Joseph Elliot - Tapered Blade & Curly Claro Walnut Scales

[lax1mxr]

Not the Best photos...I need to invest in a photo box. But anyhow. A really cool tapered blade. This blade was re-ground into this shape, as it still has some of the grinding marks. The thumb notch was probably also done at the same time. Looks a lot like the Ramapo that Bill posted a good while back. Absolutely superb shaver. Just a different feel than most blades with the unique shape it has. 13/16ths at is widest down to 5/8ths at the tip.

Scales are stabilized Curly Claro Walnut finished with CA and black spacer material. Hard to see, but the wedge is alternating walnut and spacer (inspired by aquanin). I'll try to add some more photos later. This is all I had done.

 

[john.crissman]

Wow! Simply stunning. Well done.

 

[elosamurai]

beautiful!!! And I have this Joseph Elliot and that thumbnotch is factory made.
Its one of the most interesting sheffields I own.. great work..

 

[Noswad]

Nice job. Looking forward to seeing more photos.

 

[superbleu]

Great work as usual Mike.

 

[John C]

Superb job!! Love how the CA finish makes the scales glow.

 

[netsurfr]

Beautiful blade, beautiful scales! Nice job!!!

 

[luvmysuper]

You do some absolutely awesome work!
That is beauty defined.

 

[professorchaos]

Cool razor!!

 

[lax1mxr]

beautiful!!! And I have this Joseph Elliot and that thumbnotch is factory made.
Its one of the most interesting sheffields I own.. great work..

Thanks for confirming. After I posted last evening, I second guessed whether or not the grind and notch were OE. I took a look at the 1922 LUMMUS ariticle, and in one of the photos was a blade that looked exactly like this one. Same thumb notch and tapered blade, different manufacturer though. He also made mention of blades made during the 1830's that had tapered spines. I will post the quote and photo later. That was an AHA moment. Makes this blade even sweeeeeterrrrrr!!

 

[mainaman]

what a looker, I bet it shaves wonderfully

 

[Aquanin]

Outstanding. Glad I could be an inspiration.

 

[lax1mxr]

OK so here it is.......proof (maybe) that there were blades made to these exacting specs....tapered blade and notched. The photo is a marshes & shepherd....looks eerily familiar to the elliot. Also, is an excerpt from the article talking about the heel being wider than the toe and the spine having corresponding proportions. Voila!

And yes it shaves superbly.

 

[LaughingAtFate]

This is slightly off topic, but that seven day set marked as "N" seems like an interesting idea, if slightly off the wall

I wonder if there's any in existence today? Oh gods, I've found my Leprechaun's gold! I'd be searching forever for it!

 

[JeffE]

Beautiful work, Lax. Love those scales.

One interesting thing I've noticed about some razors that I have is that when you have the following elements together in the same razor, you generally have a really fantastic shaver:

1. Wedge

2. Slightly curved spine, with corresponding "smile" in the edge

3. Heel wider than toe

I can't say that I've tried every possible combination of these three characteristics, but it does seem like every razor I have that matches these three things ends up being a kick-*** shaver, and it has nothing at all to do with the brand or even the overall state of wear of the blade. Some of my razors even seem to be in this condition because of poor or uneven honing in the past, but no matter, because having this combination seems to make them work very well as razors.

And now I see your razor with the same comment. I wonder if this could be a decent rule to follow for selecting or designing a good shaving razor. Or am I missing something obvious here?

 

[JPM]

Now that is an awesome looking razor!

 

[lax1mxr]

Beautiful work, Lax. Love those scales.

One interesting thing I've noticed about some razors that I have is that when you have the following elements together in the same razor, you generally have a really fantastic shaver:

1. Wedge

2. Slightly curved spine, with corresponding "smile" in the edge

3. Heel wider than toe

I can't say that I've tried every possible combination of these three characteristics, but it does seem like every razor I have that matches these three things ends up being a kick-*** shaver, and it has nothing at all to do with the brand or even the overall state of wear of the blade. Some of my razors even seem to be in this condition because of poor or uneven honing in the past, but no matter, because having this combination seems to make them work very well as razors.

And now I see your razor with the same comment. I wonder if this could be a decent rule to follow for selecting or designing a good shaving razor. Or am I missing something obvious here?

I concur, most razors I have tried with these characteristics seem to shave very nicely. Maybe folks honed these like this intentionally to get this desired result.

 

[Luc]

That's blade looks more than awesome! Do you have any more pictures?

 

[Bacchus]

OK so here it is.......proof (maybe) that there were blades made to these exacting specs....tapered blade and notched. The photo is a marshes & shepherd....looks eerily familiar to the elliot. Also, is an excerpt from the article talking about the heel being wider than the toe and the spine having corresponding proportions. Voila!

And yes it shaves superbly.

I believe Seraphim has a Marshes & Shepard that he calls his Marshian

This is slightly off topic, but that seven day set marked as "N" seems like an interesting idea, if slightly off the wall

I wonder if there's any in existence today? Oh gods, I've found my Leprechaun's gold! I'd be searching forever for it!

Click!

 

[kopio]

Ok....I have virtually the same blade with a serious patina on it. I've been thinking about giving it the mirror treatment. I do have a dremel....should I have at it with that and then go to sandpaper....or would I be better of just doing all sandpaper?

What do you do?

Your blades are stunning, as well as the scales...really nice work!