After 10 days of travel I was more than happy to be back in my shave den and return to using straights. To remove 48 hours of scruff I went with my smiling 8/8 Mike Martinez and had an epic shave.
I found this little thick opaque pear shaped bow the other day in a china shop and it looked perfect as a brush holder.
I think that a brush holder/lather bowl is exactly what it is. The dimple in the heart-shaped end should fit your thumb. Only the second that I’ve seen. Congrats on an interesting find.
Hey Primo, according to TSS site, it’s made from a modern Bergischer Lowe blank, so that would be a 5/8 razor, and it weighs about 40g. I do like wider blades but I also like a light razor - top razor above, CVH No 140 7/8, 57 grams, or about 50% more than the Sunday Shaver, CVH MK 33 13/16, 45 grams, only 5g more than the 5/8 SS! The St Joanis handles very much like the 6/8 Bismarck which has been ‘transplanted’ into thin plastic from an old Wosty that had been abused. The St Joanis weight is 44g (in original black horn) and the Bismarck weighs 49g. Both are light nimble razors for their width. A Filly 14 is certainly thin and wide, but it isn’t light. It’s a big razor.
Could be! Mine is 7-1/2” x 5-1/2” though, so if it’s a spoon rest it’s a big one, but maybe not uncommon. I think that I’ll look at spoon rests too. eBay is a great place to do your homework.
So I went and searched ‘vintage spoon rests’ on the Bay at @Chuck Naill comments. The pieces that we have don’t really look like most of the spoon rests, except for that ‘bird’ piece. Ours also seem to be intended to hold a volume of something, which might be lather. But what I’m thinking is maybe a salt cellar/dish, sized for a kitchen. That would explain the spoon rest, you need a measuring spoon handy, a teaspoon or half tsp.
If you are stirring a pot of beans or stew, etc, placing the spoon on a spoon rest keeps the stove or counter clean. It keeps the drippings in one place. However, I am content with calling them a brush holder.
Another stone test, details in the honing thread yesterday. I think that the little stone on the stand did slightly better, but the difference is not large. Soap was I Coloniali Mango lathered with a Tulip 1 Super Badger, and a dab of IC balm finished up.