Geneva Cutlery Corp. "Pyramid #71" Geneva NY USA 5/8th Half Hollow These Geneva razors have incredible steel. It was pretty gunked up, but came as a pair when sold with the above razor, for a very good price. Also, not as flaw on the blade, and a mirror shine.
Bismarck #1 Solingen Germany 11/16th+ Full Hollow ground In the raw, dirty, nasty, and a little rusty. This will require a little bit of work, and a swap of the scales. I already have some donor scales picked out.
Bismarck Solingen Germany 11/16th+ Full Hollow ground This one is definitely crusty and rusty. Almost as bad as the Tula I restored. I don't look forward to sanding this one. But, hopefully I can resurrect it.
A few fun items in the mail recently… On the right is a King William era Joseph Rodgers & Sons blade in some very nice scales. And on the left a Montgomery Wards house brand “Lakeside.” I have one or two Lakeside Cutlery blades, Army & Navy being my favorite, but this is the first with Montgomery Wards, Chicago on the tang. Smaller than I assumed, coming in at under 2” blade length, but pretty cool addition. Obviously not a straight, but it has ties to some blades we appreciate… the Rally razor. Open it up and roll it across your beard… really not bad. An advertisement that was made for me, “the Man-about-Town” : Fun region of manufacture… Happy hunting. Tom
This one is now restored. It decided to slice me three time, in the process. https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-bloody-bismarck-restoration.66600/#post-2039792 ..
Wadsworth & Son "XLNT" 6/8+ inch Full Hollow Germany This one was a freebee, from an eBay seller, that came in, today. He was nice enough to send it, after he sent the wrong razor. It might not look it, being it has a good amount of discoloration, and some patina, but this one looks like it might shine up, nicely. Fingers crossed.
I want one of those Tom! A pair of 6/8 Le Grelot 355 in today, from a friend selling them to finance other razor fixations. The scales will need some attention to get them matching but the blades are superb! I already had the 5/8 version, it’s a little Ferrari that mows down anything that it touches, like the Swedish razors. I’ve seen English, French, and German razors using what appears to be the same blank. I suspect but do not know, that it’s a Kayser-Ellison Silver Steel blank. K-E Silver Steel was one of the few steels formulated for razors. Werner Briedenbach, a master Solingen grinder, said that they preferred K-E steel to Böhler steel because it was finer grained and took a better edge.