Razor Grinding, Glazing And Polishing, How The Americans Did It (Long Post)

[PLANofMAN]

These are my favorite kinds of threads. I love the historical aspects of the hobby, especially when they are so well researched and written.

 

[PLANofMAN]

...The glue used at this time was an animal based glue, a hot hide glue which was occasionally mixed with a substance called C-Gum. I have been unable to discern what C-Gum is, but when I worked for a large dental instrument maker, I heard old timers talk about a compound that they called simply "C"...

I grilled ChatGPT on this, and it was clueless. When I mentioned the dental connection, it gave me this answer:

"...It appears to be a compound used in the dental industry as a lubricant for instruments. It was made from a mixture of glycerin and powdered gum tragacanth. The gum tragacanth was used to thicken the glycerin, and the resulting compound was used as a lubricant to ease the movement of dental instruments. C-Gum was especially useful for lubricating instruments in tight spaces, such as between teeth.

It's possible that this same or similar compound was also used in other industries where lubrication was needed, such as in the manufacture of felt wheels for polishing and glazing."

 

[Frank Shaves]

I see something called c-bond dental adhesive:

C-Bond - light curing dental adhesive - Product

<p>C-Bond is a light curing dental adhesive and used in the filling therapy as adhesive connection as well as bonding during the repair of resin-, ceramic-, crown- and bridge works.</p> <p>Packages:</p> <p><strong>Single packages: </strong>bottle 5 ml</p> <p><strong>Assortment packages...

www.megadenta.de

 

[PLANofMAN]

I see something called c-bond dental adhesive:

C-Bond - light curing dental adhesive - Product

<p>C-Bond is a light curing dental adhesive and used in the filling therapy as adhesive connection as well as bonding during the repair of resin-, ceramic-, crown- and bridge works.</p> <p>Packages:</p> <p><strong>Single packages: </strong>bottle 5 ml</p> <p><strong>Assortment packages...

www.megadenta.de

That's that stuff they use a UV gun to cure. I kinda doubt that was a thing back then.

 

[Haiku]

Thank you for the long and detailed synopsis. I have been wondering about American razor production recently, and this provides a window into it. I am curious about how the honing machines worked. Does it go into more detail about their operation? Any accompanying illustrations?

What a fine post. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.