Got this razor yesterday. I have been keeping an eye out for one for a few months, and this one went for less than $20 shipped. It is a Geo. W. Korn razor from Little Valley, New York. George Korn was the master grinder for quite a few companies in Little Valley, NY. He had his own, worked for Cattaraugus, Case, and did razors for Sears Roebuck. A lot of his patents were different ideas on razors, including finger notches on the scales, a safety guard on “The Real” razor, and different types of grinds. This razor is called the American Double Hollow. I have examples of all three of these patents now, although this is the only one that is a Korn razor, the other two are Cattaraugus. The patent for this grind was filed in 1901. Apparently, a razor marked this way is fairly rare. It was ground as a normal hollow first, then a second smaller wheel was used to grind the top part of the blade. If you look at the razor, you can see there is a spot that it more hollow in the middle of the blade, then it thickens up before thinning down to the bevel. (I didn’t realize how much I need to clean the blade until I took out the macro lenses for the picture of the profile.) I am excited to get this one honed and see if it feels different than a normal hollow ground. I found a few write-ups on this razor and manufacturer, but I am hoping the book that is inbound will have even more information.
Bloody fantastic bit of homework Adam! Very unusual double concave, I haven't seen many American manufacturer's examples of this grind. Curious to see how this hones for you. I've always lusted after a particular J-West (a Ribbon Rosette designed by R. Saito for a Japanese barber college) but have shied away due to the fact that it's a very pronounced double concave and I have zero experience with these. Keep us posted!
I didn't even realize that this was the grind he had patented, until it arrived. Was pretty excited. It's in pretty good shape. Have two books coming about the Case family, and all the associated cutlery companies the family was involved in. One by Brad Lockwood, one by Dean Case. Going to end up with a bigger wish list I'm sure.
Talk about a well defined bellied hollow. That is one you will want to be the long term custodian of for sure.
George Korn was the man I have had a couple with this grind, and they are a different feel.. it works just like Korn designed it, a extreme hollow grind with a bit more stiffness Here is the Patent link for the Geeks among us http://www.google.com/patents/US693524 Here is where I learned about it some good discussion in there
