I*XL razor

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

All,

Thought I’d post an image of my I*XL razor with hard rubber handle. This bugger still keeps an edge that’s for sure.

Not sure when it was made - perhaps late Victorian or later but can’t say with certainty. I’ve yet to hit a mother lode of detailed razor references that can provide more granularity on this particular razor. If you have any solid documentation/sources/references on such a Wostenholm razor with same or similar blade markings please share.

Forgive the bad lighting and focus issues with the images below, sometimes my digital camera and I are at odds. The below images were the best I could get.


Detail of blade


Razor with shaving paraphernalia. Note: copper shaving cup has no markings and only a little green in the seams. Though a bit sloppy on the soldering it’s in overall great shape and holds water


YMH&OS,

Brass

[St. George]

Razors 'are' difficult to date.

They remained essenttially unchanged throughout their heyday - differing only in the etching on the blade - and I think 'Electro-Hollowed' places it well into the WWI era.

In looking at your handle - it looks like horn - as opposed to gutta-percha, but that could be a trick of lighting.

Nonetheless - those etched-blade razors are pretty nice.

Thanks for posting.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

St Geo – It really is a quality razor and I got it from an antique store for under $20. It was in with a few dozen other razors in a box. I had looked through almost all of them when the hallelujah choir sounded, the clouds parted and the big ‘I*XL’ on the blade blazed forth in the light (a little dramatic but it was an exciting find!). Nice to come across gems like that once in awhile.

The handle is definitely hard rubber that’s in decent shape thank goodness. Also it strops up great. As to ‘Electro’ on the blade: I get nervous whenever I see ‘electric’ or some variant thereof referring to Victorian era items. To wit, the 1886 Bloomingdale Bros catalog (pg 63) offers an ‘electric’ shirt patented in 1882. Also an advert in the back of the same catalog (pg 152) shows both an ‘electric’ hair curler and ‘electric’ toothbrush for sale by the Pall Mall Electric Association, London. Also mentions ‘electric’ corsets, brushes and belts as items they offer but with less detail. There is no clue offered regarding what electric has to do with any of these items as far as manufacturing processes or some sort of modern improvement go. I know the I*XL razor here has ‘Electro’ on the blade and not ‘Electric’ but I wonder if this was perhaps just a marketing gimmick of the era (reference above) or if this was actually some patented manufacturing process improvement used to make the razor and if so, when? This is the sort of info I seek. So, in short, I’m completely at a loss but unwilling to relegate it to early 20th century just yet. The info I'm looking for may never surface but perhaps some day I’ll find the documentation required to place this razor definitively.

Also, forgot to add to the initial post: both strops pictured above are illustrated (pg 205) in the 1884 Vajen & New Hardware catalog. The larger one is per the catalog entry a ‘double rod & frame’ type adjustable strop. The smaller one is ‘one-side oval’ strop made by Emerson, this type and brand name is actually offered for sale in the 1884 catalog.

The search continues…..

YMH&OS,

Brass

[Advertising]

[Delmonico]

The big question is Jack, "how good of a shave does it give?"  I need to take some pictures of my razor and shaving kit.

[St. George]

It 'is' a nice find...

The great thing about straight razors is that they can be commonly found in groups at both shops and estate sales - and few folks want to screw around with them.

Every man owned one - some owned several - and given the nature of their close-to-the-skin job - they were pretty well-cared-for during their years of use.

In that respect, they are far easier to find in nice shape than an early pocket knife, whose blade were often sharpened to within an inch of thier lives.

Treasures abound...

Congratulations!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

Delmonico - the razor works like a champ and holds a good edge. But, as personal experience with other razors has proven out, this one is a blood-letter as much as the rest due to the user (certainly not the razor's fault). I need to keep in practice as there is always razor rash at a minimum - if I'm lucky - when I whip out the brush, soap for that infrequent straight razor shave.

Brass

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

My straight razor, acquired in a thrift shop, is a WADE & BUTCHER, Sheffield, England.  Under this is, from left to right, a circle with B tipped over, a fletched arrow, and a Maltese cross on the Right.  The blade is marked, "FULL CONCAVE". 

I have never used it for its intended purpose!

[Delmonico]

Delmonico - the razor works like a champ and holds a good edge. But, as personal experience with other razors has proven out, this one is a blood-letter as much as the rest due to the user (certainly not the razor's fault). I need to keep in practice as there is always razor rash at a minimum - if I'm lucky - when I whip out the brush, soap for that infrequent straight razor shave.

Brass

I use mine enough to keep my hand in it.  I really like the shave I get, but it's laziness that keeps me from using it more.  To easy to grab a disposable and a can of goo.  Should go to it all the time, the "carbon points" might be worth it.

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

St Geo – Agreed regarding fellows owning more than one razor and the profusion of them on the antique market today. Of interest, in support of your statement that a person could own several razors, I came across something nice today. I went to an antique store my lady and I frequent and found a leather cased seven-day razor set. Had I the disposable cash I'd have snagged it but, alas, did not.

This nice set had seven razors, each with a day of the week acid etched on top of the blade (not on the side). I couldn’t date this set based on what little I know about razors, however the seven-day set referenced on pg 185 ‘The Heritage of English Knives’ by D. Hayden-Wright is listed as circa 1890.

Such sets are something I don't come across too often but it’s nice to see them when I do. It certainly does support that a guy back in the day not only had an extra razor but likely several. 

Brass

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy Brass,

Early straight razors had a wedge shaped blade.  This was the norm up to the ACW.  About 1800 there was very little of the tang protruding past the end of the handle when closed.  The handle was straight on the sides or with the slightest of curve.  They were often made with a cartouche and no name or with only a name or with the type of steel, such a shear steel.  By the 30's the tang became longer and curve like the one that you have.  The hollow grind shape got deeper as time passed.  I don't know the timing of this.  I'll bring some different examples with me to Evansville!

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

Dr B – Yes, I’ve heard about this transition from what I’m familiar with as being called a ‘slab’ blade into a hollow blade. Slab type blades are much harder to find in the antique store scene in my experience. I procured such a slab blade razor some years back - some fellow likely used it as a patch knife (blade wedged into an antler tip). Probably not a period job, maybe was done by a modern rendezvouser. It still gets sharp though shaving with it is not easy and I’ve only tried it a few times.

I’d like to know more about the transition from slab into the hollow ground type blade too - the dates/time line corresponding with this transition are unknown to me though the time line you suggest seems reasonable. I understand hollow ground blades were designed to make sharpening easier and from personal experience I concur. This seems evident as a hollow ground blade stays on the strop better, the pronounced blade’s shoulder keeps its edge at a very consistent angle. Voila…! An easier, sharper edge for a shave.

If you can find some documentation for a timeline on slab-to-hollow blade transition that would be great. For old west history stuff I think we’re good to go with hollow ground blades without issue but knowledge for knowledge’s sake is nice regarding slab type razors and the transition to hollow ground. Looking forward to seeing your you and your collection at the National shoot..!

Brass