Rey Zhourej
Member
....and so goes the song touting some razor of old(maybe Gillette). Thought I would use that as an intro to some sharpening devices from,"back in the day"..........
As I recall the manufacturers of safety razors discouraged the practice of re-sharpening their blades;likely to encourage more sales.However the people being what they are decided they could save money by inventing devices that re-honed blades(almost)to their original sharpness.They also designed various craft tools that used old safety razor blades in the process.Some of them were pure genius and others..........well let's say they did work(somewhat).
Some of them like the Enders razor came with a separate handle that was used to hone the blade against a stone at the proper angle. Another was the Stag that used a set of rollers on either side of the handle to keep the angle correct.
The Kriss Kross was great in that you clamped the blade into the fixture and turned the crank which spun a polishing wheel against the edge for several revolutions and then flipped it over to do the other side. Although designed primarily for single edge blades,double edged ones could be done. The Rolls Razor did a similar task but using a back and forth motion applied by hand.
One of the really ingenious models was the Twin Plex which looks almost like a pencil sharpener. To load it you pull out the tab on the side and unfold it to load the double edged blade in and then slide it back inside the housing. Then pull out the crank on the opposite side and turn it. The action inside uses rubber rollers that do one side of each edge for several revolutions and then flip it over to do the other sides.
It took me awhile to figure out how it worked when I first got one and several months later a friend of mine showed me one and thought it was a pencil sharpener as well. When I told him what it did he wound up giving it to me.
The last item is for stropping straight razors.Made by the M.L.Brandt Cutlery Co. it consists of a housing to hold the razor blade and a strop that is looped over a roller with a handle at either end.When one side is pulled it pushes the edge of the blade against the strop.When you reach the end of the travel,you grab the other end and pull which puts the other side of the blade edge against the strop. It is designed to be hung up on a hook.
So this will take several posts as I can only put in five pictures at a time so please be patient and I hope you enjoy them.
#1 is the Enders razor and the handle to sharpen the blade(installed).
#2-#5 The Kriss Kross stropping system showing the blade in various positions.
As I recall the manufacturers of safety razors discouraged the practice of re-sharpening their blades;likely to encourage more sales.However the people being what they are decided they could save money by inventing devices that re-honed blades(almost)to their original sharpness.They also designed various craft tools that used old safety razor blades in the process.Some of them were pure genius and others..........well let's say they did work(somewhat).
Some of them like the Enders razor came with a separate handle that was used to hone the blade against a stone at the proper angle. Another was the Stag that used a set of rollers on either side of the handle to keep the angle correct.
The Kriss Kross was great in that you clamped the blade into the fixture and turned the crank which spun a polishing wheel against the edge for several revolutions and then flipped it over to do the other side. Although designed primarily for single edge blades,double edged ones could be done. The Rolls Razor did a similar task but using a back and forth motion applied by hand.
One of the really ingenious models was the Twin Plex which looks almost like a pencil sharpener. To load it you pull out the tab on the side and unfold it to load the double edged blade in and then slide it back inside the housing. Then pull out the crank on the opposite side and turn it. The action inside uses rubber rollers that do one side of each edge for several revolutions and then flip it over to do the other sides.
It took me awhile to figure out how it worked when I first got one and several months later a friend of mine showed me one and thought it was a pencil sharpener as well. When I told him what it did he wound up giving it to me.
The last item is for stropping straight razors.Made by the M.L.Brandt Cutlery Co. it consists of a housing to hold the razor blade and a strop that is looped over a roller with a handle at either end.When one side is pulled it pushes the edge of the blade against the strop.When you reach the end of the travel,you grab the other end and pull which puts the other side of the blade edge against the strop. It is designed to be hung up on a hook.
So this will take several posts as I can only put in five pictures at a time so please be patient and I hope you enjoy them.
#1 is the Enders razor and the handle to sharpen the blade(installed).
#2-#5 The Kriss Kross stropping system showing the blade in various positions.
