An old razor arrived in the mail yesterday and I took some time this morning to give a good 'once-over.' Some specs on this razor: Manufactured by William Greaves & Sons, Sheaf Works (1820-1858) Sheffield, England. The hollow-ground carbon steel blade is 3.125" long and a hair over 1.0" wide. The tang is stamped "W. GREAVES & SONS FOR BARBERS USE" Interesting in that it appears to have been 'double-stamped,' with a slight misalignment. The scales are of black horn; wedge is of soft steel or lead. Large brass 'stacked' washers. All original. Pins are tight and the blade aligned well in the scales. There are cracks along both sides of the wedge pin and a large crack that begins at the blade end on one side of the scales. None of the cracks appear to be 'fatal.' Since the pins and scales are in usable condition, I will probably not do a rescale on this and simply clean up the blade and hone it. Love these old Sheffields! Here are some shots of the razor in its current 'as is' condition... Notice the 'double stamp'...The QC guy had the day off. Cracks...not pretty but also not serious...
Adam, before I received the razor, I had intended on replacing the scales, but after my inspection, the razors is pretty solid. IF the cracks had been at the scale's pivot pin, they almost certainly would have needed replacement. At the wedge end, there is little impact on the performance or structural integrity. I may apply some adhesive to the crack along the top end (near the razor's tip end) where the cracked edge is likely to catch or curl. Ideally, I'd like to keep it all original now that I've held and inspected it. THEN AGAIN: If I do decide to sell it, NEW custom scales will fetch a higher price than ones that are 'damaged'—despite being original. Buyers can be peculiar that way.
