Straight Razor Acquisition Thread

[Cleanface]

According to this site the author can't be sure as only some Cape are marked with his seal. But it is a beauty. I was looking at this one as well. Yes, I recognize the seller. Always good items.

Tanifuji (Fukutarō) | Fikira (wordpress.com)

 

[R7photo]

This beauty is comming to my home. NOS Cape 750 seedish steel. I have 5 Tanifuji razors and all of them have Tanifuji stamp. This one not, there is FOR BARBERS USE FIRST QUALITY. Hope it si also made by Tanifuji. Is it? does anyone know?View attachment 1285113View attachment 1285114

Awesome razor

 

[Scruffy Pete]

I was excited when I picked this up on eBay. I wanted to cry when my 100-year-old bakelite scales proved more delicate than anticipated. Thankfully it was the blade's beauty that attracted me in the first place. I'm still very happy with the finished product.

 

[Slash]

I was excited when I picked this up on eBay. I wanted to cry when my 100-year-old bakelite scales proved more delicate than anticipated. Thankfully it was the blade's beauty that attracted me in the first place. I'm still very happy with the finished product.

View attachment 1285775View attachment 1285779View attachment 1285784View attachment 1285785

Beautiful job cleaning her up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Herrenberg]

Iwasaki tamahagane kamisori, new production.

 

[alex1921]

Iwasaki tamahagane kamisori, new production.
View attachment 1285913

What does new production mean? Is this Mizuochi made?

 

[Tanuki]

According to this site the author can't be sure as only some Cape are marked with his seal. But it is a beauty. I was looking at this one as well. Yes, I recognize the seller. Always good items.

Tanifuji (Fukutarō) | Fikira (wordpress.com)

From my perusal of that site, that CAPE 750 was quite possibly sold/distributed by Nichiri. The razor may not have been marked with the Tanifuji seal just because it was sold through a different channel. It looks to me as if the 'FOR BARBERS' USE FIRST QUALITY' tang stamp was popular on razors marketed by Nichiri, perhaps because they sold to the barbering trade. @Yaron , I would be very confident that your razor was made by Tanifuji.

 

[Sukeroku]

Stamped "Tanifuji" Favorite. There is some spine wear and it needs a little cleaning up but...
$25.00 including domestic shipping.

 

[Yaron]

@Tanuki thank you Sir

 

[Eastcoast30]

Iwasaki tamahagane kamisori, new production.
View attachment 1285913

I have been looking for one (at a reasonable price).

 

[2bit_collie]

This beauty is comming to my home. NOS Cape 750 seedish steel. I have 5 Tanifuji razors and all of them have Tanifuji stamp. This one not, there is FOR BARBERS USE FIRST QUALITY. Hope it si also made by Tanifuji. Is it? does anyone know?View attachment 1285113View attachment 1285114

I believe that at least some CAPE razors were made by Tanifuji, but I think many were not. Some also say PERFECT WORKS, and I have seen suggestions that PERFECT WORKS was another Tanifuji brand, but again not sure if this is true. But it looks like a great razor. I had my eye on a CAPE 650 for awhile but someone bought it before my SRAD could get the better of me.

 

[alex1921]

I had this discussion over Capes with some friends few years ago. I believe that any Tanifuji made razor has the Tanifuji name stamped on it. My friends disagreed.
At the end of the day we will never know and what I think means pretty much nothing but thats the way I buy them. Name is there I am willing to pay more, no name I pay less.

 

[alex1921]

Next: A foray into the kamisori world. I was a little disappointed in the omote side which wasn't too clear in the seller's photos. But it's tree topping nicely.View attachment 1283203View attachment 1283204View attachment 1283205

Unfortunately some sellers hide the omote side so it wouldn't show the amount of honeware. This kamisori has plenty of it.

 

[Herrenberg]

What does new production mean? Is this Mizuochi made?

I do not know. I just know that a seller said that when he restocked the razors, he was surprised to find some of these razors in the mix.

 

[alex1921]

I do not know. I just know that a seller said that when he restocked the razors, he was surprised to find some of these razors in the mix.

From what I know they haven't made tamahagane razors in a while that's why I was surprised. The very old tama kamisoris have arabic serial numbers that eventually went away. Nice razor and not easy to find, specially in a good condition.

 

[2bit_collie]

So just went through another bout of SRAD, I am hoping to cool off for awhile (famous last words…). Mostly driven by purchases from a seller in Canada - the shipping fees were high and to go after the lower end stuff it made sense to purchase a few at a time.

