So I'm visiting my 81 year old father who lives in another state and broached the topic of razors just in the offhand chance he had anything of wisdom to share. He shaved back in the day with Gillette adjustables but now prefers the convenience of disposables.
I told him I remember seeing what I thought was an old razor in a cabinet that belonged to his father and wondered if he still had it.
Turns out it was not a razor at all but a blade stropper. This belonged to my grandfather and was carried by him during his stint as an Army corpsman in WWI.
It was made by J.C. Penney and called the “Moredge” model and features a patent date of 1912 on its underside.
For those not familiar, this device was used to restore the edge of double edge blades of the era by stropping them against leather which was wound around two pairs of steel rollers. I have no idea how effective they may have been, but knowing the frugality of the era, squeezing every last shave out of a razor blade would have been a top priority.
Dad said his father used a soap bowl and brush for lather, but as I expected, does not recall any specific model of razor he used. He was born in 1887 and lived until 1965 so he would have seen the birth of the safety razor all the way to its zenith in the era of the Gillette adjustable models.
I told him I remember seeing what I thought was an old razor in a cabinet that belonged to his father and wondered if he still had it.
Turns out it was not a razor at all but a blade stropper. This belonged to my grandfather and was carried by him during his stint as an Army corpsman in WWI.
It was made by J.C. Penney and called the “Moredge” model and features a patent date of 1912 on its underside.
For those not familiar, this device was used to restore the edge of double edge blades of the era by stropping them against leather which was wound around two pairs of steel rollers. I have no idea how effective they may have been, but knowing the frugality of the era, squeezing every last shave out of a razor blade would have been a top priority.
Dad said his father used a soap bowl and brush for lather, but as I expected, does not recall any specific model of razor he used. He was born in 1887 and lived until 1965 so he would have seen the birth of the safety razor all the way to its zenith in the era of the Gillette adjustable models.
Family shave memorabilia - blade stropper
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