Primitive Straight: Is it wrong to love this razor?

[oakeshott]

Picked this razor up off eBay more out of curiosity than anything else, but as soon as it arrived and I handled it, love bloomed. That love may die when I try and shave with it (if I can ever get it honed satisfactorily), but for now we're very much infatuated with each other. I don't think I've seen a simpler expression of purpose than this razor.

It appears that this is a quite old razor made in some out of the way forge in the 19th Century, probably pre-1850 judging from what I've read here and elsewhere. Does that look right? I've started to hone it so you see the beginnings of a bevel, but otherwise there was no sign of any previous honing. The scales, for the presumed age, are in better shape than other bone scales I have from younger razors. Could I be wrong about the age?

Do the rest of you think it will be a good shaver or should I just go ahead and send it to Doc for disposal?

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You can see some scratches where I stupidly took some 220 grit to it. I regret that. Went to some 0000 steel wool and maas and got some of the grime off and gave it a bit of a shine, but I would never want this to look completely new. If it shaves well, what do the rest of you think? Clean it up more or keep it looking its age?

 

[Gamma]

Unless the edge is toast from swiss cheese pitting, it should clean up and shave great.
Even if it is swiss-cheese at the bevel, you have enough meat there to hone past it.
A little TLC will go a long way and it should turn out to be quite a handsome blade when done.
FWIW - I don't think the edge has any terrible issues but that's just a guess and with old steel it's always a possibility.

Edit - when I restore or clean up a blade, I prefer to leave some aging on the steel. I think it gives the blade some dignity.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Your assessment of it is probably what I would come up with. No markings on it means to me home grown. A true wedge like you have there seems around 1850. My understanding is that only after 1850 or so did they have the ability to grind a hollow into the blade. I have some with mass like that and believe me, they do have a wonderful momentum when shaving.

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Nothing like shaving with a piece of history - congrats on the new find!!!!

 

[Giant Kiwi]

I think it's a very respectable looking blade.
Personally I would hone it up and leave it looking aged

 

[Doc226]

I do think it needs to be "disposed"

Send it my way

 

[smalltank]

I hardley start on 220grit....180grit does the trick for me

 

[gimpochin]

This is a piece of mens only history. If it were mine and i appreciated the shave it gave me i would treat it with respect.And have it lookin good.(like my 33 ford) dream-on!

 

[noahpictures]

Nice!

 

[mdunn]

these old girls need love to!

if its anything like my similar blades, it will shave a dream

 

[oakeshott]

these old girls need love to!

if its anything like my similar blades, it will shave a dream

And in my experience, are more appreciative of the effort. Going to go shave with it right now.

 

[oakeshott]

Shaved last night with Il Primitivo and now understand why 19th Century man wore beards.

While the shave was comfortable and no blood was shed, it was not efficient and required a fair amount of buffing to pick up stubble left behind. The end result wasn't bad, but not great either.

In fairness, two things might have contributed more to the mediocrity of the shave than the razor: my honing and my technique. Once in a while, I turn out a truly sharp edge and this is getting to be less random as my skills improve, but it's still never a certainty. In this case, I'd never honed a full wedge before and have little doubt that it could be done better.

Secondly, I've not shaved with a full wedge before either and this thing required a different technique than I was used to. Seemed to perform best when nearly flat against my face.

Nonetheless, shaving with a razor that's probably 150 years old is kind of a blast. I recommend it to everyone.

Does anyone know if blacksmiths back then had the know how to make harder steels or is it likely this is the same carbon content as mild steel?

 

[Doc226]

While the shave was comfortable and no blood was shed, it was not efficient and required a fair amount of buffing to pick up stubble left behind. The end result wasn't bad, but not great either.

It is not truly shave ready then.

 

[oakeshott]

It is not truly shave ready then.

Back to the stones then. I may run out of King1k before this thing runs out of steel.

 

[Doc226]

Back to the stones then. I may run out of King1k before this thing runs out of steel.

Are you using tape on the spine?