:
Where do you draw the line between rattler and shoulderless? I love my Swedish ultrathin shoulderless razors. I've never felt an urge to try a rattler. To me they are very different razor types.

The very thought of shaving with my thin frameback razors, that have a tube for a spine, makes my palms sweat. Occasionally I pick one up, hold it and gently put it back in the cabinet with a feeling of relief like a man that has just avoided a serious accident.

True frameback razors where mostly luxury items, like Steve's above. I have a few but I find them to be too beautiful to shave with.
Click to expand...

I second the question: What is the definition of a Rattler? Is the below a Rattler, or just a shoulderless razor?

image.jpg
 
Biltong & Boerewors

Biltong & Boerewors

This will be classed as a faux-frameback. It's a Dorko 444. It looks like a frame back, but was made from a solid piece of steel. I got this one thinking it was a razor that just needed restoration. It turned out to be a blank that was not finished and it took a lot of honing to hone a bevel in.

Much bigger project than I thought. Think it was my second attempt at making scales. :c4:

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Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
A rattler grind is not about the shoulder. It’s about how the razor is ground. Like a frameback, it is not hollow ground. It’s made like a frameback but of a single piece of steel. The other distinction aside from not being hollowground is that the blade was ground laterally - that is, the grinding wheel moved from toe to heel not from spine to edge.

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Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
YW sir.

The image below is of a sold razor at Griffith Shaving, and I hope that it is OK to use this image with proper attribution to one of the SR community’s good vendors.

The description said that it was lightly re-ground, and you can see that the grinding marks are lateral, not spine to edge.

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Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
BTW. lateral grinding is why they don’t have shoulders, the grinding wheel would run into it.
 
Frank Shaves

Frank Shaves

When I recently restored my Joseph Rodgers frameback, I sanded and steel wool-ed the blade first laterally and then perpendicularly to the edge for each grit. It was really difficult to remove the lateral scratch marks next to the frame. Perhaps I should have reversed the order.

Am I right to assume that the blade portion of a frameback is ground the "normal" way - perpendicular to the edge?
 
Steve56

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Frank Shaves said:
When I recently restored my Joseph Rodgers frameback, I sanded and steel wool-ed the blade first laterally and then perpendicularly to the edge for each grit. It was really difficult to remove the lateral scratch marks next to the frame. Perhaps I should have reversed the order.

Am I right to assume that the blade portion of a frameback is ground the "normal" way - perpendicular to the edge?
Click to expand...

That I don’t really know, but no doubt the blade was finished before the frame was swedged onto it, so a frameback blade could have been finished either way I suppose.

Maybe Arne @Polarbeard might have some insight since the Swedes made a lot of good freamebacks. I’ll look at some of mine and see if I can see any grind marks.
 
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