What is this blade ?

[Umma2gumma]

Just bought a razor from eBay that came with three wrapped blades like this one (and an old, somewhat rusted blade with no tabs, the old "oval" style).

What is this and when was it made ?

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Rasierklingen auf www.mr-razor.com

mr-razor.com

The blade will have a date code that will tell exactly when it was made.

 

[Umma2gumma]

Thanks. I opened one and it's X1, which according to that site is 1952. Very cool. Now I have to decide if I sacrifice one to curiosi... ehm, science, or just keep them as is.

The finish on these blades puts modern stuff to shame. Although, finishing stainless is not as easy, as far as I know.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

You'll be sorry if you try one, those old carbon steel blades are pretty rough.

 

[Umma2gumma]

You'll be sorry if you try one, those old carbon steel blades are pretty rough.

Were they always rough, or do they lose edge with time ?

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Were they always rough, or do they lose edge with time ?

There probably aren’t very many men around who can accurately remember how they shaved 70+ years ago but the few I’ve tried have been unusable.

 

[frbock]

I got a pack of 16 different blades, and 5 are in the reject pile. All of them are plain stainless. The other 11 all have coatings.
A blade got rejected if I needed to moisturize after the shave due to irritation. I think the most common problem was micro burrs on the blades that scratched thru the outer layer of skin.

 

[BigJ]

You'll be sorry if you try one, those old carbon steel blades are pretty rough.

+1! That’s certainly my experience with old carbon steel blades.

 

[Hugh]

I am new here at B & B and pretty new to DE shaving. However, it seems to me that collecting and displaying blades could be part of the hobby?

I have already started to assemble a few blade samples and was considering putting them behind a picture frame and display them. I am betting this is something some of you have already done.

 

[lancre]

Every vintage carbon steel blade I've tried has been poor. Newer Carbon steel blades have been OK. My assumption is that, without incredible storage conditions, Carbon steel corrodes faster than stainless.

 

[ivan_101]

Every vintage carbon steel blade I've tried has been poor.

This!