I picked up this W&B via ebay. It was simply listed as 'old sheffield razor'—which is probably why there was minor interest in the bidding.I'm anxious to see this razor first-hand as ebay photos can certainly hide potential defects or good surprises. What intrigued me was 1) the carved scales (ivory, plastic or bone?) and the beveled spine (see curved transition from the top of the tang to the spine). It does not say 'England' so I'd place this pre-1890 era. I've read there are certain methods to ascertain the composition of the scales (UV light, hot pin to determine if it is celluloid, bone or ivory), but I was hoping to tap into the wealth of knowledge & experience here at TSD. The scales look to be ivory or even bone (the date would allow for it to potentially be early celluloid as well).
Here are some interesting info I came across on determining the material. Some I was familiar with; others not so much. Think you have genuine IVORY? Here's some simple tips to help you identify true ivory versus bone and plastic: Get or use a jewelers loop (or a good magnifying lens) and study the item carefully. You will be looking for little streaks or pores known as "Haversian System" (Bone usually has small, short lines, not parallel, and not continuous. These are small round, elongated, or short straight lines where the blood vessels ran through the bone. Often these have darkened on older pieces and are easy to see; other times it may be necessary to look closely under magnification to find them)which, if the signs are all there, indicates that it is bone, not ivory. Bone and Ivory weigh more than a synthetic material such as celluloid which is oftentimes confused as ivory. "Knock" on the item and listen carefully... bone and ivory will sound less hollow than plastic or celluloid. Plastic has a different sound when it's tapped versus bone and ivory. True ivory will yellow naturally with age. The darker the color, the older the ivory is. However, be careful when looking to buy an item that's been identified as "antique ivory" as there are people out there who will try to take ivory and darken it using tea or other means to make it appear older than what it really is. There is an easy way to tell if it's been artificially aged: Take some saliva on your fingertip and rub the ivory. If color comes off on your finger or the area you cleaned is lighter than the rest of the item then it's been colored to fake it's age. This will only work with saliva. Another surefire way to tell between bone and plastic versus ivory is to take a needle and burn it with a lighter until it's red hot. Then take the needle and touch the ivory in a non-conspicuous spot. True ivory cannot be burned but if it's bone or plastic a burn mark will be left. This tip was given from an episode of Flea Market Mania. Hold the ivory up under strong lighting and look closely for a "cross hatch" or wavy pattern. If you can see it then turn the angle 90 degrees and check again. If it's true ivory you will be able to see it the first time but not be able to see it once you turn the angle 90 degrees. It will also appear as a pearlescent.
First of all, a range of smiley's to express my thoughts... You manage to get the COOLEST wins on the bay! I may as well give up now... Ahem, now then: I have heard those ones before. I got a pendant for my wife last year and went through all of that to make sure I wasn't giving the vegetarian I love a piece of bone or something. I used the loupe to determine that there was no telltale grooves or veins anywhere. Looking at the apparent pores in the closeup of the tang stamp, my bet is it's bone. It just doesn't look to me like early celluloid, but I look forward to seeing your results. And I'm very very green (and I hate the ducks, so it isn't my favorite shade to be!)
Another detail shot: arrows indicate a missing 'wedge' revealing the backside of the scale. Scrimshawed bone?
I have a set of scales with a similar look. They are bone with silver pin inlayed. They were certainly the selling feature that sucked me into buying yet another razor. Nice find, you in theory can epoxy a piece of bone on there and blend it in with black tea to get the stain right. I have no shortage of razor projects but look forward to getting mine up and running. Other than the small scale repair that one looks pretty good, with crisp lines and no sign of hone wear.
I was looking into doing a bone repair job (& stain)—replace the missing wedge and stain to match. Maybe even scrimshaw the pattern....Hmmm. I suppose I should wait until I have the razor before making all these plans.
Not bad. I suppose $1,200 isn't really out-of-line…… I'm going to take a wild guess and say there won't be any takers—plenty of lookers—but no buyers on that 9/8 W&B. Unless Mike @entropy1049 just HAS to have it!
What are you trying to say, Kevin? That old thing about a fool and his money? Don't bother. SWMBO tells me daily and it's wasted on me. I can think of other straights that would be higher up on my list for that kind of money. Seems pretty optimistic for a hyper-buffed and, looks to me, fairly hone-worn FBU with home-bodged scales. Heck, 1200 bucks is a down payment on one of those bitchin' Zowada meteorite "Timahagane" Customs... To each, his own, I suppose.
