High Art Straight Razor circa 1900-1910

Description: This is a straight razor that was sold in the Sears & Roebuck catalog many moons ago. It was made between 1900 and 1910. There is no branding anywhere on the razor, and I believe the "High Art" razors were manufactured for Sears by more than one company, so I'm not even sure what country this was made in. The Blade: 5/8" width, 2.75" edge length. This razor was used heavily and not honed evenly. The blade would originally have been nice and straight but it has taken on an uneven smile, with a bit more curve at the nose of the blade. I chose not to grind it straight because quite a bit of blade would have been removed. The Scales:I made the scales myself out of an exotic hardwood called Katalox. Katalox is a very dense, strong, rot-resistant hardwood that is grown primarily in Mexico. The heartwood, which these scales were made from, is often used as a substitute for Ebony, though it's not quite as dark. Katalox is not endangered or threatened so you can feel comfortable about that. I treated the wood with mineral oil and you should oil them up when you think they're looking dry. Blade Work Done:I removed the rust and most of the black patina with a combination of hand sanding and an electric polishing wheel, being careful to keep the steel cool. I don't grind and polish antique blades until they're perfect and new looking. For one thing that takes much more time and drives up the labor charge, and for another...well if you wanted a shiny new razor you can find plenty of those, but some of us like that an antique shows its age. I did take pains to keep the sanding lines vertical rather than horizontal. I removed the sloppy edge and restored a proper bevel using diamond hones. I continued to refine the edge with a series of whetstones: Soft Arkansas, Belgian Blue, Belgian Coticule, Vermont Green Stone, Surgical Black Arkansas. I then used three strops to get it to the point where you'll get a shave just thinking about it fondly. The Shave:I got a marvelous, close shave with this razor. I had a few days of beard growth and the blade did not tug the whiskers or irritate my skin. After the test shave I cleaned and sterilized the entire razor by submerging it in Barbicide (that lovely blue liquid you see at the barber shop) at the recommended strength and duration. I then stropped it again and coated the whole thing with a bit of mineral oil to protect it during shipping. Return Policy: I have an extremely liberal return policy: you can return it for a full refund within 30 days without having to give a reason (though I want to know why you don't like it so I can learn from the experience). I try to set a return policy that reflects this in the ebay settings, but what I am writing here overrules anything in the automatically generated fine print. I don't want you to keep a razor that you can't use or don't like. I will eat the shipping fee both ways if you feel the razor was not as described or arrives damaged (unless you've requested it be hand delivered to the International Space Station or some other exorbitant option, but in that case we'd discuss how this would effect returns before hand). In other cases we can discuss what makes sense to both of us. Shipping: I've tried to keep the shipping simple, but if you have any requests for faster shipping or anything else, then just let me know and we can arrange something. If you request a particularly expensive shipping method then we'll agree on what happens if you need to return it, because that would then be a potential complication.

Price: 45 USD

Location: Belchertown, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-12-02T23:05:12.000Z

Shipping Cost: 2.04 USD