First picture top
George Brittain 13/16 near-wedge Sheffield, England - really Brittain, Wilkinson & Brownell. GB was Master Cutler in 1773 and died in 1812 but this razor almost certainly is newer than that. I’m guessing pre-1850, but could be wrong. This is the one that cost a bit. Scales are not original, but appear to be a nice wood that just needs some polishing.

First picture bottom
Mappin & Webb 5/8 full hollow,Sheffield, England - So this must be post-1860 (when the Mappin brothers had a falling out causing J N Mappin to form his own firm with the brother of his new bride) but likely pre-1890s (no England on the tang). This thing has a completely rusted out edge. I only got it because the price was really low and combining it with some others meant that shipping was free. I’m going to soak this is oil (and likely vinegar) set it aside, and use it for restoration practice when I have some free time. No idea if it will ever shave again, but if I hadn’t paid a pittance for it it would have ended up in the garbage and it deserves better than that.

2nd picture top
Micheron Freres - 6/8 full hollow France Don’t know much about it. The 3 razors in this photo all were in the price range I like to play in, seems in decent shape 6/8 hollow is one of my favorite size/grind combos.

Burrell Cutlery “Top Flight” 6/8 full hollow Ellicotville NY. I lived in Buffalo for a few years never realizing that many of the nearby small towns were involved in the razor trade. Again, decent shape, should be pretty easy to hone up.

Dahlgren 5/8 frameback Eskilstuna, Sweden - At this point I have a bunch of razors, almost every grind there is - but until now no true frameback. Its got a bit of rust, but all on the frame, the blade edge looks pretty decent. I’ve read that these can be a challenge, but hey, why not give it a try?

 

[RumpleBearskin]

My Drew Dick custom arrived today...

8/8”, 80-layer twisted with an O2 edge, near wedge, "Ottoman", with light horn scales and a pewter wedge.

Shave test tomorrow...

 

[Steve56]

What’s best way to work on etching area?
From above posts,,,qtips alcohol or baking soda, ?
Certainly no mothers
This one is certainly going to DOC for tlc
Just recently found out how to send to him
Shes shave ready by vendor so test shaving tonite[emoji23]
Boy first shave with a monster blade, never shaved with anything over 6/8

Try using a lead (graphite) pencil tip on the corrosion on the gold. It won’t work wonders but it might improve things a bit, and you can ‘target’ the exact area.

I’ve thought of trimming a fiberglass brush down and using a few bristles to work on those kinds of things, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Good luck!

 

[Steve56]

This is for Arne @Polarbeard - not exactly a new acquisition, but a nice mod/addition. I have a near NOS E.A. Berg frameback, with some of the best and hardest steel and an angry fermented herring as the Skyydes Marke. It was in black hard rubber scales.

I also have a half worn out Albert Stille that’s been well loved as evidenced by a professional thinning of the edge that’s well done. It was in beautiful ivory scales. These are the same razors or at least the same blank, so since I was having Alfrodo @Doc226 do some cleanup and scales, I had him do a scale swap. It was an exact swap, nothing but a hinge pin needed. This is Alfredo’s image.

Albert Stille makes medical instruments and is stille in business (pun intended), though I doubt that you will get a fine ivory scaled Swedish razor from them today. I kind of regret doing this to the Stille, but straight razors are consumable items and this blade was about half consumed, so putting it’s ivory scales (which are not consumed) on the Berg was the right thing to do I believe.

 

[Steve56]

From what I know they haven't made tamahagane razors in a while that's why I was surprised. The very old tama kamisoris have arabic serial numbers that eventually went away. Nice razor and not easy to find, specially in a good condition.

Old videos of the shop show boxes of iron ‘thingys’ which are probably tamahagane stock. They made window bars, door hardware, and yes, cannon balls from it. Tamahagane means ‘ball steel’ and by ’ball’, they meant cannon ball.

This was a lower grade tamahagane, but could be remelted and made into a higher grade steel as Tim Zowada does. And as the English did to make their ‘cast steel’. Same thing, refining ‘bloom’ steel. I suspect that’s why the boxes of old iron things, Iwasaki San would have known what he was buying.

However, a new tamahagane razor would mean that Mizuochi San has too much time on his hands and resmelted some of that old iron and forged some new razors. Possible I suppose, he has the stock, the knowledge, and the skill if he wants to.